Chapter 146
2009 -- S 0134 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 07/16/09
A N A C T
RELATING TO
MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES --
Introduced By: Senators P Fogarty, Gallo, Blais, Maher, and Raptakis
Date Introduced: January 29, 2009
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Sections 31-44-3, 31-44-3.2, 31-44-4, 31-44-5 and
31-44-8 of the General
Laws in Chapter 31-44
entitled "
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 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 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 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 rule
change is in violation of the chapter may file a complaint
with the director in accordance with
section 31-44-17. Said complaint shall be filed within twenty
(20) days of receipt of written
notice of said change. Said complaint shall specify the rule
in dispute and contain the basis by
which said change violates this chapter.
(6) If any mobile and
manufactured home park licensee changes the rent or fees
associated with of
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
rule change is in violation of this chapter
may file a complaint with the director in accordance with
section 31-44-17. Said complaint shall
be filed within twenty (20) days after receipt of
written notice of said change. The complaint shall
specify the basis by which said 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
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 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.
31-44-3.2. Mobile
home parks -- Discontinuance. -- (a) (1) In
any instance in which a
mobile home park is to be sold or leased for any purpose
which would result in a discontinuance
of the mobile home park, the mobile home park owner
shall give at least one year written notice
by certified mail return receipt requested to each
mobile home resident of the proposed sale or
lease.
(2) The mobile home
park owner shall pay to any resident who is entitled to receive
notice pursuant to this section, relocation benefits of up
to two thousand ($2,000) dollars four
thousand dollars ($4,000) or the actual relocation expenses incurred, whichever is less. The
relocation benefits shall be payable within ten (10) days of the
departure of the resident and the
removal of the mobile home unit from the park. In the event
that the resident fails to remove the
unit from the park and the park owner is required to
remove the unit, the relocation benefits shall
be reduced by an amount equal to the documented out of
pocket moving costs incurred by the
park owner for the physical removal of the unit.
(3) Any mobile home
park owner shall provide to each resident who is entitled to receive
relocation benefits pursuant to this section, a rental
agreement. The agreement shall begin on the
date of the issuance of the notice of discontinuance. The
provisions of the rental agreement shall
not alter in any manner the tenancy arrangement existing
between the park owner and resident
prior to issuance of the notice of discontinuance, except
with respect to the amount of annual rent,
which may be increased by an amount not to exceed the
increase in the consumer price index for
urban consumers, published by the
from the calendar year immediately preceding the date upon
which the rental agreement is
commenced plus the proportionate amount of any documented
increase in real estate taxes or
other municipal fee or charge; provided, that the total
amount of the increase shall not exceed ten
percent (10%) of the annual rent charged in the immediately
preceding year. Once a resident has
received a notice of discontinuance, his or her rent, and
fees, shall not be increased unless a year
has passed from the date of the last increase imposed
upon the resident.
(b) Any new resident
taking up residence at the park, after the initial notice of
discontinuance has been mailed, shall be given a copy of the notice
in hand prior to his or her
signing a lease and/or placing his or her unit in the park.
The new resident shall be provided a
form upon which he or she shall acknowledge in writing
having received a copy of the notice.
(c) Any new resident
taking up residence at the park after the initial notice of
discontinuance has been mailed and who receives a copy of the notice
of discontinuance provided
for in the preceding paragraph shall not be entitled to
any relocation benefits as provided for in
this section.
31-44-4.
manufactured home park shall deny any resident the right to sell
his or her mobile and
manufactured home owned by him or her while the mobile and manufactured
home is in the park
or require the resident to remove the mobile and
manufactured home because of the sale of the
home, except as provided in this section.
(b) A mobile and
manufactured home park licensee, directly or indirectly engaged in the
business of selling mobile and manufactured homes, may impose
conditions on the rental or
occupancy of a new lot, including the right to sell the first
unit or impose an entrance fee on that
lot.
(c) An owner of a
mobile home or manufactured home remaining within the park may
utilize one of the following methods in selling the home to a
qualified buyer:
(1) Sell the home
through his or her own individual efforts;
(2) List the home with
a licensed real estate broker at a commission not to exceed ten
percent (10%);
(3) List the home with
park licensee at a commission not to exceed ten percent (10%).
The mobile and
manufactured home commission shall provide recommendations for
screening of prospective purchasers by the park licensees.
(d) No licensee shall
exact a commission or fee with respect to the price realized by the
resident, except as provided in this section, unless he or she
has acted as agent for the resident in
a sale pursuant to a written contract.
(e) No owner of a
mobile and manufactured home park shall make or enforce any rules
which require any resident to sell his or her mobile and
manufactured home to the owner.
