HF 1976

1st Engrossment - 93rd Legislature (2023 - 2024) Posted on 03/06/2023 03:43pm

A bill for an act
relating to housing; manufactured housing; providing limits to rent increases and
modifying notice provisions; amending Minnesota Statutes 2022, sections 327C.02,
subdivision 5; 327C.03, subdivision 3; 327C.06, subdivision 3, by adding a
subdivision.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 327C.02, subdivision 5, is amended to read:

Subd. 5.

Written notice required.

A prospective resident, before being asked to sign
a rental agreement, must be given new text begin a written statement containing the last five years' rent
and new text end the following notice printed verbatim in boldface type of a minimum size of ten points new text begin
when the prospective resident is given the park residency application new text end . deleted text begin The notice must be
provided with the park residency application. deleted text end The notice must new text begin also new text end be posted in a conspicuous
and public location in the park:

"IMPORTANT NOTICE

State law provides special rules for the owners, residents, and prospective residents of
manufactured home parks.

You may keep your home in the park as long as the park is in operation and you meet
your financial obligations, obey state and local laws which apply to the park, obey reasonable
park rules, do not substantially annoy or endanger the other residents or substantially
endanger park personnel and do not substantially damage the park premises. You may not
be evicted or have your rent increased or your services cut for complaining to the park owner
or to a governmental official.

If you receive an eviction notice and do not leave the park, the park owner may take you
to court. If you lose in court, a sheriff may remove you and your home from the park within
seven days. Or, the court may require you to leave the park within seven days but give you
60 days to sell the home within the park.

If you receive an eviction notice for a new or amended rule and the court finds the rule
to be reasonable and not a substantial modification of your original agreement, the court
will not order you to leave but will order you to comply with the rule within ten days. If
you do not comply within the time given or if you violate the rule at a later time, you will
be subject to eviction.

All park rules and policies must be reasonable. Your rent may not be increased more
than deleted text begin twice deleted text end new text begin once new text end a year. Changes made in park rules after you become a park resident will
not apply to you if they substantially change your original agreement.

The park may not charge you an entrance fee.

The park may require a security deposit, but the deposit must not amount to more than
two months rent.

You have a right to sell the home in the park. But the sale is not final until the park
owner approves the buyer as a new resident, and you must advise in writing anyone who
wants to buy your home that the sale is subject to final approval by the park owner.

The park must provide to you, in writing, the procedures and criteria used to evaluate a
prospective resident. If your application is denied, you can request, in writing, the reason
why.

You must also disclose in writing certain safety information about your home to anyone
who wants to buy it in the park. You must give this information to the buyer before the sale,
in writing, on the form that is attached to this notice. You must completely and accurately
fill out the form and you and the buyer should each keep a copy.

Your rental agreement and the park rules contain important information about your rights
and duties. Read them carefully and keep a copy.

You must be given a copy of the shelter or evacuation plan for the park. This document
contains information on where to seek shelter in times of severe weather conditions. You
should carefully review the plan and keep a copy.

By February 1 of each year, the park must give you a certificate of rent constituting
property taxes as required by Minnesota Statutes, section 290A.19.

For further information concerning your rights, consult a private attorney. The state law
governing the rental of lots in manufactured home parks may also be enforced by the
Minnesota Attorney General."

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 327C.03, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Rent.

All periodic rental payments charged to residents by the park owner shall
be uniform throughout the park, except that a higher rent may be charged to a particular
resident due to the larger size or location of the lot, or the special services or facilities
furnished by the park. A park owner may charge a reasonable fee for delinquent rent where
the fee is provided for in the rental agreement. The fee shall be enforceable as part of the
rent owed by the resident. No park owner shall charge to a resident any fee, whether as part
of or in addition to the periodic rental payment, which is based on the number of persons
residing or staying in the resident's home, the number or age of children residing or staying
in the home, the number of guests staying in the home, the size of the home, the fact that
the home is temporarily vacant or the type of personal property used or located in the home.
The park owner may charge an additional fee for pets owned by the resident, but the fee
may not exceed $4 per pet per month. This subdivision does not prohibit a park owner from
abating all or a portion of the rent of a particular resident with special needs. new text begin A park owner
must accept a personal check, cashier's check, or money order for a payment of rent, except
that a park owner is not required to accept a personal check from a resident who has had a
personal check written to the park owner returned for nonsufficient funds or account closure
within the previous nine months. A park owner must allow the resident to submit a rental
payment by mail unless the park owner provides an accessible, on-site location. When a
park owner accepts a cash payment for rent, the park owner shall, within three days, give
the resident a receipt for that payment. The park owner must maintain a record of all cash
receipts for rent for three years.
new text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 327C.06, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Rent increases limited.

A park owner may impose only deleted text begin two deleted text end new text begin one new text end rent deleted text begin increases deleted text end new text begin
increase new text end on a resident in any 12-month period.

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 327C.06, is amended by adding a subdivision to
read:

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Reasonable rent increases. new text end

new text begin (a) A rent increase in an amount greater than the
average annual increase of the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (all items),
as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor,
for the most recently available preceding 36-month period, may be reasonable under the
following conditions:
new text end

new text begin (1) the proposed rent increase is directly related to operating, maintaining, or improving
the manufactured home park or its amenities due to costs associated with property taxes or
other taxes, utility charges, insurance costs, financing costs, changes in operating and
maintenance expenses, or the cost of capital improvements or rehabilitation work; or
new text end

new text begin (2) the proposed rent increase reflects a comparable market rent. For purposes of this
section, "market rent" means that rent which would result from market forces absent an
unequal bargaining position between the park owner and the residents. In determining market
rent, relevant considerations include comparable manufactured home parks. To be
comparable, a manufactured home park must be within the competitive area and must offer
similar facilities, services, amenities, and management.
new text end

new text begin (b) A rental increase greater than the average annual increase of the Consumer Price
Index for All Urban Consumers (all items), as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics
of the United States Department of Labor, for the most recently available preceding 36-month
period, is not reasonable if:
new text end

new text begin (1) the park owner, during the preceding 12-month period, violated a provision of this
chapter in a way that threatened the health or safety of residents, visitors, or guests; and
new text end

new text begin (2) the violation was not corrected for more than 15 days after the park owner received
notice of the violation.
new text end

new text begin (c) A park owner shall not incorporate the cost of a civil penalty, a criminal fine, or
litigation-related costs for rent-related proceedings into rent charged under any circumstance.
A park owner shall not use the cost of capital improvements or rehabilitation work to justify
any future rent increase, once that cost has been fully recovered by rent increases that were
incorporated into a prior rent increase in excess of the Consumer Price Index for All Urban
Consumers (all items) where the prior rent increase was properly implemented under this
section.
new text end