There is a legal ‘cottage industry’, primarily in California, called “Failure To Maintain (FTM) Lawsuits”. Under state law, a park owner has a duty to maintain the park at some acceptable level. [Note that the acceptable level of poor maintenance is in the eye of the beholder – the residents are one group, the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) is another, the owner is a third. Finally, having a poor enough level to attract an attorney to take your case on contingency is another.]
I, of course, am not an attorney. But I have been involved in a number of FTM lawsuits because one of the goals of those groups was to buy the park.
Usually the residents are the first to take action. They live in the park and deal with the maintenance problems every day. Often they will complain to the park manager and/or the park owner. However, they may get little or no reaction and may, in fact, feel threatened if they continue to complain.
Their next step should be to develop a listing of the maintenance issues. This has to be done quietly lest the owner/manager find out.
The group has to be critical as to what really is an unacceptable issue. Health and safety are biggies. Open sewers, electrical problems, water shut-offs, poor streetlights, blocked or nonexistent fire exits, landslides, flooding, etc. Quality of life issues can also be noted – streets needing repair, sidewalks uneven, sinking ground or pavement areas, poor landscape maintenance, clubhouse and laundry room not being maintained, etc. Take photos.
It is not likely that the owner/manager will allow third-party professionals on the site to view the problems and prepare repair estimates.
A next option is to write a letter to the management company and owner listing the issues. It is likely you will again get little or no response.
During this process, your resident group should be identifying those residents who would be willing to be a party to the lawsuit. It would be good to have about 50%+ of the park. But many residents are afraid, don’t understand the consequences, or just want to be left alone.
So at this point, you have a plaintiff group, a problem list and have tried outreach to the owner.
Now you look for an attorney and request a professional consultation. They are relatively easy to find – go online and search or talk to other state, regional or local MH groups.
When you have identified an attorney, call em. Explain your situation and see if they are interested. (They take the cases where they think they can be successful.) Perhaps you can send them a package on the park with photos for their review.
If you locate an interested attorney, ask them if you should contact HCD. If you can’t find an attorney, contact HD on your own.
During this process, the group should be determining their goals and desired outcomes. Does the plaintiff group just want some cash for the insult? Do you want the park repaired? Do you want to buy the park?
If you want repairs, contacting HCD is a possible alternative. They can force the park owner to repair the park.
If you want cash AND repairs, the attorney is the route. They can investigate and threaten a lawsuit, which MIGHT result in a cash award for the plaintiffs and some level of park repairs.
If you want to purchase the park, you definitely need an attorney and you need to make sure that they know this is your goal. (Some lawyers might not want to be bothered with what they might view as a side issue.) In this case, your FTM lawsuit is both REAL and a NEGOTIATING TACTIC. You also want to be in contact with a different attorney who handles park purchases and a financial consultant (that’s me) who can organize the deal and arrange financing.
What’s your role now that the process has started? For most of the plaintiff group, the role is to sit back and enjoy the fun. The leadership, on the other hand, will actively be involved working with the attorneys and the owner on a solution.
If you want to discuss more, contact me.
I will be in touch,
Deane
Deane Sargent and PMC Financial Services have been helping mobile home park resident groups and cooperatives to organize and find financing to buy their parks for over 20 years.