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sui-20221231

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022

SUN COMMUNITIES, INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)


Maryland	1-12616	38-2730780
(State of Incorporation)	Commission file number	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

27777 Franklin Rd,

Suite 300,

Southfield,

Michigan

48034

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

(Zip Code)

(248) 208-2500

(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class

Trading Symbol(s)

Name of each exchange on which registered

Common Stock, $0.01 par value

SUI

New York Stock Exchange

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer," "smaller reporting company" and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer

Accelerated filer

Non-accelerated filer

Smaller reporting company

Emerging growth company

☒

☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the Registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management's assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant's executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to Section 240.10D-1(b). ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

As of June 30, 2022, the aggregate market value of the registrant's stock held by non-affiliates was $19,130,159,251 (computed by reference to the closing sales price of the registrant's common stock as of June 30, 2022). For this computation, the registrant has excluded the market value of all shares of common stock reported as beneficially owned by executive officers and directors of the registrant; such exclusion shall not be deemed to constitute an admission that any such person is an affiliate of the registrant.

Number of shares of Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share, outstanding as of February 16, 2023: 124,099,219

Documents Incorporated By Reference

Unless provided in an amendment to this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the information required by Part III is incorporated by reference to the registrant's proxy statement to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A, with respect to the registrant's 2023 annual meeting of shareholders.

SUN COMMUNITIES, INC.

Table of Contents


Item	Description	Page

Part I.
Item 1.	Business	1
Item 1A.	Risk Factors	11
Item 1B.	Unresolved Staff Comments	24
Item 2.	Properties	25
Item 3.	Legal Proceedings	44
Item 4.	Mine Safety Disclosures	44

Part II.
Item 5.	Market for the Registrant's Common Equity, Related Shareholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities	45
Item 6.	[Reserved]	48
Item 7.	Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	49
Item 7A.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk	80
Item 8.	Financial Statements and Supplementary Data	81
Item 9.	Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure	81
Item 9A.	Controls and Procedures	81
Item 9B.	Other Information	81

Part III.
Item 10.	Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance	82
Item 11.	Executive Compensation	82
Item 12.	Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Shareholder Matters	82
Item 13.	Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence	82
Item 14.	Principal Accountant Fees and Services	82

Part IV.
Item 15.	Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules	83
Item 16.	Form 10-K Summary	83

Exhibits		84

Signatures		87

Index to the Consolidated Financial Statements and Financial Statement Schedule		F - 1

SUN COMMUNITIES, INC.

PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

GENERAL OVERVIEW

Sun Communities, Inc., a Maryland corporation, and all wholly-owned or majority-owned and controlled subsidiaries, including Sun Communities Operating Limited Partnership, a Michigan limited partnership (the "Operating Partnership"), Sun Home Services, Inc., a Michigan corporation ("SHS"), Safe Harbor Marinas, LLC ("Safe Harbor") and Sun UK Holding LLC (together with its subsidiaries, "Park Holidays") are referred to herein as the "Company," "we," "us," "or," and "our."

We are a fully integrated real estate investment trust ("REIT"). We own manufactured housing ("MH") and recreational vehicle ("RV") communities and marinas in the United States ("U.S."), the United Kingdom ("UK") and Canada (marinas and, together with MH and RV, the "properties"). We self-administer, self-manage, and operate or hold an interest in, and develop the majority of our properties and a select number of our communities are operated by independent third party contractors on our behalf under management agreements. Others are operated by lessees under ground lease arrangements. Together with our affiliates and predecessors, we have been in the business of operating, acquiring, developing and expanding MH and RV communities since 1975 and marinas since 2020.

We lease individual parcels of land ("sites"), with utility access for the placement of manufactured homes and RVs to our MH and RV customers. Our MH communities are designed to offer affordable housing to individuals and families, while also providing certain amenities. In the UK, our MH communities are referred to as holiday parks and are predominantly located at irreplaceable seaside locations in the south of England. Our RV communities are designed to offer affordable vacation opportunities to individuals and families complemented by a diverse selection of high-quality amenities.

The majority of our marinas are concentrated in coastal regions. Our marinas offer wet slip and dry storage space leases, end-to-end service (such as routine maintenance, repair and winterization), fuel sales and other high-end amenities. These services and amenities offer convenience and resort-quality experiences to our members and guests.

As of December 31, 2022, we owned and operated, directly or indirectly, or had an interest in, a portfolio of 669 properties located in the U.S., the UK and Canada, including 353 MH communities, 182 RV communities, and 134 marinas. As of December 31, 2022, the properties contained an aggregate of 227,541 developed sites comprised of 118,204 developed MH sites, 30,333 annual RV sites (inclusive of both annual and seasonal usage rights), 31,181 transient RV sites, and 47,823 wet slips and dry storage spaces. Additionally, we own or control land to support developing and expanding nearly 16,200 additional MH and RV sites suitable for development.

