Mobile home park owners could get 75% tax break for selling to residents

Millions of Americans own the manufactured homes they live in but not the land beneath them. When that land changes hands, communities can close, lot rents can spike, and moving a home can cost thousands of dollars or prove impossible.

A proposal in the U.S. House of Representatives tries to shape what happens at that moment of sale. The bill from Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, joined by four Democratic cosponsors, would amend the Internal Revenue Code to offer a business tax credit on gains from selling property if the land will continue operating as a manufactured‑home community.

Manufactured housing represents a large slice of the country’s lower‑cost housing supply. More than 22 million people live in HUD‑code manufactured homes across the United States, spread across about 6.7 million occupied units.

A tax incentive tied to who buys the land

The proposal creates a federal business tax credit equal to 75 percent of the gain a property owner receives from selling land used as a manufactured‑home community. To qualify, the buyer must be a resident‑controlled cooperative or a nonprofit corporation made up of people who live in the community.

The sale would also have to include a binding commitment that the property remain a manufactured‑home community for at least 50 years, or for the longest period allowed under state law if local rules limit such agreements. The bill frames the policy around a population that tends to have limited housing options. In 2020 the median household income for people living in manufactured housing was about $35,000.

Both sides of the transaction would need to attest that the sale meets the program’s conditions, and the agreement would be recorded with the property deed so the long‑term use requirement follows the land.

A large but fragile piece of the housing market

Manufactured homes are among the most affordable forms of housing in the United States, which helps explain the attention from housing policy proposals. Congressional findings attached to the bill note that these homes make up about 6 percent of the nation’s housing stock and that more than half are located in rural areas.

Prices have been climbing even in this lower‑cost corner of the market. The average sales price of a new manufactured home, excluding land, rose from $81,700 in 2019 to $121,300 by December 2023.

Because residents often own their homes but rent the land beneath them, a community’s sale can put homeowners in a difficult position. Moving a manufactured home is expensive and sometimes impractical, leaving residents dependent on what happens to the property after it changes hands.

A tax‑code tool aimed at preservation