At its core, this package does three things. First, it establishes real accountability. Anyone who owns a manufactured housing community in Michigan will be required to hold a license, be publicly listed in a searchable database, and meet basic standards of operation. No more ghost owners. No more shell companies collecting rent while letting infrastructure fail. And for the responsible owners who are already playing by the rules, that means they will no longer be competing against people who aren’t.
Second, it modernizes resident protections. Eviction standards, day-to-day operational rules, access to the courts, all of it updated to reflect the realities residents actually face today, not the world as it existed in 1987.
And third, it creates new pathways for communities to survive. When a park goes up for sale, residents will have the right to negotiate—not a government veto, just a fair notice and a structured chance to make an offer. When they want to buy, there will be financing available through MSHDA to actually make it happen. For owners who choose that path, there’s a 15-percent seller tax credit as an incentive. Everybody wins when communities remain intact.
I want to acknowledge my colleagues on this package: Senator Bellino, Senator Chang, Senator Bayer, Senator Outman, and Senator Hauck. This is a bipartisan effort because this is not a partisan problem. Whether you represent Flint, Monroe, Mount Pleasant, or the Upper Peninsula, your constituents live in manufactured housing communities, and they deserve laws that work.
This package was developed over more than a year of sustained negotiation with the Michigan Manufactured Housing Association representing the industry, the Center for Civil Justice representing the legal aid community, and Manufactured Housing Action representing residents. All three came to the table. All three support this package. That is not an easy thing to achieve in this building, and it is worth noting.
I represent Genesee County. I’ve met the families this legislation is designed to protect. I have heard from residents in an unlicensed community who cannot get community repairs or clean water. I have heard from a township supervisor who had to go to court to get an out-of-state owner to pay their water bill, despite the residents paying theirs.
This legislation does not solve every problem, but it lays down a foundation: accountability for bad actors, certainty for responsible owners, and real protections for residents who call these communities home. I urge my colleagues to vote “yes” on this package.
The following bill was read a third time:
Senate Bill No. 935, entitled
A bill to amend 1987 PA 96, entitled “The mobile home commission act,” by amending sections 17, 18, 25, 28, 28a, and 29 (MCL 125.2317, 125.2318, 125.2325, 125.2328, 125.2328a, and 125.2329), section 17 as amended by 2015 PA 40, section 25 as amended by 2016 PA 410, section 28 as amended by 1993 PA 241, and section 28a as added by 1988 PA 337, and by adding sections 28d and 28e.
The question being on the passage of the bill,
The bill was passed, a majority of the members serving voting therefor, as follows: