Mobile home and RV parks are privately owned communities where residents lease lots for manufactured housing or recreational vehicles. They range from 55+ retiree co-ops to family communities with hundreds of lots, and often include shared amenities like pools, clubhouses, laundry facilities, and private roads. The park operator is responsible for common area maintenance, utilities infrastructure, and overall site safety.

Top Hazards:

1. Trip-and-fall on private roads and walkways — cracked pavement, poor lighting, and uneven surfaces across miles of internal streets are the number one GL driver.
2. Pool and recreational facility liability — many parks operate pools, spas, shuffleboard courts, and horseshoe pits for an older population with higher injury severity.
3. Utility infrastructure failure — parks that operate their own sewage treatment or water treatment plants carry environmental and bodily injury exposure most inspectors underestimate.
4. Fire spread between units — manufactured homes sit close together with minimal fire separation, and park-owned common buildings may lack sprinklers or current extinguisher service.
5. Waterfront and flood exposure — coastal parks face storm surge, and inland parks near lakes or rivers carry dock, boat ramp, and drowning liability.

Key Numbers: The average mobile home park GL claim involves slip-and-fall on common areas. Fires in manufactured housing communities spread to adjacent units roughly 15% of the time due to tight lot spacing. Parks with pools see aquatic liability claims at rates comparable to hotel/motel operations.

Your Goal: Evaluate the full scope of premises liability across common areas, recreational facilities, utility operations, and private infrastructure. Flag deferred maintenance before it becomes a claim.

INSPECTION CHECKLIST

PARK OPERATIONS & MANAGEMENT

Why Check: How a park is managed tells you more about risk quality than any single physical hazard. Active on-site management correlates directly with fewer claims.

• On-site management presence and hours — part-time offices (3 days/week) vs. full-time staffing changes response time to hazards dramatically. Why: A slip hazard reported Monday might not get addressed until Wednesday if the office is only open M-W-F.
• Number of employees and their roles (manager, maintenance, groundskeeping) — confirm whether staff are W-2 employees or contracted through a management company. Why: Determines workers' comp exposure and who controls day-to-day safety decisions.
• If a third-party management company is used, confirm certificates of insurance are collected with the park named as additional insured. Why: Contracted services without proper insurance transfer create uncovered liability gaps.
• Lot lease structure (annual, monthly, weekly) — weekly and seasonal leases indicate transient populations with less familiarity with the property. Why: Transient residents are less likely to report hazards and more likely to be unfamiliar with pool rules, speed limits, and community procedures.
• Type of residents (retirees, families, seasonal, low-income) — demographics shape the hazard profile. A 55+ community has different risks than a family park with children. Why: Elderly populations face higher injury severity from falls; family parks need playground safety and child-access controls around pools.
• Whether the park owns any mobile homes and rents them out. Why: Park-owned rental units shift the exposure from pure premises/landlord liability to a habitability and maintenance obligation on the structures themselves, including smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, and interior condition.
• Corporate structure and years in business. Why: Newer operations or recent ownership changes may indicate unfamiliarity with local codes and deferred maintenance from prior owners.

COMMON BUILDINGS & STRUCTURES

Why Check: Clubhouses, laundry rooms, offices, and maintenance buildings are the highest-traffic common areas and where most interior slip-and-fall claims originate.

• Clubhouse condition — check flooring, lighting, emergency exits, and exit signage. Note kitchen equipment (ovens, microwaves, commercial cooking). Why: Community events in clubhouses create assembly occupancy exposure. Kitchen equipment adds fire risk.
• Laundry room — confirm ventilation, dryer lint maintenance, flooring condition (wet floors are constant), and adequate lighting. Why: Dryer fires are a leading cause of loss in shared laundry facilities. Wet tile floors without non-slip treatment are a guaranteed slip claim.
• Maintenance building/garage — check for proper chemical storage, fuel storage, flammable material separation, and electrical panel condition. Note whether power tools and riding mowers are stored inside. Why: Maintenance buildings often accumulate combustible materials and hazardous chemicals without proper separation.
• Office — confirm ADA accessibility if open to the public, adequate egress, and fire extinguisher placement. Why: The office is where visitors and prospective residents interact with the park, creating public-facing premises liability.
• Overall housekeeping of all common buildings (satisfactory, average, or below average). Why: Housekeeping quality is a reliable predictor of management attention to safety. Below-average housekeeping in common buildings usually means deferred maintenance elsewhere.

RECREATIONAL FACILITIES

Why Check: Pools, shuffleboard courts, horseshoe pits, and other amenities create attractive nuisance and activity-based injury exposure. Older populations using these facilities face higher severity outcomes.

