When a home in a Florida mobile home park is replaced or improved, the park owner's authority comes almost entirely from one place: what the prospectus disclosed before the resident took occupancy. Section 723.042 makes that explicit for improvements, and section 723.012 sets what the prospectus had to say about lot sizes, setbacks and required improvements. Installation and tie-down standards come from a different agency entirely. Knowing which requirement rests on which source tells you which ones you can actually enforce.
The rule that decides most of these disputes
Section 723.042 is one sentence and it settles more arguments than any other provision in this area: "A person may not be required by a mobile home park owner or developer, as a condition of residence in the mobile home park, to provide any improvement unless the requirement is disclosed pursuant to s. 723.012(7) prior to occupancy in the mobile home park."
Section 723.012(7), in turn, requires the prospectus to contain "a description of all improvements, whether temporary or permanent, which are required to be installed by the mobile home owner as a condition of his or her occupancy in the park." Read the two together and the test is mechanical. Was this improvement described in the prospectus that was delivered to this resident before this resident took occupancy? If the answer is no, the park owner cannot require it as a condition of residence.
That has an awkward consequence in an older park. Residents who came in under different prospectus versions may carry different improvement obligations. A skirting specification added in a 2011 prospectus binds residents who received it and not the resident who took occupancy in 1998 under a prospectus that said nothing about skirting. Before management sends a park-wide letter, someone has to check which prospectus governs which lot. Our guide to prospectus requirements explains the filing and delivery rules that produce those versions.
Size, siting and setbacks
Section 723.041 carries the title "Entrance fees; refunds; exit fees prohibited; replacement homes," and its later subsections are the ones that matter when a home is replaced.
Subsection (4) states: "Except as expressly preempted by the requirements of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, a mobile home owner or the park owner shall be authorized pursuant to this section to site any size new or used mobile home and appurtenances on a mobile home lot in accordance with the lot sizes, separation and setback distances, and other requirements in effect at the time of the approval of the mobile home park."
Subsection (6) adds that the section "does not limit the regulation of the uniform firesafety standards established under s. 633.206, but supersedes any other density, separation, setback, or lot size regulation adopted after initial permitting and construction of the mobile home park." And subsection (5) allows a park damaged or destroyed by wind, water or other natural force to be rebuilt on the same site at the same density that was approved, permitted and built before the damage. In Southwest Florida that provision does real work, and it is covered further in our guide to hurricane recovery for mobile home communities.
The practical reading is that the governing dimensional standard is the one that applied when the park was approved, not a later local ordinance. The prospectus is supposed to state those numbers: § 723.012(4)(c)1. requires a description of the park property including the number of lots in each section, the approximate size of each lot, the setback requirements, and the minimum separation distance between mobile homes as required by law. If the prospectus is silent or inconsistent with the original approval, that is a question to resolve with counsel before a replacement home is turned away.
Age and appearance standards, where the statute goes quiet
Boards and managers routinely ask whether the park can require that an incoming home be no more than ten or fifteen years old, or that it have a particular roof profile or siding. Chapter 723 does not answer the question. There is no provision authorizing a minimum home-age standard, no provision requiring a homeowner to replace an aging home, and no provision requiring an upgrade at resale.
What the statute supplies instead is a route and a limit. The route is prospectus disclosure under § 723.012(7) plus properly promulgated rules under § 723.035, changed only on the 90-day track in § 723.037(1). The limit is the reasonableness standard: "unreasonable" means arbitrary, capricious, or inconsistent with the chapter, § 723.003(20), and a court may refuse to enforce an unreasonable provision or limit how it applies, § 723.033(1). A homeowners' committee may petition the Division for mediation within 30 days after the last scheduled meeting on the ground that a rule change is unreasonable. § 723.037(5)(a)4. Our guide to park rules and enforcement sets out that process in full.
There is also a useful cross-check from outside the chapter. Section 320.8285 provides that no local jurisdiction shall prohibit siting or resiting of used mobile homes based solely on the date the unit was manufactured. That constrains local governments rather than park owners, but a park rule that does exactly what the Legislature told counties not to do is a harder rule to defend as reasonable.
One more limit applies at the moment of sale. A park owner may not make or enforce any rule, regulation or rental agreement provision that requires the homeowner to remove the mobile home from the park solely on the basis of the sale of the home. § 723.058(1). The same subsection protects the right to sell the home in the park and to post a "for sale" sign, subject to properly promulgated and reasonable rules as to the size, placement and character of signs.
Skirting, steps, sheds, carports and awnings
These are the everyday items, and they divide into two categories that get treated very differently.
- Improvements the park requires as a condition of residence. Skirting, steps, a driveway, a carport, tie-down upgrades. These are governed by § 723.042 and are enforceable only if § 723.012(7) disclosure was made before occupancy. Nothing in § 723.023 names skirting, so the prospectus route is the only route.
