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Changing Ownership

DCNR provides information about the process of transferring the lease to another party. The transfer may be to a family member, friend, or to the buyer of your cabin.

It is important to understand that selling your cabin and transferring your lease are two separate actions.

Selling Your Cabin and Transferring the Lease

It is highly recommended that you begin the process of transferring your lease before selling your cabin. The process of approving a lease transfer can take several weeks.

The C​ommonwealth cannot guarantee that the person you sell your cabin to will be granted a lease. There are rare occasions when the commonwealth may deny a lease because the prospective lessee does not meet all of the basic requirements to be a lease holder.

If you wish to sell your cabin, your first step is to contact the forest district in which your camp is located. The Leased Campsite Administrator can assist you throughout the process of transferring the lease.

A copy of the Assignment of Forest Camp Lease will be provided to you. This form must be signed, witnessed, and notarized by both seller and buyer, then returned to the forest district.

Upon receipt, DCNR’s Bureau of Forestry will execute the Assignment of Forest Camp Lease, and a copy will be sent to both the buyer and seller.

The approval process normally takes four weeks to complete from the time we receive the completed form. Incorrectly completing the form will delay the approval process.

Once the Assignment of Forest Camp Lease form has been executed and returned to you, you will not receive any further correspondence from DCNR. All correspondence will be between DCNR and the buyer.

We will prepare a new lease for the buyer to complete and return to us. The process normally takes four weeks to complete from the time we receive the sign lease agreement. Incorrectly completing the agreement will delay the process.

It is important to understand that you may sell the property you own (the cabin, its contents, outbuilding), but you are not selling the lease. You are only requesting us to transfer the lease to another party.

A lease cannot be transferred without the presence of a cabin; therefore, in the event your cabin was destroyed by fire, flood, or other natural causes, the lease cannot be transferred.

All forms to transfer your lease must be obtained at your local forest district office.

Process to Transfer Your Lease

The process to transfer your lease is outlined as follows:

  • Seller obtains a copy of the Assignment of Forest Cam​p Lease
  • Seller and buyer complete the Assignment of Forest Camp Lease form
  • Assignment of Forest Camp Lease is submitted to the forest district by the lessee (seller)
  • Forest district inspects the campsite, noting any maintenance needing to be done before the transfer is executed
  • Seller and buyer decide who will complete any required maintenance
  • Bureau of Forestry executes the “Assignment” then draws up new Forest Camp Lease Agreement for the buyer to sign
  • Buyer and/or seller notifies the county tax office of the change in ownership

All forms must be obtained from your local forest district office.

Death of a Lessee

It is important that DCNR is notified if a lessee has died. Legally transferring the lease as soon as possible helps to alleviate problems in the future.

If the current lessee has passed away and the lease was in the name of a husband and wife, the surviving spouse will become the lessee, unless the cabin was legally willed to another party.

A transfer of the lease to the next of kin, or from the estate to another party, can be done after we receive a completed Assignment of Forest Camp Leas​e Form and a copy of the will, death certificate, and short certificate.

If the lease was in the name of a group, and it is the agent for the group that has passed away, a new agent will need to be appointed by the group. The Change of Agent Form (PDF) must be completed and signed by the new agent and two of the group’s officers.

Contact the forest district office where your leased camp resides. The leased camp administrator will help you through the process.