• Pool — refer to the LCA Commercial Pools & Spas Safety Guide for the full checklist. Key items for mobile home parks specifically: confirm fencing is at least 4 feet with self-closing/self-latching gates, verify anti-entrapment drain covers are VGB Act compliant, check for depth markings, rescue equipment (hook and life ring), and posted rules including "No Lifeguard on Duty." Why: Most mobile home park pools are unattended. The 55+ demographic is at elevated risk for cardiac events in and around water.
• Spa/hot tub — if present, confirm temperature controls (104°F max), timer for auto shut-off, and posted warnings for elderly and those with medical conditions. Why: Retiree communities have higher incidence of cardiovascular conditions that are aggravated by hot water immersion.
• Kiddie pool — if present, confirm separate fencing from the main pool and appropriate depth. Why: Child drowning risk in family parks.
• Shuffleboard, horseshoe pits, bocce courts — check surface condition for trip hazards, adequate drainage, and lighting for evening use. Why: Uneven court surfaces and poor lighting cause falls in the exact population (elderly) most susceptible to serious injury from them.
• Playground equipment — if present in family parks, check for age-appropriate equipment, fall surfacing (mulch, rubber, not concrete), and maintenance condition. Why: Playground liability is well-established and carriers will want to know equipment age and condition.
• Bodies of water — ponds, lakes, canals, or ocean access. Confirm fencing or barriers, signage, and whether there are docks, boat ramps, or watercraft rentals. Why: Any water feature without barriers is an attractive nuisance. Dock and boat ramp operations add significant liability. Photograph any waivers used for boat or bike rentals.

PRIVATE ROADS & PARKING

Why Check: Most mobile home parks maintain their own internal street network. These private roads are the single largest premises liability exposure by surface area, and the park is responsible for their condition.

• Road surface condition — note cracks, potholes, settling, and drainage issues. When were roads last repaved? Why: Deteriorating road surfaces cause vehicle damage claims and pedestrian trip-and-fall injuries. Knowing the repave schedule tells you whether maintenance is proactive or reactive.
• Sidewalk and walkway condition — check for raised sections, root damage, missing sections, and ADA compliance at common buildings. Why: Sidewalk trip-and-fall is a bread-and-butter GL claim for any premises.
• Speed limit signage and traffic controls — stop signs, speed bumps, one-way designations. Why: Parks without traffic controls face auto-vs-pedestrian exposure, especially in communities where elderly residents walk or use mobility scooters.
• Parking areas — condition of car stops, striping, and adequate lighting. Note parking lot square footage. Why: Parking lot falls and fender-benders are high-frequency, low-severity claims that add up.
• Overall street lighting — adequate coverage for nighttime pedestrian safety. Why: Inadequate lighting is cited in a significant percentage of premises liability claims as a contributing factor.

FIRE PROTECTION & LIFE SAFETY

Why Check: Manufactured homes burn fast and sit close together. Fire protection in common areas and the park's overall fire readiness directly affect property and liability exposure.

• Fire extinguishers — number, type (ABC preferred), location, and service status. Are tags current and dated? Why: Expired or unserviced extinguishers are one of the most common inspection recommendations. Easy to verify, easy to fix, and carriers expect it.
• Smoke detectors in common buildings — confirm they are actively managed (tested, batteries replaced). Why: Common buildings used for events and gatherings need working detection.
• Smoke detectors and fire extinguishers in park-owned mobile homes (if any). Why: If the park owns and rents units, they have a direct obligation for life safety equipment in those structures.
• Sprinkler system — is there one in common buildings? If yes, is it properly serviced? Why: Most mobile home park common buildings lack sprinklers. If present, confirm inspection and service records.
• Fire alarm system — is there one? Central station or local? Service records? Why: Determines notification speed in the event of a fire.
• Fire department distance and type (paid, volunteer, combination). Why: Volunteer departments in rural areas may have longer response times, especially relevant for parks outside city limits.
• Distance to fire hydrants. Why: Parks outside city water systems may lack hydrants entirely, requiring tanker truck response.
• CO detectors in common buildings with fuel-burning appliances. Why: Kitchens and maintenance buildings with gas appliances need CO detection.
• Unit spacing and fire separation between mobile homes. Why: Tight lot spacing without fire-resistant barriers allows fire to jump between units. This is the scenario that turns a single-unit loss into a community-wide disaster.

SECURITY & ACCESS CONTROL

Why Check: Parks with inadequate security face both liability for criminal acts on premises and higher frequency of property crimes that drive claims.

• Gated entry — is the community gated? If so, is the gate functional, and is there a system for visitor access? Why: Gated communities with broken or permanently-open gates create a false sense of security without actual protection.
• Fencing — perimeter fencing type, height, and condition. Why: Fencing controls pedestrian access and helps establish the boundary of the park's premises liability.
• Surveillance cameras — number, locations, and whether they are monitored or recorded. Why: Camera systems serve both as deterrents and as evidence in liability claims. Note the monitoring setup (a multi-channel display in the office is common).
• Outdoor lighting — adequate coverage of streets, parking areas, common buildings, and recreational facilities. Why: Lighting is the single most cost-effective security measure and is expected by carriers.
• Burglar alarm on common buildings — type and monitoring company. Why: Unmonitored alarms provide limited protection.
• Break-in history (last 12 months). Why: Recent break-ins indicate a security gap that needs to be addressed before the next one results in a liability claim.

