Senate Engrossed House Bill

 

 

 

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-second Legislature

Second Regular Session

2016

 

 

HOUSE BILL 2304

 

 

 

AN ACT

 

amending sections 33-1434, 33-1452 and 41-2186, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to the Arizona mobile home parks residential landlord and tenant act.

 

 

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

 


Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1.  Section 33-1434, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE33-1434.  Landlord to maintain fit premises

A.  The landlord shall:

1.  Comply with the requirements of all applicable city, county and state codes materially affecting health and safety.

2.  Make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition.

3.  Keep all common areas of the premises in a clean and safe condition.

4.  Maintain in good and safe working order and condition all swimming pool, shower, bathhouse, electrical, plumbing and sanitary facilities, including the recreational hall or meeting facilities supplied or required to be supplied or maintained by him the landlord.

5.  Provide for removal of garbage, rubbish and other waste incidental to the occupancy of the mobile home space.

6.  Furnish outlets for electric, water and sewer services.  The landlord shall also furnish a prospective tenant with information concerning the type, size and power rating of all electrical, water and sewer connections.

7.  Provide a statement of proposed interruption of utility service to the tenants within a reasonable time frame except in the case of an interruption caused by an emergency.  An emergency does not include any failure or refusal on the part of the landlord to fulfill his the landlord's duties and obligations as specified in this section.  A statement of proposed interruption of utility service may be provided by posting an announcement of the period of the interruption in a conspicuous place within the mobile home park or by individual delivery to each tenant.

B.  A mobile home park landlord shall not impose any conditions of rental or occupancy which that restrict the mobile home owner in his the mobile home owner's choice of a seller of fuel, furnishings, goods, services or mobile homes connected with the rental or occupancy of a mobile home space unless such condition is necessary to protect the health, safety, aesthetic value or welfare of mobile home residents in the park.  However, the landlord may impose reasonable conditions relating to central gas, oil, electricity or water meter systems in the park.

C.  For new tenants who are moving into a mobile home park, any rental agreements that are executed or adopted after December 31, 2016 shall specifically disclose in writing any requirement that the tenant maintain one or more existing trees located on the mobile home space.

D.  Any change regarding the tenant's obligation to maintain any one or more trees located on the mobile home space constitutes a substantial modification of the rental agreement pursuant to section 33-1452. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2.  Section 33-1452, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE33-1452.  Rules and regulations

A.  A landlord shall adopt written rules or regulations, however described, concerning the tenant's use and occupancy of the premises.  Such rules or regulations are enforceable against the tenant only if:

1.  Their purpose is to promote the convenience, safety or welfare of the tenants on the premises, preserve the landlord's property from abusive use, preserve or upgrade the quality of the mobile home park or make a fair distribution of services and facilities held out for the tenants generally.

2.  They are reasonably related to the purpose for which adopted.

3.  They apply to all tenants on the premises in a fair manner.

4.  They are sufficiently explicit in prohibition, direction or limitation of the tenant's conduct to fairly inform the tenant of what must or must not be done to comply.

5.  They are not for the purpose of evading the obligations of the landlord.

6.  The prospective tenant has a copy of the current rules and regulations before the prospective tenant enters into the rental agreement.

b.  beginning may 31, 2016, a new rule adopted after the execution of the tenant's initial rental agreement that imposes a reoccurring financial obligation on a tenant is not enforceable against the tenant.

B.  c.  A new tenant who brings a mobile home into a mobile home park or who purchases an existing mobile home in a mobile home park shall comply with all current statements of policy and rules or regulations, including those pertaining to the size, condition and appearance of the mobile home, and exterior materials with which the mobile home has been constructed.

C.  d.  A new tenant who purchases an existing mobile home in a mobile home park shall comply with all current statements of policy and rules and regulations, including those pertaining to the size, condition and appearance of the mobile home and exterior materials with which the mobile home has been constructed, except that the landlord shall not require the replacement of the siding and skirting on a mobile home unless the replacement siding and skirting will significantly change or improve the appearance of the mobile home.

D.  e.  If any mobile home park owner adds, changes, deletes or amends any rule, notice in writing of all such additions, changes, deletions or amendments shall be furnished to all mobile home tenants thirty days before they become effective by first class or certified mail.  Any rule or condition of occupancy which is unfair and deceptive or which does not conform to the requirements of this chapter shall be unenforceable.  A rule or regulation adopted after the tenant enters into the rental agreement is enforceable against the tenant only if it does not work a substantial modification of the rental agreement.

