Getting rid of a swimming pool

I just bought my first park. One of the tenants has an unfenced, above ground swimming pool.

Frank advises to get rid of the pool asap.

How should I get rid of the pool?

Because I just bought the park, I have not yet signed a lease agreement with this tenant. Should I simply tell him: unless you remove the pool, I will not sign a lease agreement with you, and you will have to move out?

Any advice will be much appreciated.

Thanks!

It should be in the park rules. If it’s not include it in the new rules. There likely is a state or local code that requires a fence anyway.

Kurt Kelley, who I hope is your agent, can walk you through the correct methodology going forward. Pools and trampolines should be banned in your park rules. The enactment on the front end can be a little tricky, because the tenants are not bound by the new rules until proper notice has been served and the time elapsed, nor can you non-renew an existing lease without the proper advance notice (about 60 days at the fastest). Kurt can talk you through all this.

@frankrolfe, thanks Frank, yes, Kurt Kelley is my agent.

@KurtKelley, Kurt, could you please give your thoughts on this issue? thanks.

Sorry, but I am very confused by some answers. Perhaps someone can explain it clearly.

In the thread I started about tenant land usage, Tenant Space Usage - #2 by KurtKelley, the replies indicated that the tenant had legal use of the complete space allocated to him or her through the space regulations required by governing authority.

IF a tenant puts up or has a pool or anything else for that matter even though you don’t like it, on the space that (s)he is leasing from you and they are complying with all local laws and have home owner or renters insurance how can you as the landlord deny them the use of that item? Or enforce its removal? Doesn’t your position or rule come in conflict with superiority of law and thus can not be enforced legally? Can’t the tenant then create serious legal problems for you?

I am sure there others who are more experienced here, but this seems similar to covenants in certain neighborhoods. even though property is leased, certain restrictions still apply.

rules are rules, not sure what you mean by superiority of law …

jd585, I agree with DeanS.

As the MHP Owner you are like a Subdivision’s HOA (Home Owner’s Association) who develops and enforces rules for the neighborhoood / community.

In fact our own Subdivision HOA is going after a Resident who selected to build an above ground pool with a deck around it with no fence nor prior approval. Our Subdivision HOA is now applying fines to this Resident and will probably take them to court or put a lien on their house for all the fines.

Our MHP Rules do NOT allow:

  • Swimming Pools: Liability of drowning
  • Fire Pits: Liability of fires
  • Trampolines: Liability of injuries

We have had several MHP Tenants buy and put up swimming pools (even though it is against our MHP Rules).

We immediately inform the MHP Tenants that they are violating the rules and that they will need to remove the swimming pool immediately.

One of the adult children of our MHP Tenant actually purchased and put up a fairly large pool (without any permission). The adult child was very upset that they had to remove the pool. If the actual MHP Tenant selected to not remove the pool, they would have just been given a 30 day notice of non-renewal of their month-to-month lease. However, the actual MHP Tenant (the Dad) was very apologetic and had the pool removed immediately.

Ultimately, it is your land and your rules. You need to create rules to protect both yourself and others.

Now you cannot create unreasonable rules or discriminatory rules.

However, reasonable rules that are evenly enforced are not a problem.

We wish you the very best!

Kristin is right in most every jurisidiction. There may be some coastal states with tenant rights rules which prohibit you from taking action, but generally speaking, you can prohibit pools, trampolines, fire pits and other hazards from being placed on your home sites. Frank and Dave allow no tenant pools or trampolines. 99% of all park insurance companies demand the same. It’s a shame tenants can’t have them, but because the law generally makes the park owner jointly responsible with the tenant for any accidents on them, you really don’t have a choice as a park owner. And if you did allow a tenant owned pool, it would have to meet all local pool safety requirements (fencing, marked depths, shepherd hook, life preserver, clear water, no diving signs, safety and 911 signs… plus the park owner would be charged anyhere from $400 to $800/year extra on their general liability insurance per pool.

It’s a shame tenants can’t have pools, trampolines, fire pits and the dog of their choice. But because many can’t and or won’t properly take care of their assets and wholly defend and indemnify you as the park owner, they just can’t. America’s jackpot legal system has made such freedoms a thing of the past.

Mobile home park rules are generally to a higher standard than those of the surrounding neighborhoods. It’s private property and you can set your park rules as you see fit, within reasonable guidelines. For example, the speed limit on park roads is traditionally much lower than the surrounding city speed limits on city streets. and we don’t allow large dogs while the city does allow large dogs, etc. These are the rules that the tenant accepts to live on our private property.