25 Del. C. ch. 70 § 7052
Rent justification; when §§ 7052A and 7052B of this title do not apply
Operative Text
(a) (1) This section applies to rent increases for all single-year and for all multiple-year leases entered into or renewed upon expiration of a prior lease after November 30, 2013, if notice of a rent increase was provided before July 1, 2022. (2) [Repealed.] (b) A community owner may raise a homeowner’s rent for any and all 12-month periods governed by the rental agreement in an amount greater than the average annual increase of the CPI-U for the most recently available preceding 36-month period, provided the community owner can demonstrate the increase is justified for all of the following conditions: (1) The community owner, during the preceding 12-month period, has not been found in violation of any provision of this chapter that threatens the health or safety of the residents, visitors, or guests that persists for more than 15 days, beginning from the day the community owner received notice of such violation. (2) The proposed rent increase is directly related to operating, maintaining, or improving the manufactured home community, and justified by 1 or more factors listed under subsection (d) of this section. (c) The Delaware State Housing Authority shall monitor the CPI-U and report to the Authority findings and recommendations relevant to the cost of rent in manufactured home communities in Delaware. (d) One or more of the following factors may justify the increase of rent in an amount greater than the CPI-U: (1) The completion and cost of any capital improvements or rehabilitation work in the manufactured home community, as distinguished from ordinary repair, replacement, and maintenance. (2) Changes in property taxes or other taxes within the manufactured home community. (3) Changes in utility charges within the manufactured home community. (4) Changes in insurance costs and financing associated with the manufactured home community. (5) Changes in reasonable operating and maintenance expenses relating to the manufactured home community including costs for water service; sewer service; septic service; water disposal; trash collection; and employees. (6) The need for repairs caused by circumstances other than ordinary wear and tear in the manufactured home community. (7) Market rent. (8) The amount of rental assistance provided by the community owner to the homeowners under § 7022 of this title. (e) A community owner shall not incorporate the cost of a civil penalty, criminal fine, or litigation-related costs for rent-related proceedings into rent charged under any circumstance. A community owner also shall not utilize as justification for any future rental increase the cost of capital improvements or rehabilitation work, once that cost has been fully recovered by rental increases that were incorporated into a prior rental increase in excess of CPI-U, where the prior rental increase was properly implemented under this subchapter.
Section 7052 of Title 25 of the Delaware Code governs rent increases in manufactured home communities for leases entered into or renewed after November 30, 2013, where notice of a rent increase was given before July 1, 2022. Under this provision, a community owner may raise rent beyond the average annual CPI-U increase for the prior 36-month period only if specific conditions are met, including demonstrating that the increase is tied to legitimate operating, maintenance, or improvement costs. The rule also prohibits community owners from folding civil penalties, criminal fines, or litigation costs into rent, and bars double-counting capital improvement costs that have already been fully recovered through prior above-CPI-U increases.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Community owners subject to § 7052 who seek to raise rents above the CPI-U benchmark must be prepared to document that the increase is directly tied to one or more qualifying factors listed in subsection (d), such as capital improvements, tax changes, utility cost shifts, or market rent. Compliant operators also ensure they have no unresolved health-or-safety violations persisting beyond 15 days from the date of notice before implementing an above-CPI-U increase. Additionally, operators under § 7052 keep clear records distinguishing capital improvement costs that have been fully recovered through prior increases, so those costs are not reused as justification for future rent hikes.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Homeowners in manufactured home communities covered by § 7052 have the right to expect that any above-CPI-U rent increase is supported by documented justification tied to the factors listed in subsection (d), and that no civil penalties, fines, or litigation costs have been passed through as rent. If a community owner cannot demonstrate compliance with the conditions in § 7052—including the absence of unresolved health-or-safety violations—tenants may have grounds to challenge the increase. Tenants can explore options such as raising a § 7052 violation as a defense in a rent-related proceeding, contacting the Delaware State Housing Authority, or reaching out to a tenant-rights organization for general information about available remedies.
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.
Effective Timeline
References In
Rules and statutes that cite this regulation