Iowa's Manufactured Home Communities Need Protection
Manufactured Home Communities Can Provide Affordable, Healthy Homes
At least 550 manufactured home communities across Iowa have historically provided affordable homes and tight-knit communities to thousands of retirees on fixed incomes, veterans, low-income families, people with disabilities, and employees seeking affordable living near their workplaces.
Iowans Are Getting Pushed Around and Priced Out by Predatory, Out-of-State Investors
A rapid sell-off of manufactured housing communities to out-of-state interests has left thousands of Iowans at the mercy of predatory business practices. Out-of-state investors now control over 25% of Iowa’s manufactured home communities. Corporate owners are gouging residents with high lot rents (increases often ranging from 30-70%), utility overcharges, and new fees, while jeopardizing safety by failing to invest in local maintenance. Residents are suffering and communities are being torn apart.
Weak State Laws Are Failing Iowa
Iowa Code Chapter 562B, covering manufactured homes, has over decades become severely imbalanced in favor of park owners over residents. We need lawmakers to restore basic fairness to both sides, ensure manufactured home residents have rights at least as strong as those of other renters, and preserve affordable housing for Iowa’s future.
Manufactured Home Residents Need a Bill of Rights
The Iowa Manufactured Home Residents Network supports a Residents’ Bill of Rights that includes five pillars: 1) Rent protection, 2) Good cause eviction standards, 3) Fair fees, 4) Fair and legal leases, and 5) Resident first right of refusal when parks are put up for sale.
Our Movement is Growing, Let's Keep Going!
Since 2019, we have supported bi-partisan legislation to increase resident protections and provide checks and balances in a currently one-sided system. As an example, the 2020 proposed bill (HF 2351/SF 2238) included good cause eviction standards, required justification for rent increases that exceed inflation, and enhanced legal protections for manufactured home residents to create parity with other renters in Iowa. This bill had near-unanimous support in the Senate, but under pressure from park owners, House Speaker Pat Grassley refused to bring it to the House for a vote. Similar versions of this legislation have been introduced in years since in repeated attempts to level the playing field between Iowa residents and out-of-state investors who are using our neighborhoods to flip quick profits which immediately leave our state. (See below for details on state legislative proposals supported by residents since 2019).
It's important to ask our state legislators to introduce similar legislation in future sessions, to hold accountable the park owners and lobbyists who've blocked passage of these bills in the past, and to grow our numbers and support to finally get this legislation across the finish line! Residents won't quit fighting to protect their homes, but shouldn't have to keep waiting for change.
iowa residents' ongoing fight to win better state laws
2019 - Public Hearing and Senate Support for Protecting Resident Rights
Residents from all over Iowa spoke at an emergency public hearing in the State Capitol in December 2019. Weeks later, lawmakers introduced House File 2351, a bill that proposed numerous changes to state law, including:
• Justification for any annual lot rent increase above the rate of inflation
• 180-day notice of rent increases
• Just cause for eviction
• Equal protection for manufactured home residents compared to other Iowa renters
• Protections against refusal to accept tenants
The proposed law had the full support of the Iowa Senate, but leaders of the Iowa House blocked it from getting a vote.
2021 – Residents Support New Bill, again Blocked from House Vote
In 2021, IMHRN backed a new bill, House File 442 (HF 833). This bill proposed changes including:
• 120-day notice of rent increases and limit on rent increases or decreased services to 1x/year
• Equal protection for manufactured home residents compared to other Iowa renters
• Fair fees: Bar park owners from charging more than the actual cost of utilities, require written explanation of fees, and limit administration fees to $5/month
• 90-day notice before sale of park, and limits on new owner’s ability to change lease terms
The bill had bipartisan support in committees but was blocked from a vote by House Speaker Pat Grassley.
2022 – Residents Opposed Weak Legislation Signed into Law
In 2022, lawmakers passed a manufactured housing bill with some good & some bad provisions:
• Expanded some notice periods from 60 to 90 days (for rent increase or lease termination)
• Exempted mobile homes from property tax
• Gave owners longer timelines for eviction notices, and reduced resident time to respond
Residents supported increased notice periods, but opposed this legislation overall because it failed to address rent gouging and other top concerns, while making it easier for owners to abuse their power and unfairly evict residents.
2024-2026 – Residents Support Some Bills, Oppose Others; None Pass
n 2024, residents supported HF 2221 to allow counties and cities to pass ordinances limiting rent increases on private properties. It had bipartisan support, passed subcommittee, but it was blocked by the House Local Government Chair from getting a committee vote. IMHRN also supported reintroduction of bills in 2025-26 similar to 2019 proposed legislation and others that focused on limiting lot rent increases to the rate of inflation, but none received committee votes.
In 2024, residents opposed HF669, a bill supported by park owners that would have weakened notice requirements before eviction, defined nonpayment of “rent” to include unpaid fees as grounds for eviction, and allowed owners to immediately remove evicted residents’ property. In 2025, a new version of this bill passed the House; residents continued to oppose it in 2026, and ultimately it did not pass the Senate
The Struggle Continues: Join the Fight!
Each year, Iowa resident voices get stronger as our movement grows. You can join the fight:
- Keep in touch with your state legislators all year round and urge them to support the Resident Bill of Rights
- Attend candidate forums to ask questions and share your story
- Join or form a resident association in your park to strengthen our collective voice
- Click below to sign on in support of the Residents' Bill of Rights, and invite your neighbors and elected officials to sign on in support!