New York’s Land Home Property Act: Manufactured Homes Can Now Be Treated as Real Property

For decades, New York State law treated manufactured homes differently from a single-family homes. Although many manufactured homes function as permanent dwellings, they were historically classified as personal property and regulated under the Vehicle and Traffic Law. Like automobiles, these homes were titled through the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) rather than recorded in county land records. This legal distinction limited how manufactured homes could be financed, transferred, or encumbered, often preventing homeowners from obtaining traditional mortgage financing and creating uncertainty in real estate transactions.

That legal framework has now changed. The New York State Legislature enacted Senate Bill S7120, commonly referred to as the New York Land Home Property Act. The Act amended both the Vehicle and Traffic Law and the Real Property Law to create a comprehensive statutory process allowing owners of manufactured homes to convert their homes from personal property to real property. Once converted, a manufactured home may be treated in the same manner as other real estate for purposes of sale, financing, and recording. The Act became law on December 12, 2025, and provides for a delayed effective date, with its provisions becoming operative one year later on December 12, 2026.

Purpose and Practical Impact

The purpose of the Land Home Property Act is to modernize New York’s approach to manufactured housing and to align the state with jurisdictions that already recognize permanently affixed manufactured homes as real property. Prior to the Act, ownership interests were documented solely through DMV-issued certificates of title, and liens were recorded on those titles rather than in land records. This structure restricted access to conventional mortgage products and often resulted in higher-cost personal property loans. The new law removes those barriers by allowing eligible manufactured homes to become part of the real property itself.

Converting a Manufactured Home to Real Property

The Real Property Law was amended through the creation of Article 9-E, which governs the actual conversion of a manufactured home to real property. A manufactured home is deemed converted only when specific statutory conditions are met. First, the home must be permanently affixed to the land. This requires anchoring the structure to a permanent foundation and connecting it to necessary utilities, such as water, electricity, and sewer or septic systems, demonstrating that the home is intended to remain in place indefinitely.

In addition to permanent affixation, there must be proper alignment between ownership of the home and the land. Either the owner of the manufactured home must also own the underlying real property, or the home must be located on leased land pursuant to a recordable lease. In the case of leased land, the landowner must provide written consent acknowledging the permanent affixation and conversion of the home to real property.

Recording and DMV Title Treatment

The conversion process also requires the execution and recording of an Affidavit of Affixation in the county land records. This affidavit serves as a formal declaration that the manufactured home is intended to be a permanent improvement to the real property and provides notice to future purchasers, lenders, and title companies. The DMV must then accept the surrender of the manufacturer’s certificate of origin or the certificate of title, or issue a confirmation of conversion when those documents are unavailable, thereby completing the transition from personal property to real property.

Under the amended Vehicle and Traffic Law, once a manufactured home is properly converted to real property, the DMV is prohibited from issuing a new certificate of title for that home. The DMV is required to maintain permanent records of Affidavits of Affixation, manufacturers’ certificates of origin, and certificates of title, all of which must be accessible electronically to the public. The statute also establishes formal procedures for surrendering a manufacturer’s certificate of origin or an existing certificate of title, as well as a mechanism for confirming conversion when original documents are lost or unavailable. Importantly, any security interest noted on a certificate of title continues to maintain its priority until it is properly released, even after the home is converted to real property.

Key Takeaways

The enactment of the New York Land Home Property Act represents a significant shift in how manufactured homes are treated under state law. By establishing a clear and uniform path to real property status, it expands access to traditional mortgage financing, simplifies real estate transactions, and provides greater long-term security for manufactured homeowners. For attorneys, lenders, title professionals, and homeowners alike, understanding this new statutory framework is essential when dealing with manufactured housing in New York going forward.

If you have questions about this article or any Real Estate & Finance law issue, please contact Kyle C. Pittman at (585) 258-2829 or kpittman@underbergkessler.com.