- Improvements the homeowner wants to add. A shed, an awning, a screen room, a deck. These are governed by § 723.023(4), which requires the homeowner to receive written approval from the park owner before making any exterior modification or addition to the home. Here the park owner holds an approval right rather than a mandate, and the standards it applies should still be disclosed and reasonable.
The second category is where a park owner has the most practical control, and it is the one most often handled informally. A verbal approval from a manager who has since left is worth nothing when the structure has to come down. Keep the application, the drawing, the conditions and the written approval in the lot file.
Note the money limit that follows every requirement. No rule may provide for payment of any fee, fine, assessment or charge except as provided in the prospectus and until after the park owner has complied with § 723.037. § 723.035(2). A charge for reviewing an improvement application, or a penalty for non-compliant skirting, needs prospectus support or it is not collectible.
Installation, tie-downs and permits are a different agency's subject
Manufactured home installation in Florida is regulated by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, not by the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes and not through the Florida Building Code path most association counsel are used to. That is why § 723.041(4) opens with the phrase "Except as expressly preempted by the requirements of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles."
Section 320.8285 sets the enforcement structure. Counties and municipalities conduct onsite inspection of mobile home installations for compliance with the department's uniform installation standards. Each county or municipality may designate the persons who perform the inspection, and the department designates them if the local government does not. An installation permit may be issued only to a licensed mobile home installer, or to a licensed dealer or an owner who shows that a licensed installer will perform the work, and a permit issued to an owner must reflect the name and license number of the licensed installer. A certificate of occupancy issues on verified compliance.
The technical standards live in rule, at Fla. Admin. Code R. 15C-1.0102, Installation Standards for Mobile/Manufactured Homes and Park Trailers, and R. 15C-1.0104, Installation Standards for Anchors and Tie-downs. Those rules set anchor types and working loads, tie spacing, longitudinal tie requirements and over-the-top tie requirements, and they distinguish among homes by date of manufacture and by whether the home was labeled wind and hurricane resistant.
For a park owner the operating rule is simple. Do not write park rules that restate anchor counts or strap spacing. Require the permit, require the licensed installer, require the certificate of occupancy or the local inspection approval, and keep a copy in the lot file. A park rule that conflicts with the state installation standard is unenforceable and a park rule that merely repeats it goes out of date the next time the rule chapter is amended.
What this does to the lot rental amount
A replacement home is often the moment a park wants to reset the economics of a lot. Chapter 723 limits how far that can go.
| Charge | What the statute allows |
|---|---|
| Entrance fee on a new placement | Permitted only if specifically set forth in the prospectus or offering circular. § 723.041(1)(a). |
| Entrance fee when the buyer purchases a resident's home already in the park | Not permitted. § 723.041(3). |
| Refund if the home leaves within 2 years | One twenty-fourth of the fee for each month short of 2 years, refunded within 15 days after the home is physically moved. Exceptions for eviction on nonpayment, ordinance violation or rule violation, and for leaving before the agreement expires; sums due the park may be offset. § 723.041(1)(e). |
| Exit fee | Prohibited outright. "No person shall be required by a mobile home park owner to pay an exit fee upon termination of his or her residency." § 723.041(2). |
| A charge created by rule for improvements or inspections | Only if the prospectus provides for it and § 723.037 has been satisfied. § 723.035(2). |
| An increase in lot rental amount mid-term | Not permitted except as § 723.031(5) allows, and any increase requires the 90-day notice under § 723.037(1). |
| An increase when a buyer assumes the seller's agreement | On expiration of the assumed agreement, the park owner may increase the lot rental amount, provided the increase was disclosed to the purchaser before occupancy and complies with the purchaser's prospectus. § 723.059(4). |
The interaction to watch is between an improvement requirement and a rent change arriving in the same envelope. They are separate obligations with separate sources. The improvement has to trace to § 723.012(7) disclosure. The rent change has to trace to § 723.031(5) or to a 90-day notice under § 723.037(1) with the committee meeting that follows. Bundling them invites a challenge to both, and the lot rental increase procedure is unforgiving about process.
A workable sequence when a home is being replaced
- Pull the prospectus that governs the lot, and confirm which version the incoming resident will receive. Confirm what § 723.012(4)(c)1. says about lot size, setbacks and separation distance and what § 723.012(7) says about required improvements.
- Compare the proposed home's dimensions against the lot sizes, separation and setback distances in effect at the time the park was approved, per § 723.041(4) and (6), rather than against a current local ordinance.
- Give the incoming resident the approved prospectus before the rental agreement is executed or at the time of occupancy, whichever comes first, and any required flood disclosure.
- Require the installation permit, the licensed installer's name and license number, and the local inspection approval or certificate of occupancy under § 320.8285.
- Put improvement conditions in writing, tied to the disclosed prospectus language, and get the written approval under § 723.023(4) into the lot file before work starts.