UTILITIES & ENVIRONMENTAL

Why Check: Parks that operate their own water or sewage treatment carry environmental liability exposure that most standard GL policies were not designed for. This is an underwriting-level concern, not just an inspection item.

• Sewage treatment plant — does the park operate one? Who maintains it? Is it permitted and inspected by the local health department? Why: A failed sewage system creates both environmental liability and habitability claims from every resident simultaneously. This is a catastrophic exposure.
• Water treatment — does the park operate its own water system? Who maintains it? Testing and compliance records? Why: Same as sewage — system failure affects every resident and creates regulatory exposure.
• Stormwater management — drainage systems, retention ponds, flood history. Why: Poor drainage causes road damage, foundation issues for mobile homes, and standing water that creates slip hazards and mosquito breeding.
• Underground storage tanks (if any). Why: USTs are a known environmental liability that require monitoring and eventual remediation.
• Electrical infrastructure — are there common electrical panels? Condition? Any known hazardous panel brands (Federal Pacific, Zinsco, etc.)? Why: Hazardous electrical panels in common buildings are a fire risk and typically result in mandatory replacement recommendations.

BUILDING INFORMATION (COMMON STRUCTURES)

Why Check: Property underwriting needs construction details on park-owned buildings. Missing this data means the submission goes back for supplemental information, slowing the process.

• Year built and any renovation dates (heating, wiring, plumbing updates). Why: Age of systems drives property risk. Wiring and plumbing that haven't been updated in 40+ years are red flags.
• Construction type and roof details (shape, type, age, support). Why: In wind-prone areas like coastal Florida, roof construction is a primary property underwriting factor.
• Foundation type. Why: Slab vs. pier-and-beam affects flood exposure and structural integrity during wind events.
• Total building square footage for all common structures. Why: Required for property rating and helps frame the overall premises exposure.
• Exposures on all four sides (north, south, east, west). Why: Adjacent properties and land uses affect both fire spread and liability exposure.

QUESTIONS TO ASK THE MANAGER

1. "How many total lots and how many are currently occupied?" — Vacancy rates affect revenue stability and indicate whether the park is growing or declining.
2. "Do you own any of the mobile homes, or are they all resident-owned?" — This changes the liability profile entirely.
3. "Who maintains the private roads and when were they last repaved?" — Tests whether infrastructure maintenance is proactive.
4. "Do you operate a sewage or water treatment plant? Who services it?" — Identifies environmental exposure.
5. "Are certificates of insurance collected from any contractors or management companies?" — Tests risk transfer practices.
6. "What's your process when a resident reports a hazard in a common area?" — Response time and documentation practices are the foundation of premises liability defense.
7. "Have there been any losses in the past 3-5 years? What happened?" — Prior loss history is the best predictor of future claims.
8. "Are fire extinguishers serviced annually? Can I see the most recent service tags?" — Verifiable, objective, and one of the most common recommendations.

RISK LEVELS

• High → open/broken pool gates, non-VGBA-compliant drain covers, failed sewage treatment, hazardous electrical panels (Federal Pacific/Zinsco), major road deterioration with active pedestrian use, no fire extinguishers or severely expired service — recommend immediate attention
• Medium → fire extinguishers past annual service date, faded or missing signage, lighting gaps in common areas, deferred road maintenance without active hazards, missing COIs from contractors — fix within 30 days
• Low → well-maintained roads and common areas, current fire protection service, functional security systems, documented maintenance schedules, active on-site management — document as best practice

PHOTO CHECKLIST

Photograph everything. At minimum, capture the following:

Main entrance and signage, site plan or aerial view, every common building (exterior and interior), all recreational facilities (pool with fencing/gates/drain covers/depth markers/rescue equipment, courts, playgrounds), kitchen equipment, laundry room, maintenance garage, CCTV setup, sewage and/or water treatment facilities, fire extinguisher service tags, typical street conditions, any storage lots, and any identified hazards or recommendations.

Label every photo clearly. Unlabeled photos slow down underwriting review and reduce the value of the inspection.

LCA Certified Inspector "Walk every street. Check every drain. Read every tag."

Resources:

• Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Spa Safety Act (cpsc.gov)
• NFPA 501A — Standard for Fire Safety Criteria for Manufactured Home Installations, Sites, and Communities
• HUD Manufactured Housing Standards (24 CFR 3280)
• EPA Small Water Systems and Wastewater Treatment Guidance
• Local fire marshal and health department codes (vary by jurisdiction)

Disclosure: This guide highlights common risks but is not exhaustive. Always verify local codes, state-specific manufactured housing regulations, and individual carrier guidelines. Mobile home and RV park requirements vary significantly by state and municipality.