Before adjourning for the summer recess last week, the U.S. Senate passed H.R. 3700, the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA), which includes language allowing Section 8 vouchers to be used for the purchase of manufactured homes.  MHI was a part of a coalition of more than 40 housing and advocacy groups supporting Senate passage of the legislation, which was already passed unanimously by the House of Representatives in February. Congress sent the bill to the President for his signature on Tuesday, and he is expected to sign it into law.

The provision increasing the flexibility for low income families to use a Section 8 voucher to purchase a manufactured home was added on the House floor in February by an amendment offered by Representative Peter Welch (D-VT).  Passed by a voice vote, the amendment allows Section 8 vouchers to be used not just for the cost of leasing the land (which is currently permitted) but also for other monthly costs of purchasing a manufactured home, including mortgage payments, property tax, and insurance.  This change would allow families that receive a tenant-based Section 8 voucher to help pay for an alternative to renting an apartment - allowing them to actually purchase a home.  The language does not provide any direct funds or require anyone to use a voucher to live in a manufactured home. However, with this change, the approximately 2.1 million Section 8 voucher holders in America will now have the option to use their Section 8 voucher to buy a manufactured home. 

The amendment was supported by Financial Services Committee Chairman Hensarling (R-TX) and Ranking Member Waters (D-CA). 

Overall, H.R. 3700 reforms federal housing programs to improve families' access to high-opportunity areas, improve public housing residents' quality of life, cut program costs, encourage work, expand homeownership opportunities, and reduce homelessness.  The MHC industry worked as a part of a coalition of housing and advocacy groups urging passage of these reforms.  MHC advocates played a major role in first getting an identical manufactured housing provision passed in the 2007 Section 8 reform bill (H.R. 1851) and in Section 8 reform bills in subsequent Congresses. While Congress has vetted most of the bill's provisions over the years as part of previous proposals that have had broad support in Congress and from stakeholders, the reforms never became law.

Section 8 Housing will be a major topic at this year's MHCO Conference - October 24-25th in Eugene.  We are receiving an increasing number of phone calls on Section 8 vochures.   Make sure you know your rights and responsibilities as managers and landlords when it comes to this important affordable housing program!

A New Jersey landlord recently agreed to pay $5,000 to settle allegations that he refused to rent to a prospect after she expressed her intention to pay her rent using federal Section 8 housing vouchers, according to an announcement by New Jersey Acting Attorney General Robert Lougy and the Division of Civil Rights.

The federal Section 8 housing voucher program provides financial assistance to eligible persons for the rental of privately owned housing. New Jersey fair housing law bans discrimination based on source of lawful income used for rental or mortgage payments, including Section 8 housing vouchers.

According to her complaint, the prospect saw an apartment rental advertised on Craigslist in February 2012, but when she called, a woman told her that the landlord didn't accept Section 8 housing vouchers. When she called back a few days later, the prospect said she spoke with the landlord, who allegedly said that he used to accept Section 8 vouchers, but no longer did.

When later questioned by investigators, the landlord said he didn't recall speaking with the woman, but he allegedly acknowledged that he didn't accept Section 8 vouchers because of difficulties with a prior resident who paid with them.

Under the settlement, the landlord and his company will be subject to monitoring by the Division for two years to ensure compliance with fair housing laws. Among other things, the settlement requires them to keep detailed records of all applicants, including contact information, the type of unit they sought, whether they were offered an opportunity to rent, and the reason for any applicant rejection. In addition, the landlord, who is an attorney, agreed to attend continuing legal education on the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, including a module on fair housing laws. Under the agreement, failure to comply with any aspect of the settlement will result in reinstatement of a $5,000 civil penalty that was suspended.

This settlement represents a fair resolution to a troubling matter

Political Lay of the Land for Oregon Business Community in 2016 - It is Not Pretty

IP28 - Business Tax Initiative will be the big driver of this year's election.    May cost the business community $22 million to defeat.  Dilemma for business community is we may defeat IP28 but lose more seats in the Oregon House - in which case the Democrats would have a Super Majority and pass IP 28 in the 2017 Legislative Session.  They only need to pick up one more seat (flip a Republican seat to a Democrat) and they will have a super majority in both the House and Senate.  Financial resources will be tight because of IP28 - in the end the business community and the Republican caucus expect to only fully fund" four or five of the House seats "in play".  Priority will be to protect incumbents.

