An Act to Foster Stable and Affordable Home Ownership in Mobile Home Parks by Amending the Laws Relating to the Sale of Mobile Home Parks
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 1931
Committee: Judiciary
Sponsors: GERE, ABDI, ANKELES, DILL, DOUDERA, KESSLER, OSHER, RIELLY, SUPICA
Amends: 10 MRSA §9094-A, 33 MRSA §654

Legislative Document
No. 1931
H.P. 1239
House of Representatives, May 15, 2023
An Act to Foster Stable and Affordable Home Ownership in Mobile 
Home Parks by Amending the Laws Relating to the Sale of Mobile 
Home Parks
Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative GERE of Kennebunkport.
Cosponsored by Representatives: ABDI of Lewiston, ANKELES of Brunswick, DILL of Old 
Town, DOUDERA of Camden, KESSLER of South Portland, OSHER of Orono, RIELLY of 
Westbrook, SUPICA of Bangor.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  10 MRSA §9094-A, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 768, is repealed and 
the following enacted in its place:
1.  Notice required.  The owner of a mobile home park shall give notice of the intent 
to sell the mobile home park to each owner of a mobile home in the mobile home park and 
to the department of the Maine State Housing Authority that provides home-buyer 
assistance.  The owner of the mobile home park may not make a final unconditional 
acceptance of an offer for the sale of the mobile home park earlier than the 60th day after 
the date the notice was mailed as required by this subsection.  The notice must include:
A. A statement that a group of mobile home owners or a mobile home owners' 
association of the mobile home park may make an offer to purchase the mobile home 
park within 60 days of the mailing date of the notice; and
B. Either:
(1) The price, terms and conditions for which the owner of the mobile home park 
intends to sell the mobile home park; or
(2) The price, terms and conditions of any acceptable offer the owner of the mobile 
home park has received for the mobile home park, including a signed copy of the 
written offer that contains a description of the property.  The owner may redact the 
name, address, contact information or other identifying information of the party 
making the offer.
The notice must be mailed by certified mail, return receipt requested, to each mobile home 
owner at the mobile home owner's home address and to the department of the Maine State 
Housing Authority that provides home-buyer assistance at the department's main office.
Sec. 2.  10 MRSA §9094-A, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 768, is repealed.
Sec. 3.  10 MRSA §9094-A, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 768, is repealed.
Sec. 4.  10 MRSA §9094-A, sub-§3-A is enacted to read:
3-A.  Group of mobile home owners or a mobile home owners' association 
purchase.  The owner of a mobile home park shall consider any offer received before the 
60th day after the date the notice was mailed as required by subsection 1 from a group of 
mobile home owners or a mobile home owners' association, as long as the mobile home 
owners of at least 51% of the mobile homes in the mobile home park that are occupied by 
the mobile home owner or a family member of the mobile home owner sign a petition or 
otherwise indicate in writing that they support making the offer.  The owner of the mobile 
home park shall negotiate in good faith with the group of mobile home owners or the mobile 
home owners' association concerning a purchase pursuant to an offer made under this 
subsection.  An offer made by the group of mobile home owners or the mobile home 
owners' association must include a purchase and sale agreement.  If the owner of the mobile 
home park accepts the offer of the group of mobile home owners or the mobile home 
owners' association, the group of mobile home owners or the mobile home owners' 
association must obtain appropriate financing before the 90th day after the execution date 
of the purchase and sale agreement.
Sec. 5.  10 MRSA §9094-A, sub-§3-B is enacted to read:
3-B.  Applicability.  This section does not apply to:
A. A sale after foreclosure by a bank, mortgage company or other mortgagee at a 
foreclosure sale or a sale after purchase at a foreclosure sale;
B. A sale or transfer to a family member of the owner of the mobile home park or to a 
trust, the beneficiaries of which are family members of the owner of the mobile home 
park. For purposes of this paragraph, "family member" means a person identified in 
Title 18-C, section 2-102 as eligible for intestate share;
C. A sale or transfer by a partnership to one or more of its partners;
D. A conveyance of an interest in the mobile home park incidental to the financing of 
the mobile home park;
E. A sale or transfer between owners of the mobile home park who are joint tenants or 
tenants in common;
F. A sale pursuant to the exercise of the power of eminent domain; or
G.  A transfer that is by gift, devise, judicial decree or operation of law.
The requirements of this section apply separately to each substantially different offer to sell 
or purchase a mobile home park. 
Sec. 6.  10 MRSA §9094-A, sub-§3-C is enacted to read:
3-C.  Affidavit of compliance.  A mobile home park owner may record in the registry 
of deeds of the county or district in which the mobile home park is located an affidavit in 
which the park owner certifies that:
A.  The mobile home park owner has complied with the requirements of this section; 
or
B.  The sale of the mobile home park is exempted from the requirements of this section 
pursuant to subsection 3-B.
The mobile home park owner may send a copy of the affidavit to the Maine State Housing 
Authority. 
A party acquiring an interest in a mobile home park, a title insurance company and an 
attorney preparing, furnishing or examining evidence of title of the mobile home park may 
rely on the truth and accuracy of the statements appearing in an affidavit filed under this 
subsection and are under no obligation to inquire further as to any matter or fact relating to 
the mobile home park owner's compliance with the provisions of this section. This 
subsection must be liberally construed in order that all persons may rely on the record title 
to a mobile home park.
Sec. 7.  10 MRSA §9094-A, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 768, is amended to 
read:
4.  Enforcement.  A mobile homeowner home owner, group of mobile homeowners 
home owners or a mobile homeowners' home owners' association aggrieved by a violation 
of this section may bring an action in Superior Court against the violator for injunctive 
relief, damages and attorney's fees. A violation of any of the provisions of this chapter is 
considered prima facie evidence of an unfair or deceptive trade practice under Title 5, 
chapter 10.
Sec. 8.  33 MRSA §654, first ¶, as amended by PL 2003, c. 55, §4, is further 
amended to read:
Registers shall receive and record all certificates in equitable proceedings, copies of 
judgments and decrees certified by the clerk of courts in the county where the complaint is 
pending or the judgment or decree is rendered, certified copies of the proceedings of any 
court, corporation, municipal body or other tribunal through or by which the right of 
eminent domain has been or may be exercised to affect the title to real estate, copies of 
portions of wills devising real estate situated in their respective counties or districts, 
affidavits filed under Title 10, section 9094-A, subsection 3-C and all other instruments 
that they are by law required to record.  They shall receive all copies of seizures on 
execution and special attachments made and attested by any officer of real property situate 
in their respective counties or districts and certify on them the time when they are received, 
and certificates of advertised stallions and copies of processes against domestic 
corporations filed for service by officers in the registry, keep them on file for the inspection 
of parties interested and enter them in suitable records properly indexed.
SUMMARY
This bill requires the owner of a mobile home park to give notice of the intent to sell 
the mobile home park to each mobile home owner of the mobile home park and to the 
department of the Maine State Housing Authority that provides home-buyer assistance. It 
requires a 60-day window in which the owner is required to negotiate in good faith with a 
group of mobile home owners or a mobile home owners' association that makes an offer to 
purchase the mobile home park and provides a deadline by which the group of mobile home 
owners or a mobile home owners' association must secure financing if the offer is accepted.  
It provides that a violation of the requirement for notice of intent to sell or to negotiate in 
good faith is considered an unfair or deceptive trade practice.