25 Del. C. ch. 70 § 7028
Right of first offer; notice not required before sale of manufactured home community
Operative Text
A manufactured home community owner is not required to give notice of or extend a right of first offer to a homeowner association, DMHOA or its successor, or the Authority under the any of the following circumstances: (1) A bank, mortgage company, or any other mortgagee has foreclosed on the community and the mortgagee is selling the community at a foreclosure sale, or is selling the community after having purchased the community at a foreclosure sale. (2) The sale, transfer, or conveyance of the community is to a family member of the community owner on the modified Table of Consanguinity under § 7014 of this title or to a trust, the beneficiaries of which are family members of the owner on the modified Table of Consanguinity; or the sale, transfer, or conveyance is to a family member on the modified Table of Consanguinity who is included within the line of intestate succession if the community owner dies intestate. (3) The sale, transfer, or conveyance is by a partnership to 1 or more of its partners. (4) The sale, transfer, or conveyance is between joint tenants or tenants-in-common. (5) The sale, transfer, or conveyance is by gift, devise, or operation of law. (6) The sale, transfer, or conveyance is pursuant to eminent domain. (7) The sale, transfer, or conveyance is to an affiliate. An “affiliate” means an individual, corporation, limited partnership, unincorporated association, or entity that holds any direct or indirect ownership interest in the community, except that the notice and extension of the right of first offer must be granted to a homeowner association where the majority interest in the ownership of the community or the power, directly or indirectly, to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies over the community, whether through ownership of voting stock, by contract, or otherwise, is sold, transferred, or conveyed to any individual, corporation, limited partnership, unincorporated association, or other entity which has not held such a direct or indirect ownership interest in the community for 3 or more years. (8) The sale, transfer, or conveyance is an exchange of the manufactured housing community for all, or substantially all, of other real property under § 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 1031) or any other provision of the Internal Revenue Code that allows for exchanges or tax-free exchanges, regardless of whether the exchange also involves the payment of cash or other consideration. (9) A change in use of the manufactured home community by the existing community owner.
Under 25 Del. C. ch. 70 § 7028, Delaware law identifies nine specific circumstances in which a manufactured home community owner is not obligated to notify or extend a right of first offer to a homeowner association, DMHOA, or the Delaware State Housing Authority before selling or transferring the community. These exemptions cover situations such as foreclosure sales, transfers to close family members or family trusts, transfers among business partners or co-owners, gifts, eminent domain, certain affiliate transactions, like-kind exchanges under federal tax law, and changes in use by the existing owner. Outside these enumerated exceptions, the right-of-first-offer requirements under the chapter generally apply.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Community owners operating under 25 Del. C. ch. 70 § 7028 should be aware that the nine listed exemptions are narrowly defined, and a transaction that does not clearly fit one of them may still trigger notice and right-of-first-offer obligations. Operators commonly document the basis for any claimed exemption—such as the family relationship, partnership structure, or affiliate ownership history—before proceeding with a transfer. The affiliate exemption in particular contains a three-year ownership threshold that warrants careful review before a sale is structured as an intra-entity transfer.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Section 7028 of Title 25 limits when community owners can bypass the right-of-first-offer process, which is a protection that can give homeowner associations an opportunity to purchase the community before an outside sale. If residents believe a sale has occurred without proper notice and no valid exemption applies, they may raise that issue through their homeowner association, contact DMHOA or the Delaware State Housing Authority, or consult a tenant-rights organization familiar with manufactured housing law.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated October 22, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
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