2014 -- S 2575 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 07/02/14
RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- MOBILE AND MANUFACTURED HOMES
Introduced By: Senators P Fogarty, Cool Rumsey, Ottiano, Nesselbush, and Kettle
Date Introduced: March 04, 2014
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 31-44-3 of the General Laws in Chapter 31-44 entitled "Mobile and Manufactured Homes" is hereby amended to read as follows:
31-44-3. Rules and regulations. -- The following requirements and restrictions shall apply to all mobile and manufactured home parks:
(1) A mobile and manufactured home
park licensee shall promulgate reasonable rules and regulations which that shall
specify standards for mobile and manufactured homes in the park, entry
requirements, and rules governing the rental or occupancy of a mobile-and manufactured-home
lot and mobile and manufactured-home
park;
(2) Current rules and regulations promulgated by a mobile-and manufactured-home park licensee shall be delivered by the licensee to a prospective resident prior to entering into a rental agreement, and to the resident(s) as soon as promulgated and whenever revised. A copy of the rules and regulations shall be filed with the director and posted in a conspicuous place in the mobile-and manufactured-home park;
(3) Any rule or change in rent which that does
not apply uniformly to all mobile and manufactured home residents of a similar
class shall create a rebuttable presumption that the rule or change in rent is
unreasonable;
(4) (i) A mobile-and manufactured-home
park licensee shall not impose any conditions of rental or occupancy which that
restricts the mobile and manufactured home owner in his or her choice of a
seller of fuel, furnishings, goods, services, accessories, or other utilities
connected with the rental or occupancy of a mobile-and
manufactured-home lot.
(ii) The licensee who purchases
electricity or gas (natural, manufactured, or similar gaseous substance) from
any public utility or municipally owned utility or who purchases water from a
water system for the purpose of supplying or reselling the electricity or gas
to any other person to whom he leases, lets, rents, subleases, sublets, or
subrents the premises upon which the electricity, gas, or water is to be used, shall not charge, demand, or receive directly
or indirectly, any amount for the resale of any electricity, gas, or water
greater than that amount charged by the public utility or municipally owned
utility from which the electricity, or
gas was purchased or by the public water system from which the water was
purchased.
(iii) However, if the licensee incurs costs in bringing the utility service to individual units, or in utilizing individual meters, or in some similar cost, the licensee will be entitled to a return for the investment.
(iv) The park operator shall post in a conspicuous place the prevailing utility rate schedule as published by the serving utility;
(5) If any mobile-and manufactured-home
park licensee adds, changes, deletes, or amends any rule governing the rental
or occupancy of a mobile-and
manufactured-home lot in a mobile-and manufactured-home
park, a new copy of all those rules shall be furnished to all mobile-and manufactured-home
residents in the park, and filed with the department for its review,
recommendations, and recording for future reference at least forty-five (45) days
prior to the effective date of the addition, change, deletion, or amendment.
The new copy furnished to the resident shall be signed by both the mobile-and manufactured-home
park owner and the mobile-and
manufactured-home park resident. Any
mobile park resident who believes that said
the rule change is in violation of the
chapter may file a complaint with the director in accordance with section §31-44-17.
Said The
complaint shall be filed within twenty (20) days of receipt of written notice
of said the
change. Said The
complaint shall specify the rule in dispute and contain the basis by which said the
change violates this chapter.
(6) If any mobile-and manufactured-home
park licensee changes the rent or fees associated with a mobile-and manufactured-home
lot, notice of the change shall be given to the mobile-and manufactured-home
resident at least sixty (60) days prior to the effective date of the change.
Any mobile park resident who believes that said
the rule change is in violation of this
chapter, may file a complaint with the
director in accordance with section §31-44-17. Said
The complaint shall be filed within
twenty (20) days after receipt of written notice of said
the change. The complaint shall specify
the basis by which said the change violates this chapter.
(7) The owners of individual mobile and manufactured homes shall be entitled to have as many occupants in their homes as is consistent with the number of bedrooms and/or bed spaces certified by the manufacturer; provided that the occupancy does not violate any provision of the general laws or other municipal regulations. All bedrooms shall consist of a minimum of fifty (50) square feet of floor area and bedrooms designed and certified for two (2) or more people shall consist of seventy (70) square feet of floor area plus fifty (50) square feet for each person in excess of two (2). If there is sufficient bed space, according to the criteria set forth in this subdivision, additional rent or charges may not be imposed by a park owner or manager for any person or persons moving in with current resident owners of a mobile and manufactured home;
(8) A prospective resident shall not
be charged an entrance fee for the privilege of leasing or occupying a mobile-and manufactured-home
lot, except as provided in section §31-44-4; provided, that when a mobile and
manufactured home is transported onto the mobile-and
manufactured-home park, an entrance fee
may be charged. However, if the park owner received a commission for the sale
of the mobile and manufactured home, no entrance fee shall be charged. A
reasonable charge for the fair value of the owner's cost in obtaining,
preparing, and maintaining a lot, or for the fair value of services performed
in placing a mobile and manufactured home on a lot,
shall not be considered an entrance fee, but shall be deemed a hook-up fee or
maintenance fee and shall be detailed in the fee schedule. No tenant, or person
seeking space in a mobile-and
manufactured-housing park, shall be
required to purchase manufactured housing from any particular person unless the
person designated is the park owner or operator and the requirement is imposed
only in connection with the initial leasing or renting of a newly-constructed
lot or space not previously leased or rented to any other person. A resident
may remove and replace a mobile and manufactured home,; provided, that the
resident shall install the mobile and manufactured home in accordance with
present park standards regarding structural requirements and aesthetic
maintenance in the mobile-and
manufactured-home park where the
replacement occurs, and in accordance with minimum standards for mobile and
manufactured homes established by the United States dDepartment of hHousing and uUrban dDevelopment. No fee shall be charged by the licensee
to residents as a result of the resident's installation of cable television;
(9) Prior to signing a lease, a licensee shall dispose, in writing, to the prospective resident:
(i) The rental for the space or lot; and
(ii) Any charges, including service
charges, imposed by the licensee. The licensee shall dispose the rent and
charges which that
were in effect during the three (3) preceding years,
or the period during which the licensee has operated the mobile home park,
whichever is shorter;
(10) A copy of the fee schedule shall be filed with the commission and posted in a conspicuous place in the mobile-and manufactured-home park; and
(11) (i) A resident shall not be charged a fee for keeping a pet in a mobile-and manufactured-home park unless the park owner or management actually provides special facilities or services for pets. If special pet facilities are maintained by the park owner or management, the fee charged shall reasonably relate to the cost of maintenance of the facilities or services and the number of pets kept in the park.
(ii) If the park owner or management of a mobile-and manufactured-home park implements a rule or regulation prohibiting residents from keeping pets in the park, the new rule or regulation shall not apply to prohibit the residents from continuing to keep the pets currently in the park if the pet otherwise conforms with the previous park rules or regulations relating to pets. However, if the pet dies, the resident shall have the right to replace the pet.
(iii) Any rule or regulation prohibiting residents from keeping pets in a mobile-and manufactured-home park shall not apply to guide, signal, or service animals.
(12) Any board or commission vested with governing powers over a mobile-or manufactured-home community, including resident-owned and nonresident-owned mobile home park resident associations, shall establish and/or adhere to fair and impartial written guidelines and bylaws for conducting elections, that have been provided to all residents of the mobile home park at least forty-five (45) days prior to any election. The written guidelines and bylaws shall ensure transparency in the election process with reasonable and meaningful notice to, and participation of, all residents. The department is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations necessary to implement this subsection.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
========
LC004874/SUB A
========