E.  f.  A person who owns or operates a mobile home park shall not:

1.  Deny rental unless the mobile home does not meet the requirements of the rules and regulations of the landlord and the statements of policy prescribed pursuant to section 33‑1436 or the park resident or prospective resident cannot conform to park rules and regulations.

2.  Require any person as a precondition to renting, leasing or otherwise occupying a space for a mobile home in a mobile home park to pay an entrance or exit fee of any kind unless for services actually rendered or pursuant to a written agreement.

3.  Deny any resident of a mobile home park the right to sell the resident's mobile home at a price of the resident's own choosing during the term of the tenant's rental agreement, but the landlord may reserve the right to approve the purchaser of such mobile home as a tenant but such permission may not be unreasonably withheld, except that the landlord may require, notwithstanding paragraph 6 of this subsection, in order to preserve or upgrade the quality of the mobile home park, that any mobile home not in compliance with the landlord's current rules and regulations and statements of policy, in a rundown condition or in disrepair be removed from the park within sixty days.  Within ten days of a written request by the seller or prospective purchaser, a landlord shall notify the seller and the prospective purchaser in writing of any reasons for withholding approval of a purchaser pursuant to this paragraph.  The notice to the prospective purchaser shall identify the reasons for disapproval with reasonable specificity.  The notice to the seller shall identify the reasons in summary fashion consistent with applicable federal and state consumer protection laws and shall inform the seller that the seller should consult with the prospective purchaser for more specific details.

4.  Exact a commission or fee with respect to the price realized by the tenant selling the mobile home, unless the park owner or operator has acted as agent for the mobile home owner pursuant to a written agreement.

5.  Require a tenant or prospective tenant to use any specific sales agency, manufacturer, retailer or broker.

6.  Notwithstanding section 33‑1436, subsection C, require an existing tenant to furnish permanent improvements which cannot be removed without damage thereto or to the mobile home space by a tenant at the expiration of the rental agreement.  If the landlord includes any requirements for permanent improvements in the rules or statements of policy, these requirements shall not apply to any mobile home already existing in the mobile home park.

7.  Prohibit a tenant from advertising the sale or exchange of the tenant's mobile home, including the display of a "for sale" or "open house" sign on the dwelling or in the window of the mobile home stating the name, address and telephone number of the owner or agent of the mobile home.  The sign may be no larger than twelve inches wide and eighteen inches long.  In addition to the display of a sign in the window, the tenants may display the signs on a central posting board in the park which is reasonably accessible to the public seven days a week during daylight hours.

F.  g.  The landlord or manager of a mobile home park shall include, in rules and regulations, an emergency number to be called when the park is left unattended, regardless of the size of the park.

G.  h.  The landlord shall not prohibit or adopt a rule that prohibits tenants or a tenant association from meeting with permission of the tenant in the tenant's mobile home, assembling at common facilities or areas within the park or meeting with or without invited visiting speakers in the mobile home park to discuss issues relating to mobile home living and affairs including the forming of a tenant association.  Such meetings shall be allowed in common facilities if such meetings are held during normal operating hours of the common facility and when the facility is not otherwise in use.  The tenant or tenant association shall be allowed to post notice of a meeting on a bulletin board in the mobile home park used for similar notice notices and shall be allowed to include notice of a meeting in a park newsletter.  Meeting notices and meetings prescribed in this subsection shall not constitute a solicitation.  For the purposes of this subsection, "common facilities" means a recreation hall, a clubhouse, a community center and any outdoor common area meeting location that is utilized by the tenants.

H.  i.  Any improvements made by a tenant such as plants, vines, edgings, gravel, stone or other additions made for the benefit of the tenancy may be removed by the tenant, or by agreement of both parties the landlord may retain the improvements by paying the tenant for their actual cost.

I.  j.  If a tenant dies, any surviving joint tenant or cotenant continues as tenant with the same rights, privileges and liabilities as if the surviving tenant were the original tenant, with the additional right to terminate the rental agreement by giving sixty days' written notice to the landlord within sixty days after the death of the tenant.

J.  k.  If a tenant who was sole owner of the mobile home dies during the term of the rental agreement, the tenant's heirs or legal representative have the right to cancel the lease by giving thirty days' written notice to the landlord with the same rights, privileges and liabilities of the original tenant.

