Tenant Site Lease Protections

What are Tenant Site Lease Protections?

Tenant Site Lease Protections (TSLPs) serve to preserve the affordability and stability of Manufactured Housing Communities (MHCs) across the country. In a Manufactured Housing Community, residents typically own the manufactured home in which they reside. However, the property, or “site”, on which the manufactured home sits is rented from the MHC by the owner of the manufactured home.

Tenant Site Lease Protections afford tenants of MHCs certain rights in areas where state law does not already provide mandatory tenant protections. Under the Duty to Serve Rule, FHFA has outlined specific protections that would afford tenants of Manufactured Housing Communities additional rights in states where they are not mandatory. These protections address site lease terms, rent increases, rent payments, unit sale and sublease rights, and notice of a planned sale or closure of the MHC.

What are the required protections?

Fannie Mae requires that Borrowers implement all of the following protections at the MHC for tenant site leases within a year of delivery:

• One-year renewable term for the site lease;
• 30-day written notice of rent increases;
• 5-day grace period for late rent payments;
• Rights of the tenant of a site lease to:
  • Sell the manufactured home without having to move it out of the MHC;
  • Sublease the manufactured home or assign the site lease to a buyer, provided the buyer meets the minimum MHC rules and regulations and credit quality for financing;
  • Post “for sale” signs on the manufactured home, provided the signage complies with the MHC rules and regulations;
  • Sell the manufactured home in place within 45 days after eviction; and
  • Receive at least 60 days’ notice of any planned sale or closure of the MHC

For more information, contact:

• Michael Keeney, Senior Director, Credit Underwriting, at [email protected]; or
• William Stoker, Lead Associate, Duty to Serve, at [email protected].