As a home owner and a tenant in a manufactured housing park, it is sometimes difficult to know what your rights are and how you can protect and enforce your rights. The law is not simple, and the proper assistance in understanding it might not be available or may be hard to find. Regulations, Statutes, Supreme Court decisions, and other legal materials related to manufactured housing are complicated. It is hard to know what law applies to what situation and who to ask for help.

In New Hampshire, there are resources available for people seeking legal help with problems related to manufactured housing parks. Which resource you contact will usually depend on your circumstances and the particulars of your legal issues.

New Hampshire Bar Association: As you probably know, the New Hampshire Bar Association (NHBA) is an organization that governs NH attorneys. But the NHBA also operates programs aimed at making sure that NH citizens are able to get the legal counsel and representation they need, even if they cannot fully afford to pay for it.

The Lawyer Referral Service (LRS) is a NHBA program that provides callers with lawyers who have agreed to be available to provide consultations and possibly, legal representation, on particular issues. Some of these lawyers are willing to represent people with issues related to manufactured homes. The telephone number for LRS is (603) 229-0002.

New Hampshire Legal Assistance (NHLA): This is a program the provides legal counsel and representation to qualified, low-income people. NHLA has attorneys on staff who are experienced in manufactured housing park issues. In fact, NHLA has published a pamphlet that you can access on its website entitled "Your Rights as a Tenant in a Manufactured Housing Park" at www.nhla.org/legal_services.php or www.nhla.org/housing.php. NHLA has offices in Claremont, Littleton, Portsmouth and Manchester.

Civil Practice Clinic at Franklin Pierce Law Center: Franklin Pierce Law Center is a law school located in Concord. As part of its curriculum, it operates a program providing legal counsel and representation for indigent clients. The telephone number is (603) 225-3350.

NH Board of Manufactured Housing: The NH Board of Manufactured Housing is a board created by law that includes:

Manufactured Housing Park Tenants can file a complaint with the NH Board of Manufactured Housing with regard to certain issues outlined in the NH law entitled Regulation of Manufactured Housing Parks. The law grants the Board very specific jurisdiction and very specific authority to take action pursuant to certain laws governing manufactured housing parks. Park tenants can file complaints and go before the board with or without an attorney. More information about the board can be found at www.nh.gov/nhmhb/.

Private Attorneys: Sometimes park tenants will need to hire a private attorney and pay that attorney fees and costs associated with pursuing claims. This can be expensive, so be very careful to get an estimate from any private attorney you hire as to the likely cost of such representation. The attorney should also be willing to discuss his/her experience in the area of manufactured housing law.

NH Attorney General’s Office: The NH Attorney General’s office includes a division concerned with consumers’ rights. The AG’s office is part of the NH Department of Justice, and park tenants can visit the consumer protection page of their website at doj.nh.gov/consumer/index.html.

Manufactured Home Owners and Tenants Association: Of course, anyone can view the mission statement and information for MOTA on it’s website ( mota-nh.org ), along with the substantial resources and data related to issues important to manufactured housing homeowners and tenants in New Hampshire.

For homeowners and/or tenants in a New Hampshire manufactured housing park, being educated and aware of the various resources available to enforce your rights is imperative. It can be challenging to understand all of the laws that affect your relationship with park owners, but you can be sure that park owners will try hard to understand them or hire lawyers to protect them when there is a dispute. Homeowners and tenants who know what resources are available will fair much better in such disputes.