No one knows how the national ticket will impact Oregon Legislative races.  In the 2016 Oregon Primary Election Democrats turned out 66% of the vote

Editor's Note:  Recently came across this article.  Although it pertains to Seattle this could just as easily happen in Salem, Medford, Bend or Newport.  Make sure you know your Fair Housing Laws!!

The Seattle Office for Civil Rights (SOCR) recently filed charges against 23 property owners after its latest round of fair housing testing allegedly showed that prospective renters experienced different treatment from Seattle landlords based on familial status, disability, and use of a federal Section 8 voucher.

Housing discrimination is real in Seattle--not something that just happens in other places

What is this thing called Marketing?

Let's first look at what Webster has to say about the meaning of "marketing" - (1) the act or process of buying and selling in a market; and (2) the commercial functions involved in transferring goods from producer to consumer.  A more commercial definition of marketing that might be found in a high school or college text could read something like this: "creating a sale with the consumer for your product and/or service."

         Then, let's look at Webster's definition of "promoting" - (1) to forward or further, to encourage, to advance; (2) to raise to a more important rank, to contribute to the progress or growth of, to urge adoption of or advocate; and (3) to attempt to sell or popularize by advertising or by securing financial support.  Again, a more commercial definition of promoting might be something like: "bringing the consumer to your product and/or service."

         These definitions tell us that we need to be involved in both promoting and marketing!  It is the act of promoting that creates enthusiasm and brings us the traffic.  It is the act of marketing that defines the sale of a home or signing of a lease.  Without both of these tools in your toolkit, you would have a really hard time filling, re-filling, or upgrading your community.

Deciding Why you Want to Market

Do you want to promote because you have a new development?  Or will it be to fill vacancies within an existing community, or to upgrade (and turn around) an older community?  Each of these three stages of a community requires a different marketing plan, a different focus, different promotional strategies, and differing amounts of involvement.

Marketing has been the subject of many volumes of material, college courses, high school courses, and numerous articles in literally thousands of magazines. There are many facets of marketing for whatever business you try to promote.  It depends on the type of market you are in, the general state of the economy at the time you decide to start a promotion and marketing program, whether you are creating a demand or meeting a need, and several other variables.

Who are your Partners in Marketing?

Media Sources

• Motif
• Residents
• Employees
• Retailers
• Curb Appeal
• Vendors
• Personal Development
• Professionalism
• Industry Knowledge
• Civic Involvement

The Mental Picture of Marketing

Every minute of every day in every dealing you have with each person, you are promoting yourself, the company you represent, your community, and the industry as a whole.  Picture a diagram that consists of a huge wheel.  There is a hub in the very center. It is a small circle.  You are this hub.  Radiating outward from this hub are eleven spokes that then connect with a huge wheel on the outside.  Each of the eleven spokes is one of the areas of promotion we are going to discuss in this handbook.  The huge wheel on the outside is your market: the general public, the planning and zoning officials. 

In other words, this huge wheel is a never-ending stream of potential customers.  This huge wheel also makes up the members of the general public at large.  Everyone has an opinion.  On this huge wheel, everyone has an opinion about manufactured housing and manufactured home communities.  Part of a successful promotion and marketing program is to create more and more favorable opinions of the general public that is part of that huge wheel. 

When the one of the eleven spokes joins the wheel, a direct line of vision, understanding and agreement is created between the hub (you) and the wheel (your market).  Both ends of the spoke (you in the hub and the general public on the wheel) then see things the same way.  The conduit that enables this "coming together" of opinion is the spoke that links you in your hub with your potential customer on the huge wheel.  When this happens, you have successfully created a promotion (being noticed) that may result in effective marketing (a sale or lease).   The other positive side effect is usually the creation of a more favorable image of the manufactured housing industry as a whole.

When the public that is represented by the wheel is comprised of elected officials, your promotional efforts may result in positive zoning decisions or approval of expansion plans for a new community.  When that public represents your customer, you will have created a sale of a home or a lease of a homesite.  We need all kinds of people from this public arena on our side.

