Chapter 723 of the Florida Statutes, the Florida Mobile Home Act, is a landlord-tenant statute. It governs the relationship between a park owner who rents out lots and the homeowners who own their homes and rent the ground underneath them. It is not a community association statute. It applies to a park only when 10 or more lots are offered for rent or lease, and once it applies it controls the rental agreement, the prospectus, rent increases, park rules and the grounds for eviction.
Chapter 723 is a landlord-tenant statute, not an association statute
A mobile home community under Chapter 723 has two owners in it. The homeowner owns the home. The park owner owns the land, the streets, the utilities and the recreation facilities, and rents individual lots. Nothing is owned in common. There are no common elements, no unit owners, no assessments, and no resident board with power to bind residents who did not agree to be bound.
That is the opposite of how the other Florida community statutes work. In a condominium under Chapter 718, the owner holds title to a unit and a share of the common elements, and the association levies assessments that become a lien. In a homeowners association under Chapter 720, the owner holds a platted lot subject to recorded covenants. In a Chapter 723 park, the relationship rests on a lease of the ground, and the park owner's authority comes from the rental agreement, the prospectus and the statute.
The Legislature explained the reason in § 723.004(1). The relationship is not an ordinary tenancy, because the tenant owns an expensive structure that is difficult and costly to move. Section 723.004(2) then preempts to the state all regulation and control of mobile home lot rents, which is why a county or city rent stabilization ordinance cannot reach a Florida park.
The 10-lot test
Section 723.002(1) states the rule in one sentence. The chapter applies to any residential tenancy in which a mobile home is placed upon a rented or leased lot in a mobile home park in which 10 or more lots are offered for rent or lease.
Three words do the work. Residential excludes a lot rented for storage or for a commercial unit. Placed upon a rented or leased lot means the ground is rented and the home is not. Offered is a count of lots the park owner holds out for rent, not a count of lots occupied this month. A park with 14 lots and 5 vacancies still offers 14. The statute does not define "offered," and a park owner who has permanently retired lots from the rental market is in a different position from one simply between tenants.
The count matters because everything else turns on it. A park at 10 lots or more must use the § 723.061 eviction grounds, must give 90 days' written notice of any increase in lot rental amount, reduction in services or change in rules under § 723.037(1), and must go through the homeowners' committee meeting and mediation process before certain disputes reach court. A park at 9 lots is an ordinary residential landlord under Part II of Chapter 83.
A second threshold sits on top of the first. A park with 26 or more lots must file a prospectus with the Division and deliver an approved copy before an enforceable rental agreement exists, under § 723.011(1)(a). A park with 10 to 25 lots is fully covered but files no prospectus, and instead gives the written notification in § 723.013. Our guide to prospectus requirements covers both.
What the chapter does not reach
Section 723.002(1) carves out three situations. They are worth reading carefully, because two of them come up constantly in Southwest Florida.
- The home and the lot are rented together. If the same person rents both the mobile home and the ground to the resident, the tenancy is an ordinary residential tenancy under Part II of Chapter 83. A park owner who buys back abandoned homes and re-rents them furnished is operating under two statutes at once, on lots that sit side by side.
- Fewer than 10 lots are offered. The park is outside the chapter entirely, and the tenancy falls under Chapter 83.
- The unit is a recreational vehicle type unit. A unit designed as temporary living quarters for recreation, camping or travel use is not a mobile home for these purposes. Communities built around those units are a separate business with a separate legal footing, which we address for recreational vehicle resorts.
Section 723.002(3) then pulls one category back in. Notwithstanding any other provision of the chapter or of the Florida Statutes, Chapter 723 applies to a park trailer located on a mobile home lot in a mobile home park. The same unit in a campground is not covered.
Mixed communities are the hard case. Where a park rents some lots for mobile homes and others for recreational vehicles, the statute does not spell out a lot-by-lot method of counting, and a park owner who assumes the RV lots do not count toward the 10-lot threshold is taking a position the statute does not clearly support. Resolve that with counsel before a rent increase notice goes out, not after.
When the lot count drops
Section 723.002(1) also addresses what happens when a park gets smaller. Tenancies that were subject to the chapter before the reduction remain governed by it even though the number of lots offered in the park has been reduced below 10.
The practical effect is that a park owner cannot close or sell off lots to escape the Act as to residents who are already there. Once the chapter attaches to a tenancy it stays attached. A park owner planning a partial change of use, a lot line reconfiguration or a sale of part of the land should assume the existing tenancies keep their Chapter 723 rights, including the 90-day notice right and the eviction grounds, whatever the lot count looks like afterward.
Mobile home subdivisions get a short list of sections
A mobile home subdivision is a different structure. Section 723.003(14) defines it as a subdivision of mobile homes where individual lots are owned by the owners and where a portion of the subdivision, or the amenities exclusively serving it, are retained by the subdivision developer. The resident owns the lot, so there is no lot tenancy, but the developer still controls the clubhouse or the pool.
