Living in a mobile home park: Are you a tenant?

Which laws apply to you as a mobile home park resident? It depends. There are three possibilities:

• You own your mobile home and rent the site it sits on under a tenancy agreement. You’re covered by BC’s manufactured home park tenancy law.

• You rent your mobile home and rent the site it sits on under a tenancy agreement. You’re covered by BC’s residential tenancy law.

• You own your mobile home but merely “occupy” the site it sits on — meaning you don’t have a tenancy agreement. You’re not protected by either set of BC’s tenancy laws.

Let’s explore each of these scenarios by looking at three examples.

BC law doesn’t use the term “mobile home.” Instead, what we would typically call a mobile home or RV falls under the definition of “manufactured home.”  

The law in BC defines a manufactured home as a structure — with or without wheels — that is:

• designed or built to be moved from one place to another by being towed or carried, and

• is used or intended to be used as a living accommodation.

Many different structures — including manufactured homes not built to code or structures that aren’t typically considered to be manufactured homes — could fall under this definition. In deciding whether a structure is a manufactured home, an arbitrator will look at all of the surrounding circumstances.

“When my husband and I retired four years ago, we moved out of our apartment and into a mobile home park. We’ve made this our new home, so we were caught by surprise when our landlord — totally out of the blue — tried to evict us last month. He argued that since we only had a 'licence to occupy,' he had the right to ask us to leave without notice. We took the matter to a hearing, and the arbitrator decided that we had a tenancy agreement. Now, we have 12 months to sort out a new plan before we need to leave.”

– Marjorie, Delta, BC

In BC, there’s a law that applies specifically to manufactured home park tenancies. Under this law, manufactured home owners who rent a site in a manufactured home park have certain legal rights. 

However, not every rental situation is covered. Only renters who have a tenancy agreement with their landlord fall within the scope of this law. Renters without a tenancy agreement generally don’t have the same legal rights and protections. 

Unfortunately, figuring out if you have a tenancy agreement isn’t always simple. Nothing’s in writing? You may still have an agreement. Your landlord calls it something else — like a licence to occupy? You may still have an agreement.

BC’s main law that applies to manufactured home parks only covers those who have a tenancy agreement. It doesn’t cover those who live in a manufactured home park under a licence to occupy. 

Tenancy agreement

Under the law, a tenancy agreement is an agreement between a landlord and a tenant regarding:

• the occupation of a manufactured home park site

• the use of common areas, and 

• the use of services and facilities.

The agreement can be written or oral. It can also be express (you and your landlord are both aware of the terms and agree on them) or implied. Implied tenancy agreements can be tricky, as we explain below.

Licence to occupy

Under a licence to occupy a person is given permission to use a site, but it can be taken away at any time. In other words, a landlord can evict the licensee at any time without notice.

However, just because your landlord calls your agreement a licence to occupy doesn’t mean it is one. Sometimes a licence to occupy is a tenancy agreement in disguise.

Generally, there is a presumption that a tenancy agreement has been created if:

• the tenant has exclusive possession of the site — subject to the landlord’s right to access it — for a defined term, and

• the tenant pays a fixed amount for rent.

Even if your landlord calls your agreement a licence to occupy, the law may view it as a tenancy agreement. That means you’d have greater legal protection.

There are several key factors that distinguish a tenancy agreement from a licence to occupy. A court or arbitrator would weigh all of them in deciding whether a tenancy agreement exists. 

Below, we explain three of the main factors.

The law that applies to manufactured home park tenants is meant to protect those who intend to use the site as a primary residence. It’s not meant to protect those who intend to use it for a short-term vacation or for recreation. 

In deciding this question an arbitrator will look for “features of permanence,” such as:

• the home is hooked up to services or facilities meant for permanent housing (for example, a water connection)

• the tenant has added permanent features, like a deck or carport, which the landlord has permitted

• the tenant lives in the home year-round

• the home hasn’t been moved for a long time

• the home has been legally registered as a manufactured home

BC’s manufactured home park law isn’t intended to apply to seasonal campgrounds or mobile home parks that are used as temporary accommodation. But there are situations where an RV or mobile home may be considered a permanent residence. 

Here are some tip-offs that suggest a site in an RV park or campground may not be a permanent residence:

• the park owner has access or control over parts of the site and can enter without notice

• rent is charged at a daily or weekly rate (rather than monthly) and the occupier pays goods and services tax (GST) on the rent

• the parties have agreed that the occupier may be evicted without notice, or can leave without notice

• the park owner pays for utilities like electricity and wifi

If you and your landlord have a family or personal relationship, this makes it less likely that you’ll be found to have a tenancy agreement. That’s because your relationship suggests the living arrangement flows from generosity rather than business considerations.

For example, if a family member pays no rent (or highly reduced rent), an arbitrator may conclude that the family members didn’t intend to have a formal tenancy relationship.

For an in-depth look at this topic, see the provincial government’s guidelines.