Mobile Home Park Sales and Home Owners’ Opportunity to Purchase

With certain exceptions, a landlord needs to provide a written letter or sale notice within fourteen (14) calendar days of each “triggering event” that demonstrates the landlord’s intent to sell the park. Section 38-12-217(1)(a)(II) of the Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.) includes the following list of events that require the landlord to notify residents, the local government, and the Colorado Division of Housing that the landlord intends to sell the park:

“(II) A triggering event requiring notice [. . .] includes any time the landlord:
(A) Signs a contract with a real estate broker or brokerage firm to list the park for sale or to sell or transfer the park;
(B) Signs a letter of intent, option to sell or buy, or other conditional written agreement with a potential buyer for the sale or transfer of the park, which includes the estimated price, terms, and conditions of the proposed sale or transfer, even if such price, terms, or conditions are subject to change;
(C) Signs a contract with a potential buyer's real estate broker or brokerage firm related to the potential sale or transfer of the park;
(D) Accepts an earnest money promissory note or deposit from a potential buyer for the sale or transfer of the park;
(E) Responds to a potential buyer's due diligence request for the park;
(F) Provides a signed property disclosure form for the park to a potential buyer;
(G) Lists the park for sale;
(H) Makes a conditional acceptance of an offer for the sale or transfer of the park;
(I) Takes any other action demonstrating an intent to sell the park; [. . .] [emphasis added]”

Likely yes.

Likely yes.

The Division does not have a template for landlords to use to provide the intent to sell notice at this time.

The Division does provide copies of the section of statute on mobile home park sales and the home owners’ opportunity to purchase (C.R.S. § 38-12-217, effective 10/1/2022), in English and Spanish, for sellers to include with each sale notice they post in the park or share with residents.

• English
• Spanish

The sale notice must be provided in both English and Spanish (C.R.S. § 38-12-217(2)), and must include the following information:

• Notice of home owners’ rights and remedies under section 38-12-217, C.R.S.  C.R.S. § 38-12-217(3). To meet this requirement, sellers may include a complete copy of section 38-12-217, in English and Spanish, with the sale notice. Complete copies of this section (effective 10/1/2022) are available in English and Spanish below:
  • English
  • Spanish
• A “description of the property to be purchased." C.R.S. § 38-12-217(3). To meet this requirement, sellers may include the legal description of the property found on the county assessor’s website.
• The “price, terms, and conditions of an acceptable offer the landlord has received to sell the mobile home park, or the price or terms and conditions for which the landlord intends to sell the park [emphasis added].” C.R.S. § 38-12-217(3). Note that a seller may be required to provide notice of their intent to sell the park before the price, terms and conditions of the sale are final.  
• “Any money or compensation the seller or seller’s agent has paid or intends to pay to the potential buyer or buyer’s agent, including due diligence costs or brokerage fees.” 8 CCR 1302-15 (English / Spanish) Rule 8.3(A).
• “Whether or not the seller has signed a conditional contract for the sale of the park with a potential buyer, or intends to do so within the next ninety (90) calendar days.” 8 CCR 1302-15 Rule 8.3(B).
• “Whether or not the proposed sale includes more than one mobile home park or piece of real estate (for example, is part of a portfolio or bundled sale.” 8 CCR 1302-15 Rule 8.3(C).
• “For sales that include more than one mobile home park or piece of real estate, like portfolio or bundled sales:
  • The name and property description of any and all other mobile home parks or real estate included in the proposed sale;
  • The total price, terms, and conditions of an acceptable offer to sell all of the properties located in the state of Colorado; and
  • The price, terms, and conditions of an acceptable offer to sell each of the mobile home parks located in the state of Colorado that are included in the proposed sale." 8 CCR 1302-15 Rule 8.3(D)(i-iii).
• “[A]ny other terms or conditions which, if not met, would be sufficient grounds, in the landlord's discretion, to reject an offer from a group of home owners or their assignees.” Note that "[t]he price, terms, and conditions stated in the notice must be universal and applicable to all potential buyers and must not be specific to and prohibitive of a group or association of home owners or their assignees making a successful offer to purchase the park." C.R.S. § 38-12-217(3).
   

No. State law requires the seller to deliver and post the sale notice using the specific methods listed below.

