Buying and Selling a Mobile Home Park in Colorado: What the Revisions to Colorado’s Mobile Home Park Act Mean for You
The landscape of mobile home park ownership and tenancy in Colorado has undergone significant revisions with updates to the Colorado Mobile Home Park Act. These changes are designed to provide greater protections for mobile home park residents, fundamentally altering the rights and obligations of both park owners seeking to sell and tenants facing a potential change in ownership or land use. Many park owners and tenants are unaware of these complex legal adjustments, risking substantial financial and personal disruption if not properly understood and adhered to.
The implications of these revised laws are profound. Whether you're a long-time park owner considering a sale, a prospective buyer eyeing a mobile home park investment, or a tenant concerned about the future of your community, understanding the intricate notice requirements, the powerful tenant "opportunity to purchase" rights, and specific exemptionQs is not just beneficial—it's essential. For instance, the Act now requires park owners to give residents notice of intent to sell and a 120-day "opportunity to purchase" period, significantly impacting the sale process. GLO specializes in guiding clients through these high-stakes transactions, highlighting the critical provisions of the revised Act and underscoring why expert legal counsel is indispensable to successfully navigate these complexities.
The Technical and Risky Landscape of Mobile Home Park Transactions
The sale or change of use of a mobile home park is a highly technical and legally sensitive process in Colorado. The revised Mobile Home Park Act layers intricate notice requirements and significant tenant rights onto an already complex real estate transaction, creating considerable risk for parties who fail to understand and comply with its provisions.
Seller's Burdensome Notice Requirements and the Risk of Non-Compliance
For mobile home park owners considering a sale or a change in land use, the revised Colorado Mobile Home Park Act imposes a series of onerous and strictly defined notice requirements. These mandates go far beyond typical real estate transaction disclosures, significantly impacting a seller's timeline and negotiation leverage. For instance, if a park owner intends to change the use of the land comprising the park (which would result in tenant evictions), they must provide an extended 12-month notice to all tenants. Furthermore, if the park owner intends to sell the park, they are now generally required to provide written notice of their intent to sell within 14 days of a "triggering event" demonstrating that intent. Triggering events are broadly defined and include everything from listing the park for sale to signing a letter of intent or even responding to a potential buyer's due diligence request. This means a seller can inadvertently initiate the notice period even before a firm offer is in hand.
The notices themselves are highly prescriptive, requiring detailed information such as a description of the property, the price, and the specific terms and conditions of the offer. This level of transparency to tenants is unique and can significantly complicate negotiations with traditional buyers, who may prefer to keep offer terms confidential. The critical risk for sellers lies in strict compliance. Any failure to adhere precisely to the notice timelines, content requirements, or delivery methods can empower tenants to challenge the sale, potentially delaying or even voiding the transaction, leading to substantial financial losses and legal disputes. The Act even specifies that "any new event regarding the purchase or sell of the park triggers a new notice requirement," meaning that changes in a sale agreement could reset the entire process. Navigating these multi-layered notice obligations, ensuring accuracy in disclosures, and managing potential resets in the timeline requires specialized legal expertise to avoid costly missteps.
Tenant Opportunity to Purchase: A Complex Right of First Refusal
Perhaps the most impactful revision to the Mobile Home Park Act is the granting of a significant "opportunity to purchase" right to mobile home park tenants. Upon receiving notice of a pending sale or a change in land use that would result in eviction, tenants collectively gain a 90-day window to make an offer to purchase the mobile home park. This effectively functions as a right of first refusal, compelling the park owner to consider the tenants' offer in good faith before making a final, unconditional acceptance of any other offer. The complexity for tenants, however, is substantial. To exercise this right, a group of tenants must typically demonstrate that at least 51% of the tenants have approved a proposed offer. This requires significant internal organization, consensus-building, and often, the formation of a tenant association or cooperative.
For tenants, the risks involve successfully coordinating a large group, securing financing within the tight 90-day window, and drafting a legally sound purchase and sale agreement that meets statutory requirements. Without legal guidance, tenants may struggle to understand the nuances of the purchase process, the obligations of forming a purchasing entity, or the mechanisms for enforcing their right to negotiate. For sellers, the risk is the inherent uncertainty and potential delay introduced by this tenant-driven process. The Act prohibits a seller from making a "final, unconditional acceptance" of any other offer until either the tenants' 90-day window expires or their offer has been considered and rejected in good faith. This can deter conventional buyers who seek faster, more straightforward transactions. Understanding the precise triggers for this right, the negotiation obligations, and the narrow exemptions (such as sales to immediate family members or certain trusts) is critical for both tenants attempting to assert their rights and owners seeking to sell their property compliantly and efficiently.
How GLO Can Help
The revised Colorado Mobile Home Park Act adds significant complexity to park sales and land use changes. At GLO, our real estate attorneys provide specialized legal guidance to help both park owners and tenants navigate these regulations effectively.
For sellers, we manage notice requirements, identify triggering events, and ensure timely, compliant delivery to tenants and agencies. We also advise on tenant purchase rights, good-faith negotiations, and structuring sales to avoid delays or legal disputes. For tenants, we provide legal support to help form associations, meet the 51% approval threshold, and submit qualified purchase offers—ensuring compliance with financing and timeline requirements. Whether you're selling or seeking to buy, GLO helps you achieve your goals under Colorado’s evolving mobile home park laws.
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GLO has prepared this blog to provide general information on legal issues that may be of interest. This blog does not provide legal advice for any specific situation and this does not create an attorney-client relationship between any reader and GLO or its attorneys. GLO engages clients only through specific signed fee agreements. GLO does not guarantee any results.