This illustration gives you a visual image of the way a successful promotion can take you where you have never been before - or leave you spinning around in circles.  You are in the center ring.  Take charge of your promotional efforts.  Create new markets.  Realize new growth opportunities.  Change the image of manufactured housing.  It all starts with you!

A successful promotion and marketing program will affect your staff, your community, your residents, their friends, their co-workers and families, the surrounding business community, and the industry as a whole in a positive way.  It will help change the perception of manufactured housing in the eyes of the uneducated public, the elected officials, and increase the number of homeowners.  Your successful promotion and marketing program will generate a continued bottom-line growth for your community and your company while providing housing that is perceived as a true value by your customers.

And, by the same token, an unsuccessful promotion and marketing program - or the total lack of one - can keep your community frozen in time.  It can perpetuate a negative image of the industry.  It will hamper your efforts in expansion, fill or upgrade.  It will prevent you from reaching the highest level of personal and professional excellence that is obtainable.  To be more blunt, the lack of a promotion and marketing program that does good means you, your community, and the industry will suffer.  It means that more people will neither believe nor share the positive messages the industry has to offer.

Key Concepts to a Successful Marketing Program 

• A successful promotion is a successful perception of value
• Every day is Open House
• Curb appeal is your job
• Use white classifieds
• Use reverse classifieds
• Create a comparison grid for your community
• Look at your community honestly - through the eyes of a video
• Enforce your Guidelines for better curb appeal
• Remember that word-of-mouth is your best advertising
• Utilize business cards in new and creative ways
• Everyone forms an opinion and every opinion matters
• We are no better than others perceive us to be
• Help retailers understand the values of your community
• Allow them to use the amenities
• Invite them to activities
• Offer a special tour for new salespeople
• Allow them to install model homes
• Hang a lifestyle picture in their sales office
• Visit on a regular basis
• Use custom labels for bags of donuts or candy
• Color code a map with vacant sites and sizes of homes
• Send gift certificates to a salesman's spouse
• Call to thank them for sending prospects
• Consider using resident referrals
• Free rent
• Certificates for dinner
• Mention in the newsletter
• Create a win-win promotion
• Give a shed, plants, gift certificate from nursery, deck, patio furniture, lawn mower, lawn care for six months, snow removal for a season, sod for the lawn, reduced water bill for watering
• Take brochures to area businesses
• Join the chamber of commerce and volunteer on committees

What is this thing called Marketing?

Let's first look at what Webster has to say about the meaning of "marketing" - (1) the act or process of buying and selling in a market; and (2) the commercial functions involved in transferring goods from producer to consumer.  A more commercial definition of marketing that might be found in a high school or college text could read something like this: "creating a sale with the consumer for your product and/or service."

         Then, let's look at Webster's definition of "promoting" - (1) to forward or further, to encourage, to advance; (2) to raise to a more important rank, to contribute to the progress or growth of, to urge adoption of or advocate; and (3) to attempt to sell or popularize by advertising or by securing financial support.  Again, a more commercial definition of promoting might be something like: "bringing the consumer to your product and/or service."

         These definitions tell us that we need to be involved in both promoting and marketing!  It is the act of promoting that creates enthusiasm and brings us the traffic.  It is the act of marketing that defines the sale of a home or signing of a lease.  Without both of these tools in your toolkit, you would have a really hard time filling, re-filling, or upgrading your community.

Deciding Why you Want to Market

Do you want to promote because you have a new development?  Or will it be to fill vacancies within an existing community, or to upgrade (and turn around) an older community?  Each of these three stages of a community requires a different marketing plan, a different focus, different promotional strategies, and differing amounts of involvement.

Marketing has been the subject of many volumes of material, college courses, high school courses, and numerous articles in literally thousands of magazines. There are many facets of marketing for whatever business you try to promote.  It depends on the type of market you are in, the general state of the economy at the time you decide to start a promotion and marketing program, whether you are creating a demand or meeting a need, and several other variables.

Who are your Partners in Marketing?

