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A land lease, also known as a ground lease, is an arrangement in which a landowner — the lessor, in legal terminology — rents out the land to a tenant, or the lessee. A land lease can be used to purchase a home plus land, or simply to purchase land that you plan to develop later on. A land lease is common for commercial places of business, but many residential real estate property owners also pay to lease the land their homes are on — many co-ops in New York City, for example, were built on land leases.
In accordance with Title 25 Chapter 70 (25DelC. 70), the community owner/landlord and resident/tenant in each manufactured home community must pay a monthly assessment for each rented lot to the Delaware Manufactured Home Relocation Aut hor it y (DEMHRA) Trust Fund. Effective January 1, 2020, the owners will pay $4.50 per lot. The lot’s owner will be responsible for paying $2.00 per rented lot while the resident will pay be responsible for a monthly assessment of $2.50 which is collected by the landlord each month as additional rent. Fifty cents ($0.50) of the $2.50 is transferred to an “Attorney Fund” which is managed by the Attorney General’s office on behalf of the resident s. This assessment is paid quarterly.
DEMHRA provides relocation assistance to residents in manufactured home communities only when the community owner decides to apply for a change in land use in accordance with Title 25 Chapter 70 Section 7010 of the Manufactured Home Owners and Community Owners Act.
A change in land use is when the community owner decides to change the intended use of the land of a manufactured home community and intends to terminate or not renew the lease agreement of the individuals paying lot rent.
The community owner must give the residents a one year notice and provide updates quarterly.
You can apply for a non-relocation allowance or an abandonment allowance. You must show proof that your property taxes are paid and surrender your title to DEMHRA.
Lot rent can only be increased once in a 12-month period, regardless of the term of tenancy or term of the agreement. A landlord shall give written notice of a lot rent increase to a tenant a minimum of 90 days prior to the effective date of the rent increase.
If you have a complaint or concern you can file a complaint with the Consumer Protection Unit at the Attorney General’s Office.
Unless you are going through a change in land use, DEMHRA cannot reimburse you for demolition expenses.
DEMHRA does not provide financial assistance for residents who cannot pay their lot rent. However, a homeowner in a manufactured home community who is eligible for Social Security Disability (SSD) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits or who is 62 years old or older is eligible for lot rent assistance from the community owner under the lot Rent Assistance Program. To be eligible, the following criteria must be met:
DEMHRA does not provide financial assistance to residents needing emergency home repairs. However, there is a Statewide Emergency Repair Program (SERP), that assists eligible homeowners of manufactured homes on land-leased communities with emergency repairs. Situations that qualify include immediate health or safety threats, such as:
SERP is administered by the Milford Housing Development Corporation on behalf of the Delaware State Housing Authority. Residents can call (844) 413-0038 to see if they qualify.
The following all link to exernal PDF files:
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