Surviving MHP Inspections & Citations
We once had a park where city inspections & citations were unusually aggressive.
We were unlucky on an inspector draw who seemed to have it out for parks in her area.
Over the years we’ve dealt with plenty of reasonable inspectors, this was not one of them.
Every month we would get a new laundry list of items to address. Some requests were legit, others not even part of the the MH code.
This was tough on the property staff as it’s not fun to work on a never-ending list of to-do items.
Additionally, if one line-item on the list wasn’t addressed 100% to her subjective liking, we were were assessed fines that increased daily.
Many of these items stemmed from tenant responsibilities (tenant lot cleanliness, shades on windows missing, skirting with weed-whacking damage, etc.).
We obviously wanted the park to look its best (within reason), but this was a 3-star park we had recently purchased where we were attempting to upgrade the appearance via rules enforcement, which takes time.
Whereas this inspector wanted us to unwind 50 years of lax property management and tenant complacency seemingly overnight.
This is challenging when you don’t own the homes and can’t just address all repair items on demand.
Oddly enough, tenants okay living with a broken window typically don’t jump to fix maintenance notices from park management.
Regardless, we did our best to address these citations and would take care of tenant violation issues ourselves whenever possible (staff would often have to wait until a tenant was offsite or perhaps haul off tenant junk in the middle of the night).
Satisfying this inspector was becoming a full-time job.
Our attempts to chat with City about this odd treatment were typically met with cold responses.
We were informed, after a call with one of the city officials, that sure enough - the inspector and her department wanted this park gone.
Obviously, that was extreme - the rest of our parks were in welcoming & law-biding municipalities.
The City’s Perspective
‘Trailer parks’ already have a bad enough stigma.
We certainly love them, but considering that close to 1% of MHPs are razed over every year I don’t suspect many city officials mind when one bites the dust in their town.
Sure they’re losing desperately needed affordable housing, but the redeveloped property commands higher tax revenue as higher density housing or commercial use.
If you every get a city that is pushing the limits of the law to illegally push out a park, you have to fight back.
Thankfully, we’d only needed to send one sternly worded lawyer letter to protect our property rights - which actually worked.
In an extreme scenario, a park owner might need to file a lawsuit against a city that doesn’t understand it’s own code.
How To Respond to Inspection Reports
Most parks tend to get one inspection a year and are easy enough to address. Most of our inspections passed with flying colors - for problem properties (or coastal parks with lots of 55+ communities, expect more frequent visits).
Most of our inspection reports have a combination of high and low priority items.
Here’s how to respond:
First, DON’T IGNORE IT
Nothing pits the city against you faster than ignoring them and not addressing any issues. You might disagree or not be able to address every item on there timeline, but make some progress and communicate with the inspector. That tends to lead to more practical timelines and better outcomes.
If the property can’t afford the requested repair, do something to try and address the issue and buy yourself time to problem solve or refinance / raise additional capital or perhaps sell the park.
Respond to easy items quickly.
Inspectors love to see fast progress. Call your manager asap & have them tackle those items quickly (small financial incentives - bonuses for hitting deadlines - can go a long way).
Chat with the inspector.
In most cases the inspector will leave a way to contact them for any follow up questions. Instead of yelling at them (which I’m sure plenty of unhinged landlords do), treat them with respect & let them know the plan or what challenges you’re running into that might cause a delay.
It also allows you to set expectations, ie “we can handle items 1-3 this week but items 4 & 5 we’ll have to bid out etc.”
Document & Report Back
ALWAYS take before & after photos. Document progress made and file it away in case needed to challenge a fine.
Reward Good Behavior
We’ve had cities bend over backwards to help us with park issues. They’ve helped issue tenant violation notices directly (with city fines attached), which get tenants to move quickly. We’ve also had plenty of cities waive bills for excess water charges stemming from water leaks.
A dozen donuts, a stack of pizzas, or gift baskets (addressed to departments not specific individuals) as a thank you can go A LONG WAY to unappreciated city employees.
Only do this after things have been resolved so some cynical official doesn’t accuse you trying to “fix” the issue with gifts.
Health Hazards
Anything tagged as dangerous or hazardous should obviously be addressed ASAP.
This could include critical items such as a sewer or (if you have private lines) a dreaded gas leak.
This also could include a water testing issue, which deserves it’s own post.
In some markets we had to regular water testing to report. Public officials will always pay close attention to those water tests. If you get a bad test, your team better jump on that problem immediately, including issuing boil orders + tenant notices and perhaps cutting off the lines until the root problem is solved.
Not So Easy Fixes
Sometimes you might be cited on a infrastructure issue.
This might be an issue with a lift station, treatment plant, well, water line, road work, storm drain, etc.
If you’ve done proper physical due diligence these shouldn’t be complete surprises, but they still hurt if those capital improvements weren’t included in your budget.
When you own one out of state park any or all of the above issues can be stressful. But if you have a huge park or portfolio that can financially support a talented team, they should be able to address the vast majority of city notices.
Happy Trails,
MHP Weekly