Media Sources

• Motif
• Residents
• Employees
• Retailers
• Curb Appeal
• Vendors
• Personal Development
• Professionalism
• Industry Knowledge
• Civic Involvement

The Mental Picture of Marketing

Every minute of every day in every dealing you have with each person, you are promoting yourself, the company you represent, your community, and the industry as a whole.  Picture a diagram that consists of a huge wheel.  There is a hub in the very center. It is a small circle.  You are this hub.  Radiating outward from this hub are eleven spokes that then connect with a huge wheel on the outside.  Each of the eleven spokes is one of the areas of promotion we are going to discuss in this handbook.  The huge wheel on the outside is your market: the general public, the planning and zoning officials. 

In other words, this huge wheel is a never-ending stream of potential customers.  This huge wheel also makes up the members of the general public at large.  Everyone has an opinion.  On this huge wheel, everyone has an opinion about manufactured housing and manufactured home communities.  Part of a successful promotion and marketing program is to create more and more favorable opinions of the general public that is part of that huge wheel. 

When the one of the eleven spokes joins the wheel, a direct line of vision, understanding and agreement is created between the hub (you) and the wheel (your market).  Both ends of the spoke (you in the hub and the general public on the wheel) then see things the same way.  The conduit that enables this "coming together" of opinion is the spoke that links you in your hub with your potential customer on the huge wheel.  When this happens, you have successfully created a promotion (being noticed) that may result in effective marketing (a sale or lease).   The other positive side effect is usually the creation of a more favorable image of the manufactured housing industry as a whole.

When the public that is represented by the wheel is comprised of elected officials, your promotional efforts may result in positive zoning decisions or approval of expansion plans for a new community.  When that public represents your customer, you will have created a sale of a home or a lease of a homesite.  We need all kinds of people from this public arena on our side.

This illustration gives you a visual image of the way a successful promotion can take you where you have never been before - or leave you spinning around in circles.  You are in the center ring.  Take charge of your promotional efforts.  Create new markets.  Realize new growth opportunities.  Change the image of manufactured housing.  It all starts with you!

A successful promotion and marketing program will affect your staff, your community, your residents, their friends, their co-workers and families, the surrounding business community, and the industry as a whole in a positive way.  It will help change the perception of manufactured housing in the eyes of the uneducated public, the elected officials, and increase the number of homeowners.  Your successful promotion and marketing program will generate a continued bottom-line growth for your community and your company while providing housing that is perceived as a true value by your customers.

And, by the same token, an unsuccessful promotion and marketing program - or the total lack of one - can keep your community frozen in time.  It can perpetuate a negative image of the industry.  It will hamper your efforts in expansion, fill or upgrade.  It will prevent you from reaching the highest level of personal and professional excellence that is obtainable.  To be more blunt, the lack of a promotion and marketing program that does good means you, your community, and the industry will suffer.  It means that more people will neither believe nor share the positive messages the industry has to offer.

Key Concepts to a Successful Marketing Program 

• A successful promotion is a successful perception of value
• Every day is Open House
• Curb appeal is your job
• Use white classifieds
• Use reverse classifieds
• Create a comparison grid for your community
• Look at your community honestly - through the eyes of a video
• Enforce your Guidelines for better curb appeal
• Remember that word-of-mouth is your best advertising
• Utilize business cards in new and creative ways
• Everyone forms an opinion and every opinion matters
• We are no better than others perceive us to be
• Help retailers understand the values of your community
• Allow them to use the amenities
• Invite them to activities
• Offer a special tour for new salespeople
• Allow them to install model homes
• Hang a lifestyle picture in their sales office
• Visit on a regular basis
• Use custom labels for bags of donuts or candy
• Color code a map with vacant sites and sizes of homes
• Send gift certificates to a salesman's spouse
• Call to thank them for sending prospects
• Consider using resident referrals
• Free rent
• Certificates for dinner
• Mention in the newsletter
• Create a win-win promotion
• Give a shed, plants, gift certificate from nursery, deck, patio furniture, lawn mower, lawn care for six months, snow removal for a season, sod for the lawn, reduced water bill for watering
• Take brochures to area businesses
• Join the chamber of commerce and volunteer on committees

What is this thing called Marketing?

