No matter what kind of home you live in, challenges will pop up.

If you own your home and a pipe starts leaking, you might call a plumber. If you rent, you call your landlord. But what if you own your home and rent the land underneath it?

Thousands of Wisconsin residents own manufactured homes and pay to anchor their homes in communities, often called mobile home or trailer parks. Owners of manufactured homes are responsible for repairs to their homes but rely on park owners to maintain things like roads, water drainage and sewage. 

And if landlords don’t respond and conditions deteriorate? A patchwork of laws and regulations governing manufactured housing leaves residents unsure of where to turn.

‘They are squeezing everybody in this park to death’: Owners of manufactured homes get little protection as private equity moves in

Wisconsin regulators rarely inspect parks and allow many to go unlicensed — all while frustrations simmer with unresponsive landlords.

Here’s a list of options:

• Those with issues surrounding park maintenance should file a complaint with the Department of Safety and Professional Services using its online form. DSPS licenses manufactured home communities and determines if complaints warrant inspection and potential discipline. The agency accepts anonymous complaints. Find more information here. In 16 counties, the DSPS has delegated inspection authority to local health departments. Find a list of delegated counties here. 

• If the issue involves eviction, lease agreements or other landlord-tenant issues, contact the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. Residents can submit an online complaint here. Complainants can leave identifying information off of the form, but it may limit DATCP’s ability to help address the issue. The agency contacts businesses on behalf of tenants to try to mediate problems, although the agency lacks the power to force mediation. Complaints — resolved or not —  help the agency track potentially unfair business practices. 

• County health officials have jurisdiction over complaints related to health and safety. Find contact information for your local agency here. 

• City, town and village officials can also adopt their own regulations on manufactured housing communities. Consider asking local officials about requirements in your community and who enforces them. 

Need help paying for repairs? 

Tomorrow’s Home Foundation, partially funded by the state, grants low-income manufactured home owners up to $3,000 for repairs or modifications or up to $1,500 to dispose of uninhabitable homes. Learn more about eligibility here, and download an application here. 

Have a question or know of a resource we should add to this list? Contact Addie Costello at acostello@wisconsinwatch.org.

Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our newsletters for original stories and our Friday news roundup.

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Have an issue with a manufactured housing park? Here’s what to know

by Addie Costello / Wisconsin Watch and WPR, Wisconsin Watch
October 8, 2025

<h1>Have an issue with a manufactured housing park? Here’s what to know</h1> <p class="byline">by Addie Costello / Wisconsin Watch and WPR, Wisconsin Watch <br />October 8, 2025</p> <p>No matter what kind of home you live in, challenges will pop up.</p> <p>If you own your home and a pipe starts leaking, you might call a plumber. If you rent, you call your landlord. But what if you own your home and rent the land underneath it?</p> <p>Thousands of Wisconsin residents own manufactured homes and pay to anchor their homes in communities, often called mobile home or trailer parks. Owners of manufactured homes are responsible for repairs to their homes but rely on park owners to maintain things like roads, water drainage and sewage.&nbsp;</p> <p>And if landlords don’t respond and conditions deteriorate? A patchwork of laws and regulations governing manufactured housing leaves residents <a href="https://wisconsinwatch.org/2025/09/wisconsin-manufactured-housing-mobile-home-park-private-equity-licensing/">unsure of where to turn</a>.</p> <p>Here’s a list of options:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Those with issues surrounding park maintenance should file a complaint with the Department of Safety and Professional Services using its <a href="https://license.wi.gov/s/public-complaint-form">online form</a>. DSPS licenses manufactured home communities and determines if complaints warrant inspection and potential discipline. The agency accepts anonymous complaints. Find more information <a href="https://dsps.wi.gov/Documents/FAQComplaints.pdf">here</a>. In 16 counties, the DSPS has delegated inspection authority to local health departments. Find a list of delegated counties <a href="https://dsps.wi.gov/Documents/Programs/DelegatedAgent/MHCDelegatedAgent.pdf">here</a>. </li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>If the issue involves eviction, lease agreements or other landlord-tenant issues, contact the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. Residents can submit an online complaint <a href="https://mydatcp.wi.gov/Complaints/complaint/create/f242c589-da19-e511-af89-0050568c06ae">here</a>. Complainants can leave identifying information off of the form, but it may limit DATCP’s ability to help address the issue. The agency contacts businesses on behalf of tenants to try to mediate problems, although the agency lacks the power to force mediation. Complaints — resolved or not —  help the agency track potentially unfair business practices. </li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>County health officials have jurisdiction over complaints related to health and safety. Find contact information for your local agency <a href="https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/lh-depts/index.htm">here</a>. </li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>City, town and village officials can also adopt their own regulations on manufactured housing communities. Consider asking local officials about requirements in your community and who enforces them. </li> </ul> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Need help paying for repairs?&nbsp;</strong></h2> <p><a href="https://www.tomorrowshomefoundation.org/applications">Tomorrow’s Home Foundation</a>, partially funded by the state, grants low-income manufactured home owners up to $3,000 for repairs or modifications or up to $1,500 to dispose of uninhabitable homes. Learn more about eligibility <a href="https://www.tomorrowshomefoundation.org/applications">here</a>, and download an application <a href="https://www.tomorrowshomefoundation.org/_files/ugd/1e8666_23c569fa69304be391eeb9bd680578c9.pdf">here</a>. </p> <p><em>Have a question or know of a resource we should add to this list? Contact Addie Costello at </em><a href="mailto:acostello@wisconsinwatch.org"><em>acostello@wisconsinwatch.org</em></a><em>.</em></p> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://wisconsinwatch.org/2025/10/wisconsin-manufactured-home-housing-park-resource-guide-what-to-know/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://wisconsinwatch.org&quot;&gt;Wisconsin Watch&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/wisconsinwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cropped-WCIJ_IconOnly_FullColor_RGB-1.png?fit=150%2C150&amp;amp;quality=100&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p> &lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://wisconsinwatch.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=1310083&amp;amp;ga4=G-D2S69Y9TDB&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://wisconsinwatch.org/2025/10/wisconsin-manufactured-home-housing-park-resource-guide-what-to-know/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/wisconsinwatch.org/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;

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