- Handle any change in the lot rental amount on its own track, with its own notice, and its own documentation.
Where the park wants a standard the prospectus does not support, the honest answer is that the standard needs to go through a rule change with 90 days' notice and a homeowners' committee meeting, and that it will bind prospectively at best. That is a slower answer than most owners want. It is considerably faster than defending an unenforceable requirement after a home has already been placed.
Frequently Asked Questions About Replacement Homes and Lot Improvements
Can a Florida mobile home park refuse a replacement home because it is too old?
Chapter 723 does not authorize a minimum home-age standard. Any age rule would have to be disclosed in the prospectus, promulgated as a rule, changed on the 90-day track in § 723.037(1), and survive the reasonableness test in §§ 723.003(20) and 723.033. Section 320.8285 separately bars local governments from prohibiting siting of used homes based solely on manufacture date, which makes an age rule harder to defend.
Can the park require skirting, steps or a carport?
Only if the requirement was disclosed in the prospectus under § 723.012(7) before the resident took occupancy. Section 723.042 says a person may not be required, as a condition of residence, to provide any improvement that was not disclosed that way. Section 723.023 does not mention skirting, so there is no independent statutory basis for the requirement.
Who regulates tie-downs and installation in Florida?
The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. The standards are in Fla. Admin. Code R. 15C-1.0102 and R. 15C-1.0104, and § 320.8285 requires counties and municipalities to inspect installations against them. Permits issue only to licensed installers, or to a dealer or owner who shows a licensed installer will do the work. Manufactured home construction itself is governed by the federal HUD standards, not the Florida Building Code.
Can the park make a homeowner move the home out when it is sold?
No. Section 723.058(1) bars a park owner from making or enforcing any rule, regulation or rental agreement provision that requires removal of the mobile home from the park solely on the basis of its sale. The same provision protects the right to sell the home in the park and to post a sign, subject to reasonable rules on size, placement and character.
Can the park charge a fee to review an improvement application?
Only if the prospectus or offering circular provides for the charge and the park owner has complied with § 723.037 first. § 723.035(2). More broadly, except for pass-through charges, a failure to disclose fully all fees, charges or assessments before tenancy prevents the park owner from collecting them, and refusal to pay an undisclosed charge is not a ground for eviction. § 723.031(6).
If the park was destroyed in a storm, can it be rebuilt the way it was?
Section 723.041(5) allows a park damaged or destroyed by wind, water or other natural force to be rebuilt on the same site with the same density that was approved, permitted and built before the damage. Subsection (6) adds that the section supersedes density, separation, setback and lot size regulation adopted after the park's initial permitting and construction, while leaving the uniform firesafety standards under § 633.206 intact.
Contact Hamilton Mikes
Hamilton Mikes helps mobile home community owners and managers in Lee, Collier and Charlotte Counties test improvement and replacement standards against the prospectus, draft approval procedures that hold up, and handle placement disputes before a home is on the lot. Call 239-594-7227 or visit our Architectural Review page.
Statutes and authorities referenced
- § 723.003(20), Fla. Stat. (definition of "unreasonable")
- § 723.011(1)(a), (2), Fla. Stat. (prospectus filing and delivery)
- § 723.012(4)(c)1., Fla. Stat. (lot sizes, setback requirements, minimum separation distance)
- § 723.012(7), Fla. Stat. (improvements required to be installed by the homeowner as a condition of occupancy)
- § 723.023(4), Fla. Stat. (written approval before exterior modification or addition)
- § 723.031(5), (6), Fla. Stat. (mid-term increases; undisclosed charges uncollectible)
- § 723.033(1), Fla. Stat. (judicial remedies for an unreasonable provision or change)
- § 723.035(2), Fla. Stat. (no fee, fine, assessment or charge by rule)
- § 723.037(1), (5)(a)4., Fla. Stat. (90-day notice of a rule change; mediation on unreasonableness)
- § 723.041, Fla. Stat. (entrance fees at (1)(a) and (3); prorated refund at (1)(e); exit fees at (2); siting of any size new or used home at (4); rebuilding after natural force damage at (5); supersession of later density and setback regulation at (6))
- § 723.042, Fla. Stat. (improvements may not be required unless disclosed under s. 723.012(7) before occupancy)
- § 723.058(1), Fla. Stat. (no rule requiring removal of the home solely on the basis of its sale)
- § 723.059(4), Fla. Stat. (increase on expiration of an assumed rental agreement)
- § 320.8285, Fla. Stat. (onsite inspection; installation permits; licensed installers; no local prohibition based solely on manufacture date)
- § 633.206, Fla. Stat. (uniform firesafety standards)
- Fla. Admin. Code R. 15C-1.0102 (installation standards for mobile/manufactured homes and park trailers)
- Fla. Admin. Code R. 15C-1.0104 (installation standards for anchors and tie-downs)