Let's first look at what Webster has to say about the meaning of "marketing" - (1) the act or process of buying and selling in a market; and (2) the commercial functions involved in transferring goods from producer to consumer.  A more commercial definition of marketing that might be found in a high school or college text could read something like this: "creating a sale with the consumer for your product and/or service."

         Then, let's look at Webster's definition of "promoting" - (1) to forward or further, to encourage, to advance; (2) to raise to a more important rank, to contribute to the progress or growth of, to urge adoption of or advocate; and (3) to attempt to sell or popularize by advertising or by securing financial support.  Again, a more commercial definition of promoting might be something like: "bringing the consumer to your product and/or service."

         These definitions tell us that we need to be involved in both promoting and marketing!  It is the act of promoting that creates enthusiasm and brings us the traffic.  It is the act of marketing that defines the sale of a home or signing of a lease.  Without both of these tools in your toolkit, you would have a really hard time filling, re-filling, or upgrading your community.

Deciding Why you Want to Market

Do you want to promote because you have a new development?  Or will it be to fill vacancies within an existing community, or to upgrade (and turn around) an older community?  Each of these three stages of a community requires a different marketing plan, a different focus, different promotional strategies, and differing amounts of involvement.

Marketing has been the subject of many volumes of material, college courses, high school courses, and numerous articles in literally thousands of magazines. There are many facets of marketing for whatever business you try to promote.  It depends on the type of market you are in, the general state of the economy at the time you decide to start a promotion and marketing program, whether you are creating a demand or meeting a need, and several other variables.

Who are your Partners in Marketing?

Media Sources

• Motif
• Residents
• Employees
• Retailers
• Curb Appeal
• Vendors
• Personal Development
• Professionalism
• Industry Knowledge
• Civic Involvement

The Mental Picture of Marketing

Every minute of every day in every dealing you have with each person, you are promoting yourself, the company you represent, your community, and the industry as a whole.  Picture a diagram that consists of a huge wheel.  There is a hub in the very center. It is a small circle.  You are this hub.  Radiating outward from this hub are eleven spokes that then connect with a huge wheel on the outside.  Each of the eleven spokes is one of the areas of promotion we are going to discuss in this handbook.  The huge wheel on the outside is your market: the general public, the planning and zoning officials. 

In other words, this huge wheel is a never-ending stream of potential customers.  This huge wheel also makes up the members of the general public at large.  Everyone has an opinion.  On this huge wheel, everyone has an opinion about manufactured housing and manufactured home communities.  Part of a successful promotion and marketing program is to create more and more favorable opinions of the general public that is part of that huge wheel. 

When the one of the eleven spokes joins the wheel, a direct line of vision, understanding and agreement is created between the hub (you) and the wheel (your market).  Both ends of the spoke (you in the hub and the general public on the wheel) then see things the same way.  The conduit that enables this "coming together" of opinion is the spoke that links you in your hub with your potential customer on the huge wheel.  When this happens, you have successfully created a promotion (being noticed) that may result in effective marketing (a sale or lease).   The other positive side effect is usually the creation of a more favorable image of the manufactured housing industry as a whole.

When the public that is represented by the wheel is comprised of elected officials, your promotional efforts may result in positive zoning decisions or approval of expansion plans for a new community.  When that public represents your customer, you will have created a sale of a home or a lease of a homesite.  We need all kinds of people from this public arena on our side.

This illustration gives you a visual image of the way a successful promotion can take you where you have never been before - or leave you spinning around in circles.  You are in the center ring.  Take charge of your promotional efforts.  Create new markets.  Realize new growth opportunities.  Change the image of manufactured housing.  It all starts with you!

A successful promotion and marketing program will affect your staff, your community, your residents, their friends, their co-workers and families, the surrounding business community, and the industry as a whole in a positive way.  It will help change the perception of manufactured housing in the eyes of the uneducated public, the elected officials, and increase the number of homeowners.  Your successful promotion and marketing program will generate a continued bottom-line growth for your community and your company while providing housing that is perceived as a true value by your customers.