No owner of a mobile
and manufactured home park shall make any rule or enter into a
contract, which shall abrogate or limit the tenant's right to
place "for sale" signs on or in his or her
mobile manufactured housing. However, the park owner may by
rule or contract provision
impose reasonable limitations as to size, quality
registration of the signs, requirements that the
posting of the signs be pursuant to bona fide efforts to
sell, and removal when the home is no
longer being offered for sale. No limitation as to size or
quality shall restrict the use of painted or
printed signs which are two feet (2') by two feet (2') or
less in size and which contains no more
than "for sale," "address" and
"phone number".
(f) An owner may refuse
to sell a mobile and manufactured home, allow a mobile and
manufactured home to remain in the park, or to approve entry to
the mobile and manufactured
home park for good cause. For the purpose of this section,
"good cause" means a reasonable
cause for the owner to believe:
(1) That the purchaser
will not meet the entry requirements for the park and the entry
requirements are equally applied by the owner to all purchasers
and prospective residents;
(2) That the purchaser
intends to utilize that purchased mobile and manufactured home
for an illegal purpose or for any purpose that would
disturb the quiet enjoyment of the other
residents of the park;
(3) That the purchaser
is or will be financially unable to pay the rent for the mobile and
manufactured home space or lot upon which the purchased mobile and
manufactured home is
located;
(4) An owner may
require the removal of a mobile home being sold whose age and
condition does not meet the standards of mobile homes in the
park; or
(5) No owner or
operator of a mobile and manufactured home park shall require a mobile
or manufactured home at the time of sale or foreclosure,
which is safe, sanitary, and in
conformance with aesthetic standards, to be removed from the
park; provided that this clause (5)
shall not apply where the owner or operator has initiated
the foreclosure as mortgagee.
(6) Any resident or
prospective resident who is aggrieved pursuant to this subsection,
shall have the right to petition the director for a hearing
within twenty (20) days of the alleged
violation by the owner. Said hearing shall occur within thirty
(30) days from the receipt of said
petition. The director or his or her designee shall take all
reasonable action to effectuate prompt
resolution of said claim and shall render a decision within
fifteen (15) days of the conclusion of
said hearing.
(g) A mobile and
manufactured home shall be presumed to be safe if it is established that
the mobile and manufactured home was constructed to any
nationally recognized building or
construction code or standard. Failure to meet any standard or
code shall raise no presumption
that the mobile manufactured home is unsafe; nor may the
failure be used as a reason for
withholding approval of an on site sale.
(h) The mobile and
manufactured home park owner shall have the burden of showing
that a mobile and manufactured home is unsafe, unsanitary,
or fails to meet the aesthetic
standards of the development. No aesthetic standard shall be
applied against a mobile and
manufactured home if the standard relates to physical characteristics,
such as size, original
construction materials, or color which cannot be changed without
undue hardship to the tenant.
(i)
Any homeowner wishing to sell his or her home must request in writing a
statement
of the park owner's intentions regarding the conditions
of the dwelling. Within ten (10) days of
the receipt of the request of the homeowner for the park
owner's intentions, the park owner must
approve the home's condition for resale or deliver a written
statement specifying ways in which
the home is not safe, sanitary, or in conformance with
aesthetic standards. Failure of the park
owner to respond within ten (10) days shall be deemed
approval of the home's condition for
resale
(j) In the event of
resale or resiting of a mobile and manufactured home,
the local
building official in the city or town where the mobile and manufactured
home is to be located
shall, upon the request of either party, inspect the unit
and shall issue a certificate of approval in
the case of an on site sale or a certificate of occupancy
in the case of resiting, to the owner of the
unit, provided the authority finds the unit safe for human
habitation and the site meets local
zoning requirements. A fee of not more than thirty dollars
($30.00) may be charged for the
inspection by building officials.
(k) No licensee shall
discriminate in the treatment of tenants of mobile and manufactured
homes as the result of the sale of the home, whether the
tenant is the tenant prior or subsequent to
the sale.
(l) Every person who
sells a mobile and/or manufactured home shall warrant to the buyer
that the home is free and clear of all liens and if the
seller violates the warranty, then the seller
shall be strictly liable to the buyer in damages.
(m) Every person who
sells a mobile and/or manufactured home in this state which will
be located at a mobile or manufactured home park in this
state and retains a secured interest in the
mobile and/or manufactured home shall file a notice of the
lien with the recorder of deeds of the
city or town within which the park is located as allowed
by the provisions of section 34-13-8 and
with the uniform commercial code division of the
department of state.
(n) Prior to the
execution of a purchase and sale agreement, every owner of a mobile and
manufactured home park, shall disclose to the prospective purchaser
the rental history for the
preceding three (3) years of the land on which the home will be
located.
