Resident-Owned Communities: Buying a Park as a Co-op

A resident-owned community, or ROC, is a manufactured home community that the people who live in it have bought together and now run as a cooperative. Each household keeps owning its own home. The land underneath belongs to the cooperative, and members vote on how it is run. ROC USA, a national organization that finances and supports these purchases, describes its approach as a model for limited-equity manufactured home cooperatives.

The idea answers a problem that anyone who owns a manufactured home on rented land knows. ROC USA says that in a traditional manufactured home community (sometimes still called a mobile home park or trailer park), residents own their homes, but the community owner controls the land, sets the site fees, makes the park rules and controls the condition of roads, water, electric and waste-water systems. It adds that each time the community is sold to a new owner, the rent is likely to increase. A ROC changes who holds that control.

This page explains the model, how a purchase works, which laws help residents buy and what to weigh. It covers the structure only. For the wider family of co-op housing, see housing cooperatives.

What a ROC is

In a ROC, homeowners form a cooperative corporation, the cooperative buys the land and the community's shared systems, and each household becomes a member. According to ROC USA, members continue to own their own homes individually and own an equal share of the land beneath the entire neighborhood. They sign perpetual leases and, in ROC USA's words, enjoy lifetime security against unfair eviction.

That makes a ROC a different thing from the apartment co-ops described on the co-op apartment page. The members own separate houses, and the shared asset is the land and infrastructure, not a building. It shares the cooperative core: one member, one vote, an elected board and no outside owner taking profit.

ROC USA says major decisions in a ROC are made by democratic vote. An elected board of directors appoints committees and hires a property manager to handle daily tasks and the community's needs. Site fees are the monthly charge for the lot. ROC USA says members of a ROC can control costs, improve facilities and make their own rules, that there is no profit margin in monthly site fees, and that ROCs are not subject to market-based rent increases.

How the ownership is split

What	Who owns or controls it	Source
The home	The household, individually	ROC USA, "Why Resident Ownership"
The land and shared systems	The cooperative, which all members share equally	ROC USA, "Why Resident Ownership"
The right to stay on the lot	A perpetual lease from the cooperative	ROC USA, "Why Resident Ownership"
The member share	A small payment that is paid back when the member moves out	ROC USA, "Why Resident Ownership"
Daily management	A property manager hired by the elected board	ROC USA, "Why Resident Ownership"

ROC USA says a member's only personal financial investment in the ROC is the member share, typically $250 to $500, paid back when they move out, and that members are not personally liable for loans made by the cooperative. Those loans belong to the cooperative. Whether a specific community works this way is set by its own documents, so read them before you rely on any general description.

Investor-owned and resident-owned, side by side

ROC USA draws the contrast this way.

Question	Investor-owned community	Resident-owned community
Who owns the land?	The community owner	The cooperative, shared by the members
Who sets the rules and controls costs?	The community owner sets site fees and park rules	The members, by vote, say ROC USA
What happens when the community is sold?	Rent is likely to rise, says ROC USA	The members are the owners
Who decides on roads, water and electric systems?	The community owner	The members, through their elected board

ROC USA also lists what it says residents gain: control, because members have a say; eviction security; liability protection; and a strong sense of community. Those are the model's own claims, drawn from its description of how it works. A given community's experience depends on its finances, its board and the condition of its infrastructure.

How residents buy their community

ROC USA says community owners hold the key to any purchase opportunity, so the process starts with the seller. It says owners only need to provide the opportunity for a resident purchase, and that it never approaches the homeowners in a community without the owner's permission. Its seller page lays out four stages:

Permission. The owner decides the time is right and agrees to let residents bid.
Financing. ROC USA says it knows how to bring acquisition financing to the closing table.
Due diligence. The residents look at the same things any buyer would: infrastructure, financial health and property conditions. ROC USA says that at the same time it trains a new board and organizes all residents ahead of the purchase vote.
Closing. The purchase is finalized and the cooperative takes ownership.

On its residents' page, ROC USA says it is not buying the community, the residents are, and that its process puts homeowners in the driver's seat. It says regional nonprofit affiliates give local technical assistance and acquisition expertise, with its own staff covering areas that no affiliate serves. For residents whose owner is looking to sell, it invites them to reach out so a team member can research the community and contact the seller. For residents whose community is not on the market, it asks them to share what they know about the owner so it can build a relationship.

Financing

ROC USA Capital is ROC USA's lending subsidiary and a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). ROC USA says its partners include national and regional banks, insurance companies and other CDFIs, plus state and local governments and the U.S. Treasury Department's CDFI Fund. It describes acquisition, permanent and community-improvement financing. The co-op, not each member, owes the loan, per ROC USA's statement on liability above.

For general sources of co-op financing, see loans for cooperatives.

