The rule
A statewide 3.5% annual cap on manufactured-home lot rent, effective 2025. Above 3.5% the park needs a Department of Community Affairs hardship approval; towns with stronger older protections keep them.
What to do with an increase letter
- Run the checker with the lot-rent numbers — the park ladder is separate from the apartment one.
- Ask the park, in writing, for the authority it relies on: the statute, and any hardship or justification filing if it claims one.
- Talk to your neighbors before you answer. Park law is full of collective triggers — mediation petitions, objection windows — that one household cannot pull alone.
- Never stop paying lot rent on a hunch. A park eviction moves your home, not just your tenancy.
Source: P.L. 2025, c. 85 (A3361 / S-577). Rules checked October 2026