K.  l.  This section does not prohibit a landlord from requiring removal of a mobile home from the mobile home park within sixty days after the sale by a tenant if the mobile home does not meet the current requirements of the rules and regulations and statements of policy, including those pertaining to the size, condition and appearance of the mobile home, and exterior materials with which the mobile home has been constructed.

L.  m.  On the sale of a mobile home that was manufactured after June 15, 1976 to a tenant who is otherwise qualified for tenancy, a landlord shall not require removal of that mobile home from the mobile home park solely because of the age of the mobile home.  A landlord may require the removal of a mobile home on the sale of the mobile home solely because of the age of the mobile home if the mobile home was manufactured on or before June 15, 1976.  This subsection shall not be construed to preclude a landlord from prohibiting a mobile home from being moved into a mobile home park solely because of the age of the mobile home without regard to its date of manufacture. END_STATUTE

Sec. 3.  Section 41-2186, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE41-2186.  Grounds for disciplinary action

The deputy director may, on the deputy director's own motion, and shall, on the complaint in writing of any person, cause to be investigated by the office the acts of any manufacturer, dealer, broker, salesperson or installer licensed with the office and may temporarily suspend or permanently revoke any license issued under this article, impose an administrative penalty or place on probation any licensee, if the holder of the license, while a licensee, is guilty of or commits any of the following acts or omissions:

1.  Failure in any material respect to comply with this article or article 2 of this chapter.

2.  Violation of any rule that is adopted by the board and that pertains to the construction of any unit or of any rule that is adopted by the board and that is necessary to effectively carry out the intent of this article, article 2 of this chapter or the laws of the United States or of this state.

3.  Misrepresentation of a material fact by the applicant in obtaining a license.

4.  Aiding or abetting an unlicensed person or knowingly combining or conspiring with an unlicensed person to evade this article or article 2 of this chapter, or allowing one's license to be used by an unlicensed person or acting as an agent, partner or associate of an unlicensed person with intent to evade this article or article 2 of this chapter.

5.  Conviction of a felony.

6.  The doing of a wrongful or fraudulent act by a licensee that relates to this article or article 2 of this chapter, including, beginning July 1, 2012, failure to comply with section 41‑2180, subsection A.

7.  Departure from or disregard of any code or any rule adopted by the board.

8.  Failure to disclose or subsequent discovery by the office of facts that, if known at the time of issuance of a license or the renewal of a license, would have been grounds to deny the issuance or renewal of a license.

9.  Knowingly entering into a contract with a person not duly licensed in the required classification for work to be performed for which a license is required.

10.  Acting in the capacity of a licensee under any license issued under this article in a name other than as set forth on the license.

11.  Acting as a licensee while the license is under suspension or in any other invalid status.

12.  Failure to respond relative to a verified complaint after notice of such complaint.

13.  Violation of title 28, chapter 10 or rules adopted pursuant to title 28, chapter 10, except for the licensing requirements of sections 28‑4334, 28‑4335, 28‑4361, 28‑4362, 28‑4364, 28‑4401 and 28‑4402.

14.  False, misleading or deceptive sales practices by a licensee in the sale or offer of sale of any unit regulated by this article or article 2 of this chapter.

15.  Failure to remit the consumer recovery fund fee pursuant to section 41‑2189.

16.  Acting as a salesperson while not employed by a dealer or broker.

17.  As a salesperson, representing or attempting to represent a dealer or broker other than by whom the salesperson is employed.

18.  Failure by a salesperson to promptly place all cash, checks and other items of value and any related documents received in connection with a sales transaction in the care of the employing dealer or broker.

19.  Failure to provide all agreed on goods and services.

20.  Failure to manufacture or install in a workmanlike manner all subassemblies, units and accessory structures that are suitable for their intended purpose.

21.  Failure of the licensee to work only within the scope of the license held.

22.  An action by a licensee, who is also a mobile home park owner, manager, agent or representative, that restricts a resident's or prospective resident's access to buyers, sellers or licensed dealers or brokers in connection with the sale of a home or the rental of a space, that the department finds constitutes a violation of section 33‑1434, subsection B or section 33‑1452, subsection f or that violates any law or regulation relating to fair housing or credit practices. END_STATUTE

Sec. 4.  Retroactivity

Section 33-1452, Arizona Revised Statutes, as amended by this act, applies retroactively to from and after May 30, 2016.