Laws that give residents a chance to buy

Whether residents get any head start depends on the state. ROC USA says that in some states homeowners receive advance notice and a chance to buy the community themselves, and that in most states they have limited protections or none. It points to the National Consumer Law Center as the expert source on opportunity-to-purchase laws and their state-by-state breakdown. Check your state's statute or ask a housing attorney before you count on any right.

Minnesota's statute gives one concrete example. Section 327C.095, subdivision 6, in the 2025 Minnesota Statutes, covers one situation: before a park purchase agreement is signed, the buyer must tell the park owner in writing if it plans to close the park or convert it to another use within one year.

Step	What the statute says
Buyer's notice	The buyer notifies the park owner in writing that it plans to close or convert the park within a year
Residents' notice	The owner gives a resident of each home 45 days' written notice of the buyer's plan
Waiting period	The owner may not sign a purchase agreement with anyone except a representative acting on behalf of residents until the 45 days end
Residents' offer	The residents' representative may offer to meet the cash price and the same material terms, and to buy the park to keep it a manufactured housing community
Seller's duty	The owner must negotiate in good faith, but is not required to provide owner financing
Due diligence	The purchase agreement must allow a commercially reasonable due diligence period
Earnest money	The representative must provide 10 percent of the offer price as earnest money, refundable after six months. It can be used to compensate the owner for a lower price if the residents cannot complete the purchase, the original buyer withdraws and the park sells for less within six months
Afterward	If residents buy, the representative certifies that the property will stay a manufactured home park for ten years

The statute excludes some transfers from these rules, including a conveyance incidental to financing, a sale after foreclosure and a purchase by a government under eminent domain. It also says a sale in violation of the rules gives residents the remedies in section 8.31. Rules in other states differ in who is covered, how long the window lasts and what counts as a sale, so read your own state's law.

What running a ROC involves

Owning together is work. ROC USA's own description shows what members take on:

Elections and meetings. Members vote on major decisions and elect the board.
Committees. The board appoints committees, and ROC USA mentions committees for beautification and other community work.
A manager. The board hires a property manager rather than running daily tasks itself.
Money. Members decide how to make investments and improvements in infrastructure such as roads, water, electric and waste-water systems.
Rules. Members, by vote, set the community rules that residents then follow.

ROC USA also offers training. It says it stays with ROCs after the purchase with services meant to help them succeed in the long term, and it also points to the ROC Association, whose directors are elected by the boards of local ROCs.

What to weigh before you sign on

A ROC is not free ownership. Weigh these points.

You still pay monthly. Members pay site fees to the cooperative. The point is that the fees stay within members' control, not that they vanish.
The co-op carries the loan. Buying land takes financing. The co-op, not each household, owes it, but the co-op's budget has to repay it and fund repairs.
Condition matters. If the roads or water system are in poor shape when the co-op buys, the members now own that problem. Ask what due diligence found.
Your vote counts, so does your time. Boards and committees need volunteers.
The model is limited-equity in design. ROC USA calls its approach a model for limited-equity manufactured home cooperatives. What that means for your home's resale price is in the cooperative's own documents. See limited-equity cooperatives for how resale caps work in general.
State law decides your head start. If your state gives residents no notice before a sale, an organized group may have little time.

If your community is for sale, or you want to be ready

Start with the documents and the law:

Find out what your state's law says about notice to residents when a park is sold, and who enforces it. A housing attorney or a legal aid office can explain it.
Get organized. ROC USA says residents can reach out whether the owner is selling or not.
Ask for the facts a buyer would ask for. Infrastructure condition, finances, the lease and the community rules.
Ask for the co-op's governing documents before you become a member, including the bylaws, the lease and how site fees are set.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a resident-owned community?

A manufactured home community whose residents buy the land together as a cooperative. Each household owns its own home, the cooperative owns the land and shared systems, and members vote on how the community is run.

Is a ROC the same as a mobile home park?

ROC USA says "mobile home park" is an outdated name for a manufactured home community, and that most such communities are investor owned. A ROC is the same kind of community owned by its residents.

Who owns the land in a ROC?

The cooperative, which all the members share equally, per ROC USA. Individual households own their homes.

How much does it cost to join a ROC?

ROC USA says the member share is typically $250 to $500 and is paid back when the member moves out. Site fees are paid monthly. Ask the community for its figures.

Can residents force the owner to sell?

ROC USA says community owners hold the key to any purchase opportunity. Some state laws give residents notice or a head start when a sale is coming, but ROC USA says most states give limited protections or none.

Does Minnesota give residents the right to buy?

Minnesota's statute gives residents a 45-day window in one situation, when a buyer plans to close or convert the park within a year. See the table above for the steps and exclusions.

Who helps residents buy a park?

ROC USA says its team, regional nonprofit affiliates and ROC USA Capital provide technical assistance and financing. Housing attorneys and legal aid offices can explain your state's law.

Are members personally liable for the co-op's loans?

ROC USA says members are not personally liable for loans made by the cooperative, and that their only personal investment is the member share. Read the community's documents to confirm how yours is set up.