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Manufactured home parks in North Carolina: zoning and permits

A manufactured home park, often called a mobile home park, is one tract with spaces for several homes. The local ordinance decides where a park may go and how its spaces are laid out. State rules decide its water system and its wastewater system.

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Quick summary: This guide explains how North Carolina ordinances treat manufactured home parks, which state permits cover a park’s water and wastewater, and what a buyer checks. It is for buyers of an existing park and for owners of a tract who are asking whether it could hold one. The key takeaway: the zoning district decides whether a park is possible, and the water and wastewater systems often decide how many spaces it can hold.

What a manufactured home park is

A manufactured home park is a tract where one owner rents spaces for manufactured homes. “Mobile home park” is the older name for the same use, and many ordinances and rules still use it.

The state’s drinking water rules define a mobile home park as a site where spaces are provided for lease or rental only for the placement of mobile homes. The same rule defines a mobile home subdivision as a tract where lots are sold for the homes. The difference matters: in a park, one owner holds the land, and in a subdivision, each homeowner holds a lot. See How to subdivide land in North Carolina.

Local ordinances add their own definitions. Durham’s ordinance, for example, describes a park as a residential development under single ownership with sites for Class A or Class B manufactured homes and facilities for residents.

The rules for one manufactured home on its own land are different. See Putting a manufactured home on land in North Carolina, which covers the state limits on how local zoning treats manufactured homes.

How ordinances treat parks

Most ordinances allow a park only in a named district or through a plan the governing board approves. Two adopted ordinances show the range.

Durham

Durham allows a park through a development plan. Its use table lists “manufactured home park or subdivision” in one column only, the planned development residential district, and marks it as a use that needs an approved development plan. The limited use standards then apply:

  • Home class. Only Class A or Class B manufactured homes are allowed.
  • Sites on the plan. Homes go only on sites the approved development plan shows.
  • Separation. Homes in a park stay at least 16 feet apart. Added rooms and porches count as part of the home.
  • Support uses. Buildings such as an office or laundry keep a side yard of at least 10 feet.
  • Layout. The plan shows the lot layout and walkways that connect homes with support facilities.

Raleigh

Raleigh has a separate Manufactured Housing district. Its site rules require a manufactured home development of at least 10 acres. The land can serve leased spaces, homes for rent or sale within the development, or unit ownership as a condominium.

The site development standards add more:

  • Phases. Each phase holds at least 10 spaces.
  • Streets. Every space fronts a street that meets the city’s street standards.
  • Perimeter. A transitional protective yard runs along all perimeter lines, and a street protective yard runs along public rights-of-way.
  • Open space. The development keeps the greater of 10 percent of its land area or a per-unit figure the section states.
  • Drainage. The city approves a grading and drainage plan before grading around any home pad.

The space standards set the size of each space and where a home sits on it:

Standard Raleigh MH district
Space area, home over 600 sq ft 6,000 sq ft minimum
Space area, home 600 sq ft or less 4,500 sq ft minimum
Street setback 20 ft minimum
Interior side setback 5 ft minimum
Rear setback 10 ft minimum
Separation between buildings 20 ft minimum
Skirting Required around all sides

The short version: One ordinance allows a park only through a planned district and a development plan. The other sets a minimum tract size and space rules in its own district. Read the district map and the use table before you price a tract as a park.

Water for a park

A park water system with enough homes is a public water system under state law. The statute defines a public water system as one that serves 15 or more service connections or regularly serves 25 or more individuals. A community water system serves at least 15 connections used by year-round residents, or at least 25 year-round residents.

That status brings state review. Under the prior notice rule, anyone who intends to build, alter, or expand a community water system gives written notice and submits plans to the Department of Environmental Quality. The engineer’s report goes in at least 60 days before the owner wants a decision.

A smaller park can run on private wells, one per home or one shared. See Well permits in North Carolina: drilling a private well.

Wastewater for a park

Wastewater often sets the size of a park off sewer. No one may place a residence in an area without an approved wastewater system unless an improvement permit and a construction authorization are in hand, or a licensed-professional option applies. The local health department issues those permits.

