Abandoned Mobile Home Titles in Michigan: How the Process Changed
If you run a manufactured housing community in Michigan, you have probably had at least one home that just sits there. The resident has moved out, maybe after an eviction or maybe without a word. The home is still on the lot, the title is nowhere to be found, and no one is answering the phone.
That home is more than an empty unit. Under Michigan law it is titled property that belongs to someone else until the record says otherwise. This post covers why the title matters, how community owners used to handle abandoned homes, what changed around 2020, and how the process generally works today.
Mobile Homes in Michigan Are Titled Like Vehicles
A mobile home on a rented lot usually isn’t real estate in the way a house on its own land is. Michigan treats it more like a car. The Michigan Department of State (still often called the Secretary of State, or SOS) issues a Certificate of Manufactured Home Ownership (older documents may say “Certificate of Mobile Home Title”). The Department describes these documents as looking like a vehicle title and serving the same purpose. Homes titled before 1978 may show up as a “trailer coach.”
The Mobile Home Commission Act puts this into law. Under MCL 125.2330, every mobile home located in Michigan has been subject to the Act’s certificate-of-title provisions since the end of 1978 (new homes held for sale by a manufacturer or licensed dealer are the exception). The same section says a mobile home “shall not be sold or transferred except by transfer of the certificate of title.”
That one sentence explains why an abandoned home is such a headache. Whether the resident walked away, owes months of lot rent or signed a lease calling leftover property abandoned, the name on the title is still the name on the title. To sell the home, give it to a new resident or clear it out with a clean record, the community needs to get that title into its own name.
What Counts as an “Abandoned” Mobile Home?
The Mobile Home Commission Act does not have a simple checklist that makes a home “abandoned.” In everyday use, operators mean a home where the titled owner has left and stopped paying, and hasn’t removed, sold or claimed the home.
Whether a home was actually abandoned in the legal sense can depend on the facts and the lease. In Yamaoka v Sun Communities, Inc (Mich Ct App, Dec. 28, 2021, unpublished), the Court of Appeals noted that abandonment means the owner gave up their rights in the property. It also pointed out that the two leases in that case handled abandonment differently, so each situation had to be looked at on its own facts. (Opinion PDF) In short, calling a home abandoned is where the analysis starts. It doesn’t settle anything.
How It Used to Work: The Surety-Bond Method
For years, community owners had an administrative route that didn’t involve a judge. Under MCL 125.2330a(2), when the Department “is not satisfied as to the ownership” of a mobile home, it may require the applicant to file a surety bond worth twice the home’s value. The bond protects prior owners, lienholders and later buyers.
The Department’s guidance built a practice around that provision. According to the Court of Appeals in Yamaoka, the “surety-bond method” was, at the time, endorsed by the Secretary of State as one of three ways to get title to an abandoned mobile home. A community would submit a title application, a surety bond and a statement about the abandonment, and the Department would issue a new title. No lawsuit was needed.
What Changed Around 2020
The bond method was challenged in court. In May 2019, a class action titled Yamaoka v Benson (U.S. District Court, W.D. Mich., No. 1:19-cv-00374) was filed against the Secretary of State. It argued that the bond policy let homes be retitled without giving the owner notice and a chance for a hearing, in violation of due process. (Center for Civil Justice case summary) A separate case brought against a large community operator in Muskegon County Circuit Court earlier in 2019 also attacked the practice. That is the state case that later reached the Court of Appeals.
According to the Center for Civil Justice, plaintiffs’ co-counsel in the federal case, the Secretary of State removed the surety-bond policy from its Title and Registration Manual in February 2020. The federal court later dismissed the case as moot, finding the policy was not reasonably expected to come back. Federal court records show the case closed in March 2022. Other commentators have put the change in late 2019, so the exact date depends on the source.
How It Works Now: Assigned Title or Court Order
The Michigan Department of State’s mobile home page now describes two paths for an abandoned home:
- An assigned title from the owner. If you can reach the titled owner and they sign the title over to the community, the Department calls this “the easiest method.” It also acknowledges that the owner usually can’t be reached.
- A court order awarding ownership. When no assigned title is available, the community can get a court order that serves in place of one. Per the Department, the order must:
- identify the home by year, make and VIN/manufacturer’s serial number,
- assign ownership to the proper name or names, and
- terminate any previous liens, if applicable, and list any new lienholder.
Where Piper Legal Fits In
Piper Legal handles mobile home title actions for community owners and operators, and we file them in circuit courts across Michigan. The process starts with a simple intake spreadsheet for each home. We review it and send an invoice for your approval, and once you approve, the case is accepted. Our target is 3 to 6 months from acceptance to a signed court order, though court calendars and service can affect timing. If you have homes like these, you can use Schedule Time With Me on our website or call (810) 235-2558.
For a look at what untitled homes cost a community while they sit, see our companion post, The Hidden Costs of Untitled Abandoned Mobile Homes in Your Community.
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Disclaimer: This post is general information for Michigan manufactured housing community owners and operators. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws and Department of State procedures change, and every home’s situation is different. Talk to a lawyer about your specific facts before taking action on a home you don’t hold title to.