Residents and advocates press for stronger rights in mobile/manufactured‑home sales and rent protections

Dozens of public witnesses told the General Law Committee that Connecticut should strengthen protections for residents of mobile and manufactured‑home communities, particularly when parks are sold as part of multi‑park portfolio transactions.

"A strong right of first refusal statute that applies to any park sale, not just a sale that would result in a discontinuance, is a really important step," Nora Gosselin, director of resident acquisitions at the Cooperative Development Institute, told the committee, urging the panel to require sellers to disclose price allocations when properties are sold as portfolios so resident groups can match the terms for their own community.

Residents and legal advocates described cases where price allocations were not transparent in portfolio deals or where managers informed residents that a previously disclosed sale had been voided after residents organized to bid. Rafael Podolsky of Legal Aid and others urged changes used in Massachusetts and Maine that require price allocation for each property in a portfolio transaction.

Park owners and industry groups defended cross‑collateralized financing structures and warned that forcing sellers to break portfolio transactions into separate closings could jeopardize loans and create unintended consequences. Owner witnesses said many park loans rely on pooled collateral and that separating sales could make portfolios commercially infeasible.

Lawmakers repeatedly raised the tradeoffs: residents emphasized affordability and difficulty of moving homes; owners warned of financing and operational complexity. Committee members asked for additional data and statutory language to reconcile resident protections with commercial realities and signaled they would pursue negotiated fixes before any final action.