LANSING, Mich. (April 29, 2026) — Today, Sen. John Cherry (D-Flint) joined a bipartisan group of Senators to introduce a bill package, which would deliver the most significant overhaul of Michigan’s manufactured housing laws since 1987.
Cosponsored by Sens. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit), Rosemary Bayer (D-West Bloomfield), Joseph Bellino (R-Monroe), Roger Hauck (R-Mt. Pleasant), and Rick Outman (R-Six Lakes), this legislation would strengthen enforcement against bad actors, level the playing field for responsible park operators, expand protections for residents, and create new pathways for residents to purchase and preserve the communities they call home.
“Manufactured housing communities are home to thousands of working families, seniors, and retirees across Michigan — including many of my own constituents in Genesee County,” said Sen. Cherry. “For too long, the laws governing these communities have not kept up with the realities residents face on the ground, from water shutoffs and rising lot rents to their entire community being sold out from under them. And while there’s no real recourse to hold bad actors accountable, responsible park owners have been undercut by unlicensed competitors who don’t play by the rules. Built across partisan lines, our package takes a comprehensive approach, tackling these issues head-on by strengthening market integrity, establishing a fair playing field for responsible operators, and finally giving residents the tools necessary to protect the homes they have worked their whole lives to own.”
Michigan is home to roughly 1,200 licensed manufactured housing communities and more than 140,000 manufactured homes — making it the thirteenth-largest mobile home park state in the country. For a significant share of Michigan’s working-class families, seniors, and retirees, these communities represent the only unsubsidized affordable homeownership available.
Yet the state also has the second-highest concentration of private equity-owned mobile home parks in the nation, with nearly 200 parks and more than 50,000 home sites in the hands of private equity firms and hedge funds. The legal framework regulating these communities has not been meaningfully updated since 1987, resulting in a growing pattern of unlicensed operations, deteriorating infrastructure, sudden park closures, and water service shutoffs that have left Michigan families with little recourse — while putting responsible park owners at a competitive disadvantage against operators who simply ignore the law.
“This has been a long time coming, and I’m glad we were able to work with stakeholders to find a sensible solution. This bill package aligns incentives, strengthens resident ownership opportunities, and respects the marketplace,” said Sen. Hauck.
What the Bills Do:
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Senate Bill 934 (Cherry): Rebuilds the licensing framework around financial capacity, compliance history, and beneficial ownership disclosure; creates a publicly searchable database of licensed parks and their owners; and establishes dedicated funds for enforcement, resident hardship assistance, and resident purchase financing.
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Senate Bill 935 (Bellino): Requires annual inspections, prohibits utility markups above the rate charged by the actual provider, bans mandatory electronic-only billing, requires parks to offer at least a one-year lease, provides a lease renewal right, and requires 12 months’ notice before a park can terminate tenancies to change use.
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Senate Bill 936 (Chang): Preserves Michigan’s just-cause eviction protections for manufactured housing residents and modernizes the post-judgment process so residents have clear, predictable options for their home if a tenancy is terminated.
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Senate Bill 937 (Bayer): Creates a resident right of first negotiation when an owner intends to sell a park, ensuring residents receive notice and time to organize, and allowing homeowners’ associations or cooperatives to submit a written offer that the owner must consider in good faith. The bill also creates meaningful enforcement, including civil penalties up to $250,000 for operating without a license and authority for courts to appoint qualified receivers in the most serious cases.
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Senate Bill 938 (Hauck): Creates a 15% non-refundable income tax credit for park owners who sell to residents or a residents’ association — aligning incentives to make resident purchases more competitive without requiring a below-market sale.
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Senate Bill 939 (Outman): Authorizes the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) to administer the Resident Ownership Revolving Fund.