Section 723.002(2) applies only eight sections to subdivision developers and to the owners of lots in a mobile home subdivision: §§ 723.035, 723.037, 723.038, 723.054, 723.055, 723.056, 723.058 and 723.068. The subdivision gets the posted-rules requirement, the 90-day notice and homeowners' committee process, mediation, the rights to assemble and to invite outside speakers, the protections on selling a home in place, and the prevailing-party attorney's fee provision. It does not get the prospectus rules, the rental agreement rules or the eviction grounds, because there is no lot rental.
| Rented lot in a park | Owned lot in a mobile home subdivision | |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns the lot | Park owner | The resident |
| Governing relationship | Lease of the lot | Deed plus recorded restrictions |
| Sections that apply | All of Chapter 723 | Only §§ 723.035, 723.037, 723.038, 723.054, 723.055, 723.056, 723.058, 723.068 |
| Prospectus required | Yes, at 26 or more lots | No |
| Removal for cause | Eviction under § 723.061 | Not available; the resident owns the land |
| Resident organization | Homeowners' association under § 723.075 | HOA under Ch. 720, or § 723.0751 association if none exists |
Section 723.0751 sets the order of priority. Lot owners in a mobile home subdivision may create an association under §§ 723.075, 723.076 and 723.078 only if no homeowners association has been created under §§ 720.301 through 720.312 to operate the subdivision. If an HOA already exists, Chapter 720 governs and the Chapter 723 route is closed. Where subdivision lot owners share amenities with a park, § 723.0751(3) allows the park's mobile home owners' association to represent them, if its members vote to include them and the subdivision owners vote only on matters covered by §§ 723.002(2) and 723.074.
Who regulates a mobile home park
The Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes, inside DBPR, is the regulator. Section 723.005 gives it the power and duty to enforce and ensure compliance with the chapter and the rules adopted under it, as to the rental, development and sale of mobile home parks.
Section 723.006 supplies the tools. The Division may investigate, take statements under oath, subpoena witnesses and documents, enter cease and desist orders requiring affirmative action including refunds, bring class actions for declaratory, injunctive or restitutionary relief, and impose civil penalties of up to $5,000 for each violation or each day of a continuing violation, with a lower ceiling of $250 for minor violations. It also reviews prospectus filings under § 723.011 and receives the annual filing of rent increase notices under § 723.037(3).
What the Division cannot do matters just as much. Section 723.005 expressly withholds from it the power or duty to enforce park rules and regulations, or to enforce §§ 723.022, 723.023 and 723.033. Section 723.033 is the reasonableness standard for lot rental amounts and increases, and it is a judicial remedy tested in circuit court, not a complaint a homeowner can win at the Division. That carve-out shapes how a lot rental increase is challenged and defended.
Resident-owned communities move to a different chapter
Chapter 723 contemplates that the residents may end up owning the park. Section 723.071 gives a qualified homeowners' association a right to purchase when the park owner offers the park for sale, and §§ 723.073 and 723.079 deal with what happens next.
Section 723.073(1) requires an association that acquires the park and intends to convey it to its members to record its articles and bylaws, plus any additional covenants, restrictions or declarations of servitude, before conveying. To create a mobile home cooperative, it records the cooperative documents required by Chapter 719. Section 723.073(2) exempts an association acquiring a park under § 723.071 from § 719.1035 and from part VI of Chapter 718 and part VI of Chapter 719, the conversion provisions.
Section 723.079(12) adds a short grace period. For 180 days after the association purchases the park, it need not comply with part V of Chapter 718, part V of Chapter 719 or part II of Chapter 720 as to mobile home owners or persons who have contracted to buy homes in the park. Those are the sale and disclosure parts, not the governance parts.
So the answer to "which statute governs us" changes with ownership of the land. While the lots are rented, Chapter 723 controls. Once the residents hold the land through a cooperative corporation, the community operates under Chapter 719, with the narrow variation in § 723.0791 permitting a mobile home cooperative to elect its board under its own bylaws. Once the residents own their lots in fee subject to recorded covenants and an association, it operates under Chapter 720. A community mid-transition, with some lots conveyed and some still rented, can be under both at once.
How to tell which statute governs your community
A short diagnostic, in order:
- Pull a deed for two or three lots. If the resident holds title to the lot, this is not a Chapter 723 lot tenancy, and you are looking at a subdivision or a Chapter 720 community.
- If the lots are rented, count the lots offered for rent or lease. Ten or more puts the tenancies under Chapter 723. Nine or fewer puts them under Part II of Chapter 83.
- Check whether any residents rent the home and the lot together. Those tenancies are under Chapter 83 no matter how large the park is.