(o) The owner of a
mobile and manufactured home park shall not require the purchaser
to provide the names of more than three (3) references
from whom the park owner can seek
information concerning the behavior and financial reliability of
the purchaser; nor shall the
purchaser be required to obtain a written report from any
reference; the park owner shall not
require the purchaser to submit copies of any personal income
tax returns in order to obtain
approval for residency in the park. However, the park owner
may require the purchaser to
document the amount and source of his or her gross monthly
income or means of financial
support. If the park owner or management rejects a purchaser
as a prospective homeowner, the
ownership or management shall inform the selling homeowner in
writing no later than ten (10)
days of its reasons for the rejection. If the approval of
a purchaser is withheld for any reason other
than those stated in these articles, the park owner or
management may be held liable for all
damages proximately resulting in it.
(p) The park owner or
management may require the right of prior approval of a
purchaser of a mobile and manufactured home that will remain in
the park and that the selling
homeowner or his or her agent give notice of the sale to the
park owner or management before the
close of the sale. Approval cannot be withheld if the
purchaser has the financial ability to pay the
rent and charges of the park unless the park owner or
management reasonably determines that,
based on the purchaser's prior tenancies, he or she will
not comply with the rules and regulations
of the park.
(q) If the park owner
or management collects a fee or charge from a prospective
purchaser of a mobile and manufactured home in order to obtain
a financial report or credit
rating, the full amount of the fee or charge shall be credited
toward payment of the first month's
rent for that mobile and manufactured home purchaser.
(r) If, for whatever
reason, the prospective purchaser is rejected by the park owner or
management, the park owner or management shall refund to the
prospective purchaser the full
amount of that fee or charge within thirty (30) days from
the date of rejection. If the prospective
purchaser is approved by the park owner or management, but, for
whatever reason, the
prospective purchaser elects not to purchase the mobile or
manufactured home, the park owner or
management may retain the fee, or a portion of it, to defray its
administrative costs under this
section.
(s) No owner or
operator of a mobile and manufactured home park shall require any
person as a precondition to renting, leasing, or otherwise occupying
a space for mobile and
manufactured housing in a mobile and manufactured home park to pay
any fee of any kind,
unless services are actually rendered. The park owner or
management shall not perform any
service unless so requested in writing.
31-44-5.
Reprisals. -- (a) No licensee shall take
reprisal(s) against a resident or
prospective resident or association formed pursuant to section
31-44-3.1.
(b) An increase in
rent, nonrenewal of lease, refusal to offer a lease,
or termination of
tenancy, taken by a licensee against a resident, prospective
resident, or association within six (6)
months after the resident, prospective resident, or
association has taken any protected lawful
action, shall create a rebuttable
presumption that the act by the licensee is a reprisal. Reprisal may
be pleaded as a defense in any court proceeding brought
against a resident or prospective resident
after he or she has taken any protected lawful action.
(c) In addition to any
other remedy under this chapter, a resident, prospective resident, or
association who has been the subject of a reprisal shall be
entitled to the remedies provided for
retaliatory actions in section 34-18-46.
31-44-8.
Notice required by law. -- The following notice
must be given by the licensee
to the tenant prior to occupancy:
"The terms of your
tenancy must be in accordance with the Rhode Island Mobile and
Manufactured Home Act, title 31,
chapter 44. Section 31-44-3
requires all the rules and
regulations governing your tenancy to be fair and reasonable.
Unreasonable rules, or those not in
compliance with section 31-44-3, cannot be enforced against you.
"No licensee may
offer a mobile and manufactured home or a mobile and manufactured
home space or lot for rent without showing to the
prospective resident a copy of the written lease
before the resident occupies that mobile and manufactured
home space or lot. No licensee may
rent a mobile and manufactured home or mobile and
manufactured home space or lot until a
written lease has been signed by the resident and the owner.
The term of the lease shall not be less
than one year unless the resident requests, in writing, a
term for less than one year, or requests in
writing that he or she does not desire a written lease.
"The licensee of
this park shall not require you to deal exclusively with a certain fuel
dealer or other merchant for goods or services in connection
with the use or occupancy of your
mobile and manufactured home lot unless that restriction is
necessary to protect the health, safety,
or welfare of mobile and manufactured home residents in
the park. If you are required to deal
with a certain dealer or merchant, the price you pay for
such goods or services may not be more
than the prevailing price in this locality for similar
goods and services.
"An increase in fees
or rent, nonrenewal of lease, refusal to offer a
lease, or termination
of tenancy which is taken against you by a licensee as a
penalty for reporting a violation of the
other justified complaint to a governmental authority is a
reprisal and is prohibited by law."
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC00789/SUB A
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