And, by the same token, an unsuccessful promotion and marketing program - or the total lack of one - can keep your community frozen in time.  It can perpetuate a negative image of the industry.  It will hamper your efforts in expansion, fill or upgrade.  It will prevent you from reaching the highest level of personal and professional excellence that is obtainable.  To be more blunt, the lack of a promotion and marketing program that does good means you, your community, and the industry will suffer.  It means that more people will neither believe nor share the positive messages the industry has to offer.

Key Concepts to a Successful Marketing Program 

• A successful promotion is a successful perception of value
• Every day is Open House
• Curb appeal is your job
• Use white classifieds
• Use reverse classifieds
• Create a comparison grid for your community
• Look at your community honestly - through the eyes of a video
• Enforce your Guidelines for better curb appeal
• Remember that word-of-mouth is your best advertising
• Utilize business cards in new and creative ways
• Everyone forms an opinion and every opinion matters
• We are no better than others perceive us to be
• Help retailers understand the values of your community
• Allow them to use the amenities
• Invite them to activities
• Offer a special tour for new salespeople
• Allow them to install model homes
• Hang a lifestyle picture in their sales office
• Visit on a regular basis
• Use custom labels for bags of donuts or candy
• Color code a map with vacant sites and sizes of homes
• Send gift certificates to a salesman's spouse
• Call to thank them for sending prospects
• Consider using resident referrals
• Free rent
• Certificates for dinner
• Mention in the newsletter
• Create a win-win promotion
• Give a shed, plants, gift certificate from nursery, deck, patio furniture, lawn mower, lawn care for six months, snow removal for a season, sod for the lawn, reduced water bill for watering
• Take brochures to area businesses
• Join the chamber of commerce and volunteer on committees

MHCO has uploaded a revised Form 1 (Resident Application) and a completely new Form 1A. MHCO created the additional form (Form 1A) to accompany the general application (Form 1) to be used if the applicant reports any criminal history. These changes will go a long way in complying with the HUD memo, without unduly burdening landlords and managers.

We are currently working on language for your 'screening criteria' - we hope to have that available shortly. There will be an extensive seminar on the new application process at the MHCO Annual Conference on October 24th and 25th. In the meantime MHCO will be providing information as it becomes available.

If you have any questions please contact the MHCO office at 503-391-4496.

By:  Phillip C. Querin, MHCO Legal Counsel

The difference between a well-run manufactured housing community and one with problems frequently lies with the rules and regulations each facility has adopted.  Here are some tips for developing a set of rules and regulations that may be helpful in the successful operation of your community:

1. Avoid Ambiguity.  When writing a rule, make sure that it is understandable.  If a court or jury were called upon to enforce it, would they be able to understand it?  Is it fair?  Is the rule capable of different interpretations?  Is it too vague so as to give little or no guidance to the tenant?  Avoid using general terms which are so subjective that reasonable people could differ about what constitutes a violation.  If necessary, use an example.  If the rule must necessarily be open-ended (e.g. prohibiting loud and disturbing noise or offensive behavior), tie the violation to whether the conduct results in complaints from other tenants.  That way the issue does not become whether the manager is arbitrarily exercising his or her own discretion.
2. Updating the Rules.  Oregon landlord-tenant statutes can change every yerar when the Legislature meets.  Circumstances and needs can change more frequently than that.  At least once a year, take a look at your rules to see if they are legally sufficient and whether they meet the community's present needs.  It is much easier to make smaller changes to the rules one or two at a time rather than trying to get the tenants to agree to a wholesale change of all the rules at once.  If your tenants are on leases, you have the right to submit new park documents (i.e. rules and rental agreement) not less than 60 days prior to the expiration of the lease term.  A tenant shall accept or reject the landlord's proposed new rental agreement at least 30 days prior to the ending of the term by giving written notice to the landlord.  If accepted, the rules and rental agreement will define your new rental relationship with the tenants.  It is one good way to update your rules, without having to go through a formal rules change.
3. Legally Adopting Your Rules.  If the tenants are on month-to-month tenancies, Oregon law requires that the landlord must give at least 30 days' advance written notice to make a change in the rules.  If 51% or more of the tenants affected by the rule change object within the 30 days of service of the notice, the change(s) will not go into effect.  However, if less than 51% object, the new rule(s) will become effective in 60 days from the date the notice was served on the tenants.  The law regarding the contents and timing of the notice of rule change must be strictly followed.  ORS 90.610 describes the process.  Read it carefully!  And use MHCO Form 60: "Sixty Day Notice of Rule Change".  Simply sending a letter to the tenants informing them of a change in the rules is insufficient.  If the rules are not properly adopted they will not be enforceable.  Frequently, the landlord or manager will first learn that their rules were improperly adopted when they try to enforce them.  If one or more of the rules you seek to adopt are opposed by a small but vocal minority who lobby the rest of the tenants against your change, consider meeting with them prior to giving notice of the proposed change, in an effort to mutually draft language that everyone would find acceptable.  If over 51% of the effected space still object, consider implementing the new rules for all new incoming tenants only.  That way, over time, the new rules will have wider and wider application as the older tenants