State law (C.R.S. § 38-12-217(2)(a)(I)-(IV)) says the landlord must provide the sale notice by certified mail to all of the following:

• Each home owner
• The municipality or county within which the park is located
• The Division of Housing, at:
  CO Division of Housing
  Attention: MHP Sales
  1313 Sherman St #320
  Denver, CO 80203
• Each home owners’ association, residents’ association, or similar body that represents the residents of the park

In addition, state law says the landlord must

• “[P]ost a copy of the notice for each home owner in a conspicuous place on the mobile home or at the main point of entry to the lot [emphasis added].”  C.R.S. § 38-12-217(2)(a)(I);
• “Provide the notice in both English and Spanish by e-mail to each resident who has an e-mail address on file with the landlord [emphasis added].”  C.R.S. § 38-12-217(2)(b)(I); and
• “Post the notice in both English and Spanish in a clearly visible location in common areas of the mobile home park, including any community hall or recreation hall. The notice must remain publicly posted for a period of at least one hundred twenty days from the date it is posted or until the opportunity to purchase has expired [emphasis added].” C.R.S. § 38-12-217(2)(b)(II)(A).

A seller may hand deliver an additional copy of the sale notice to residents if the seller chooses to do so, but this is not required by statute.
 

No. State law requires the seller to mail the sale notice to the Division by certified mail. Sale notices can be mailed to:

CO Division of Housing
Attention: MHP Sales
1313 Sherman St #320
Denver, CO 80203

A seller may, but is not required to, send an additional copy of the sale notice to the Division by email to MHPOP@state.co.us.

No. You are required to include all of the same information in the notice to the municipality/county and the Division of Housing as the notice to home owners, including the price, terms and conditions of the sale.  However, you may request in the letter that all parties receiving the letter keep the information confidential. C.R.S. § 38-12-217(3). 

Note that the home owners have the opportunity to assign their right to make an offer to buy the park to a public entity, like a local government or housing authority. If the home owners enter into an assignment contract with a public entity, and other conditions in the statute are met, the public entity could have a right of first refusal to buy the park. More information on this can be found in section 38-12-217(8), C.R.S. 
 

No, you will only need to send the notice to either the municipality or the county, depending on whether the mobile home park is in an incorporated or unincorporated area.

You should contact the town or county to see which office would like to receive the notice. If you do not get a response, the Division recommends sending the notice to the clerk and recorder.

No. State law required that the landlord “provide notice of the landlord's intent to sell the park within fourteen days of a triggering event demonstrating the landlord's intent to sell.” C.R.S. § 38-12-217(1)(a)(I). The Division does not have the authority to ‘exempt’ sellers from requirements in state law.

There are several things that could happen if a seller does not provide the required sale notice(s) and one-hundred-twenty-day (120-day) opportunity to purchase to home owners, or if a sale notice is missing one or more pieces of required information. Section 38-12-217(15), C.R.S., describes some of the penalties and enforcement actions home owners, the Division of Housing, and/or the Attorney General may take. For example:

One or more home owners or their assignees may file a civil action against the seller. C.R.S. §§ 38-12-217(15)(d) and 38-12-220.

The Division of Housing may:

• Issue a Cease and Desist Order or Written Determination and Notice of Violation requiring the seller to provide a new/corrected sale notice and restart the 120-day home owner opportunity to purchase period;
• “Impose a fine on the seller of the mobile home park in an amount not to exceed thirty percent [30%] of the sale or listing price of the park, whichever is greater”; and/or
• “File a civil action for injunctive or other relief in the district court for the district in which the park is located.”  C.R.S. §§ 38-12-217(15)(b) and 38-12-1105.

If a seller substantially fails to comply with section 38-12-217, C.R.S., the Attorney General may:

• “[I]nform the registrar of titles that the home owners with property interests under this section have an adverse claim on the property, which must be recorded on the certificate of title”;
• “[I]ssue an order providing temporary injunctive relief to preserve the ownership status quo if the order is issued prior to a transfer of title, or to revert the ownership [. . .] if the order is issued after the transfer of title”; and/or
• “[F]ile a civil action to secure and enforce the rights of home owners” under section 38-12-217, C.R.S.  C.R.S. § 38-12-217(15)(c).
   

A group or association of home owners of their assignees has one hundred and twenty (120) calendar days to submit an offer to purchase the park.

Sellers must wait for at least ninety (90) calendar days after providing notice of their intent to sell the park to ask for home owners' intentions or signed writings accepting or declining the opportunity to purchase the park. Sellers must use the Division-approved forms below to request home owners' signatures.

Division of Housing Forms: Home Owner Intent - Opportunity to Purchase Park

• English
• Spanish

If at least fifty percent (50%) of home owners return the Division-approved forms to the seller and state they are not interested in participating in a home owner effort to buy the park, the opportunity to purchase period ends and the seller may move forward with the sale. Note that the 50 percent calculation is based on the total number of home owners in the park, not the total number of homes.

Yes. You cannot enter an unconditional contract with a buyer until the home owners' opportunity to purchase period has expired. However, you may enter a conditional contract with the potential buyer, ex. a contract that recognizes the home owners' opportunity to purchase rights and says, for example, that the potential sale is conditioned on compliance with section 38-12-217, C.R.S.