Flow decides who else reviews the system. The on-site rules set a minimum design daily flow of 120 gallons per day per bedroom for a dwelling unit. At that rate, nine three-bedroom homes on one shared system come to 3,240 gallons per day.

Above 3,000 gallons per day, the state on-site program steps in. The rule requires the state to review and approve the design for a facility with a cumulative design daily flow over 3,000 gallons per day. The health department cannot issue the improvement permit until the state approves. The same rule exempts a set of individual systems that each serve one dwelling unit.

A collection sewer and treatment plant that does not discharge to surface water needs a permit from the Division of Water Resources under the state’s non-discharge rules. A plant that discharges to a stream needs a discharge permit. See Sewer, septic, or a package plant for how the three options compare.

Take action: Send the tract’s parcel number and ask whether its district allows a park and what the water and sewer path looks like. Start with How many lots is this tract, really?

What a buyer checks

A buyer of a park or a park site checks the zoning first, then the systems, then the people on the land. These are the checks, in order:

  1. District. Confirm the district allows a park. For an existing park, ask planning staff whether it is a conforming use or a nonconforming use, and what the ordinance allows when a home is replaced.
  2. Space count. Compare the spaces on the ground with the approved plan.
  3. Water. Ask whether the park runs a public water system and get its permits and records from the operator.
  4. Wastewater. Get the permits for each septic system, the shared system, or the treatment plant. Ask the health department about any notice of violation.
  5. Floodplain and wetlands. Check the spaces against the flood map. See Floodplain vs floodway: why the difference matters.
  6. Residents. A change of use has a notice rule. Under state law, an owner who converts a community of at least five homes to a use that requires moving the homes gives each homeowner and the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency notice at least 180 days before a homeowner must move.

A North Carolina real estate attorney reads the leases and answers the landlord-tenant questions.

Who answers the question

Planning staff answer the zoning question. Other offices answer the rest.

  • Planning staff confirm the district, the use standards, and the plan review path.
  • The local health department permits septic systems and confirms their status.
  • The state on-site program reviews wastewater systems over 3,000 gallons per day.
  • The Department of Environmental Quality reviews public water system plans and non-discharge and discharge permits.
  • A professional engineer designs the water, sewer, and street systems.
  • A North Carolina real estate attorney reviews title, leases, and covenants.

The public record shows the zoning district, the tract lines, and the flood map. It may show permits on file. It does not show whether the soil will take more wastewater. We read the record in a fixed order and hand you the open questions.

Key recap

  • A manufactured home park is one tract where one owner rents spaces for homes. A manufactured home subdivision sells lots.
  • Ordinances allow parks only in named districts or through an approved plan. Durham uses a planned district and development plan, and Raleigh uses its own district with a 10-acre minimum.
  • A park water system with 15 or more connections or 25 or more regular residents is a public water system, and the Department of Environmental Quality reviews its plans.
  • The health department permits septic systems, and the state reviews a shared system over 3,000 gallons per day.
  • An owner who converts a community of at least five homes gives at least 180 days’ notice.

Questions

Can I put a mobile home park on my land in North Carolina?

Only where the local ordinance allows a park on that tract. Many ordinances allow parks only in one district or through a plan the governing board approves. Planning staff confirm the district, and the health department and the state confirm the water and wastewater path.

How many mobile homes make a park?

The local ordinance sets the count for zoning, so the answer differs by town and county. State law uses its own counts for other purposes: 15 connections for a public water system, and five homes for the conversion notice rule.

Who permits septic for a mobile home park?

The local health department issues the improvement permit and the construction authorization. For a shared system over 3,000 gallons per day, the state on-site program must approve the design first.

What is the difference between a mobile home park and a manufactured home subdivision?

In a park, one owner holds the land and rents spaces. In a subdivision, each homeowner buys a platted lot. The state drinking water rules define the two separately.

References

Primary sources cited on this page, in APA style.

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