1. Keeping Track of Your Rules.  If there are more than one set of rules (i.e. old rules for existing tenants and new rules that are given to new tenants) make sure you keep track of which rules apply to which tenant.  Put copies of the applicable rules, together with the rental agreement and statement of policy, in each tenant's file.  Attempting to enforce the wrong rules against a tenant can result in disaster.  Show the date of the latest revision on the first page or, better yet, on the footer of each page.
2. Troublesome Issues.  There are some issues that seem to never go away.  Occupancy issues are one of those troublesome areas that frequently result in litigation.  If your community has rules limiting the time a visitor can stay, make sure it is clear and unambiguous.  Frequently tenants try to avoid these limits by calling their visitor a "house-sitter."  The best approach is to set a definite date, e.g. two weeks, and require that all persons who remain over that period of time must satisfy the same requirements as imposed on incoming tenants - e.g. background check, criminal check, references, etc.  Require that they sign the rental agreement.  If the existing tenant attempts to get around these occupancy rules by arguing that the person is there to provide necessary assistance because of certain physical or emotional disabilities, legal counsel should be immediately consulted due to Fair Housing implications.
3. Consistent Enforcement.  It is not uncommon for landlords and managers to grant exceptions and extensions of time for tenants to come into compliance with a particular violation.  However, landlords can get into trouble when they ignore some violators and enforce the rules against others.  Maintenance violations are a good example.  In order to enforce these rules you must be consistent.  Regular community inspections should be made.  Warnings should be given uniformly to all violators.  Thirty day notices should be given only as a last resort.  If the tenant requests an extension of time to comply, put the agreement in writing.  In those cases where legal action may need to be taken, make sure legal counsel reviews the case before filing the eviction.   Make sure your attorney is aware of your prior efforts to secure the tenant's compliance.  It is always best if the tenant's file shows a clear paper-trail of your efforts to secure voluntary compliance.

Rules and regulations are not foolproof.  Some tenants will always try to find reasons why they do not apply to them.  But clarity, consistency, and fair enforcement will go a long way in keeping peace and harmony in your manufactured housing community.

The Department of Justice has announced a settlement of a case involving an Indiana manufactured home community for violations of the federal Fair Housing Act. The $130,000 fine settles a federal lawsuit filed in May 2015, wherein the owner of a 173-lot manufactured home community in Crown Point, Indiana, was alleged to have violated the Fair Housing Act by refusing to allow families with children to live at the community.

"The Fair Housing Act guarantees families with children the right to choose a home without facing unlawful barriers of discrimination," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.  "The Justice Department will continue its vigorous enforcement of the Fair Housing Act to ensure that equal access to housing - a bedrock of the American dream - remains a reality for all families in our country."

The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin and disability. 

From Chicago Tribune (3-23-26):

Crown Point mobile home park accused of violating federal law by not allowing children to live there has agreed to stop its ban and to pay $130,000.

Gentle Manor Estates, at 1350 E. North St., reached a consent decree agreement with the federal government to settle a lawsuit filed in May against the mobile home park's policy of not renting homes to families with children.

According to court records, the U.S. Department of Justice had two "testers" call Gentle Manor in September 2014 to see if it would lease homes to those with children. When a woman called saying she, her husband and their child wanted to lease a home, Gentle Manor told her they didn't allow anyone younger than 40 to live there, including her child, records show.

Another tester, a man who said he would live by himself and was older than 40, was told he could lease a home.