Through SHS, a taxable REIT subsidiary, we market, sell, and lease new and pre-owned homes to current and future residents in our MH communities. The operations of SHS support and enhance our occupancy levels, property performance and cash flows.

Our executive and principal property management office is located at 27777 Franklin Road, Suite 300, Southfield, Michigan 48034 and our telephone number is (248) 208-2500. We also have principal offices in Dallas, Texas, and in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, UK. We have regional property management offices throughout the U.S. We employed an aggregate of 7,594 full and part time employees as of December 31, 2022.

Our website address is www.suncommunities.com and we make available, free of charge, on or through our website all of our periodic reports, including our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and current reports on Form 8-K, as soon as reasonably practicable after we file such reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Additionally, the SEC maintains a website at https://www.sec.gov, that contains reports, proxy information statements and other information about us.

SUN COMMUNITIES, INC.

STRUCTURE OF THE COMPANY

The Company is a REIT and the general partner of the Operating Partnership. As the sole general partner of the Operating Partnership, we generally have the power to manage and have complete control over the conduct of the Operating Partnership's affairs and all decisions or actions made or taken by us as the general partner pursuant to the partnership agreement are generally binding upon all of the partners and the Operating Partnership.

The Operating Partnership is structured as an umbrella partnership REIT ("UPREIT"). We conduct substantially all of our operations through the Operating Partnership, which, directly or indirectly through other subsidiaries, owns substantially all of our assets. This UPREIT structure enables us to comply with certain complex requirements under the federal tax rules and regulations applicable to REITs, and to acquire properties in transactions that defer some or all of the sellers' tax consequences. The financial results of the Operating Partnership and our other subsidiaries are consolidated in our Consolidated Financial Statements. The financial results of the Operating Partnership include certain activities that do not necessarily qualify as REIT activities under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"). We have formed taxable REIT subsidiaries, as defined in the Code, to engage in such activities. We use taxable REIT subsidiaries to offer certain services to our residents and engage in activities that would not otherwise be permitted under the REIT rules if provided directly by us or by the Operating Partnership. The taxable REIT subsidiaries include our home sales business, SHS, which provides manufactured home sales, leasing, and other services to current and prospective tenants of our properties. Currently, all of our UK operations are conducted through taxable REIT subsidiaries.

Under the partnership agreement, the Operating Partnership is structured to make distributions with respect to certain of the Operating Partnership units ("OP units") at the same time that distributions are made to our common shareholders. The Operating Partnership is structured to permit limited partners holding certain classes or series of OP units to exchange those OP units for shares of our common stock (in a taxable transaction) and achieve liquidity for their investment.

SUN COMMUNITIES, INC.

We own 95.4% of all of the OP Units and the limited partners of the Operating Partnership own the rest. The following table sets forth:

•The various series of OP units and the number of units of each series outstanding as of December 31, 2022;

•The relative ranking of the various series of OP units with respect to rights to the payment of distributions and the distribution of assets in the event of any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Operating Partnership;

•The number of shares of our common stock issuable upon the exchange of each OP unit of the applicable series;

•The annual distribution rate on each series of OP units; and

•Information regarding the terms of redemption rights for each series of OP units, as applicable.


Ranking	Description	OP Units Outstanding at December 31, 2022	Exchange Rate(1)	Annual Distribution Rate(2)		Cash Redemption(3)	Redemption Period
1	Preferred OP units (or "Aspen preferred OP units")	1,258,819(4)	Variable(5)	Variable(6)		Mandatory	Variable(7)
1	Series A-1 preferred OP units	207,548	2.439	6.0	%	N/A	N/A
2	Series C preferred OP units	306,013	1.11	5.0	%	N/A	N/A
3	Series D preferred OP units	488,958	0.8	4.0	%	Holder's Option	Any time after earlier of January 31, 2024 or death of holder
4	Series E preferred OP units	80,000	0.6897	5.5	%	N/A	N/A
5	Series F preferred OP units	90,000	0.625	3.0	%	Holder's Option	Any time after earlier of May 14, 2025 or death of holder
6	Series G preferred OP units	240,710	0.6452	3.2	%	Holder's Option	Any time after earlier of September 30, 2025 or death of holder
7	Series H preferred OP units	581,367	0.6098	3.0	%	Holder's Option	Any time after earlier of October 30, 2025 or death of holder
8	Series J preferred OP units	240,000	0.6061	2.85	%	Holder's Option	During the 30-day period following a change of control of the Company or any time after April 21, 2026
9	Series A-3 preferred OP units	40,268	1.8605	4.5	%	N/A	N/A
10	Common OP units