- Check what the units are. Mobile homes and park trailers on mobile home lots are covered. Recreational vehicle type units are not.
- Search the public records for a declaration of condominium, cooperative documents or a declaration of covenants naming the community. Any of those means part or all of it has been organized under Chapter 718, 719 or 720.
- Count again at 26 lots, the line for the prospectus filing and delivery obligation.
Write down the answer and keep it with the governing documents. Park ownership changes, lots get added and retired, and the people who knew the history leave. A file memorandum saying which statute applies and why is worth a great deal the first time a rent increase or an eviction is challenged.
Frequently Asked Questions About Chapter 723 Coverage
Is a mobile home park an HOA?
No. In a Chapter 723 park the homeowner owns the home and rents the lot from the park owner. There are no common elements, no assessments and no recorded covenants binding owners to an association. A community where residents own their lots and are bound by recorded covenants is an HOA under Chapter 720. Our overview of what a Florida HOA is sets out that structure.
Does Chapter 723 apply to a park with 8 rented lots?
No. Section 723.002(1) applies the chapter only where 10 or more lots are offered for rent or lease. A smaller park is an ordinary residential landlord under Part II of Chapter 83. The exception is a park that once offered 10 or more lots and later reduced the number, because tenancies already subject to the chapter stay subject to it.
We rent both the home and the lot to some residents. Are those tenancies covered?
No. Section 723.002(1) excludes a tenancy in which the mobile home and the lot are rented together. Those residents are Chapter 83 tenants, and the notices, eviction grounds and rent increase procedures in Chapter 723 do not apply to them. A park with both arrangements is running two sets of paperwork, and mixing them is a frequent source of defective notices.
Who enforces Chapter 723?
The Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes at DBPR, under §§ 723.005 and 723.006. It investigates, issues cease and desist orders, can require refunds, and can impose civil penalties. It has no authority over park rules and regulations or over §§ 723.022, 723.023 and 723.033, so a claim that a rent increase is unreasonable is a circuit court matter. See our guide to park rules and enforcement.
Our residents bought the park. Are we still under Chapter 723?
Mostly not. Once the association owns the land and conveys it to members, governance shifts to Chapter 719 for a cooperative or Chapter 720 for a fee simple community with covenants. Chapter 723 continues to matter for any lots still rented, for the § 723.073 recording requirements, and for the 180-day window in § 723.079(12). Confirm the structure before adopting governing documents.
Can a city cap lot rents in a mobile home park?
No. Section 723.004(2) expressly preempts to the state all regulation and control of mobile home lot rents in mobile home parks, and § 723.004(3) treats the relationship as a matter reserved to the state. Local ordinances that conflict are superseded. Local government still controls zoning and land use, which is a separate question from rent.
Contact Hamilton Mikes
Hamilton Mikes advises park owners and operators, homeowners' committees and resident associations throughout Southwest Florida on whether Chapter 723 applies to a community and on what follows from the answer. We review lot counts, rental structures and governing documents before a notice or a transaction locks in the wrong assumption. Call 239-594-7227 or visit our Regulatory Compliance page.
Statutes and authorities referenced
- Chapter 723, Fla. Stat. (the Florida Mobile Home Act)
- § 723.002, Fla. Stat. (application of the chapter; 10-lot threshold at (1); mobile home subdivisions at (2); park trailers at (3))
- § 723.003(5), (6), (12), (14), (17), Fla. Stat. (definitions: homeowners' committee, lot rental amount, mobile home park, mobile home subdivision, pass-through charge)
- § 723.004, Fla. Stat. (legislative intent; preemption of lot rent regulation at (2))
- § 723.005, Fla. Stat. (regulation by the division; carve-out for park rules and §§ 723.022, 723.023, 723.033)
- § 723.006, Fla. Stat. (powers and duties of the division; civil penalties)
- § 723.011(1)(a), Fla. Stat. (prospectus filing and delivery in a park of 26 or more lots)
- § 723.013, Fla. Stat. (written notification in the absence of a prospectus)
- § 723.037(1), (3), Fla. Stat. (90-day notice; annual filing of increase notices)
- § 723.061, Fla. Stat. (grounds for eviction)
- § 723.071, § 723.073, Fla. Stat. (association purchase of the park; conveyance to members)
- § 723.075, § 723.076, § 723.078, Fla. Stat. (homeowners' association formation, notice and bylaws)
- § 723.0751, Fla. Stat. (mobile home subdivision homeowners' association)
- § 723.079(12), Fla. Stat. (180-day exemption from part V of Ch. 718, part V of Ch. 719, part II of Ch. 720)
- § 723.0791, Fla. Stat. (mobile home cooperative board elections)
- Chapter 83, Part II, Fla. Stat. (Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act)
- Chapter 718, Chapter 719, Chapter 720, Fla. Stat. (condominium, cooperative and homeowners association acts)