Wash. Rev. Code § 59.20 § 59.20.135
Maintenance of permanent structures -- Findings and declarations -- Definition.
Operative Text
(1) The legislature finds that some mobile home park owners transfer the responsibility for the upkeep of permanent structures within the mobile home park to the park tenants. This transfer sometimes occurs after the permanent structures have been allowed to deteriorate. Many mobile home parks consist entirely of senior citizens who do not have the financial resources or physical capability to make the necessary repairs to these structures once they have fallen into disrepair. The inability of the tenants to maintain permanent structures can lead to significant safety hazards to the tenants as well as to visitors to the mobile home park. The legislature therefore finds and declares that it is in the public interest and necessary for the public health and safety to prohibit mobile home park owners from transferring the duty to maintain permanent structures in mobile home parks to the tenants. (2) A mobile home park owner is prohibited from transferring responsibility for the maintenance or care of permanent structures within the mobile home park to the tenants of the park. A provision within a rental agreement or other document transferring responsibility for the maintenance or care of permanent structures within the mobile home park to the park tenants is void. (3) A "permanent structure" for purposes of this section includes the clubhouse, carports, storage sheds, or other permanent structure. A permanent structure does not include structures built or affixed by a tenant. A permanent structure includes only those structures that were provided as amenities to the park tenants. (4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a park owner from requiring a tenant to maintain his or her mobile home, manufactured home, or park model or yard. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a park owner from transferring responsibility for the maintenance or care of permanent structures within the mobile home park to an organization of park tenants or to an individual park tenant when requested by the tenant organization or individual tenant.
Under Wash. Rev. Code § 59.20.135, mobile home park owners in Washington are prohibited from shifting the duty to maintain permanent structures—such as clubhouses, carports, and storage sheds provided as park amenities—onto their tenants. Any lease clause or other document that attempts to make tenants responsible for such structures is automatically void and unenforceable. The rule does not affect a park owner's ability to require tenants to maintain their own homes, manufactured homes, or yards, nor does it prevent a tenant organization or individual tenant from voluntarily requesting to take on that responsibility.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Under Wash. Rev. Code § 59.20.135, compliant mobile home park operators retain responsibility for maintaining amenity structures such as clubhouses, carports, and storage sheds, and do not include lease provisions that shift that duty to residents. Operators generally audit their rental agreements to ensure no language—even boilerplate—purports to transfer maintenance obligations for park-owned permanent structures to tenants, since such clauses are void by statute. Responsibility for a tenant's own mobile home, manufactured home, park model, or yard may still be assigned to the tenant, and voluntary arrangements with a tenant organization or individual tenant who requests to take on structural maintenance remain permissible under this section.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Wash. Rev. Code § 59.20.135 gives mobile home park tenants a statutory protection against being held responsible for maintaining park amenity structures like clubhouses, carports, and storage sheds. If a rental agreement contains a clause attempting to transfer that maintenance duty to tenants, that clause is void under this provision and generally cannot be enforced against residents. Tenants who believe a park owner is improperly shifting structural maintenance obligations may consider raising this provision as a defense in any related proceeding, contacting a local tenant-rights organization, or reaching out to Washington's relevant housing authorities for guidance.
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 7, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
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