HF 2227

1st Engrossment - 83rd Legislature (2003 - 2004) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to manufactured home parks; regulating water 
  1.3             and sewage charges; amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, 
  1.4             sections 327C.01, by adding a subdivision; 327C.02, 
  1.5             subdivision 2; 327C.04, by adding a subdivision. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 327C.01, is 
  1.8   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.9      Subd. 13.  [MEASURING DEVICE.] "Measuring device" means any 
  1.10  water sub-metering device used to measure and record water usage 
  1.11  of each resident to provide a separate billing amount and actual 
  1.12  water usage data on either a monthly or quarterly basis to the 
  1.13  resident.  At the time of installation, the measuring device 
  1.14  must be certified as being in compliance with one of the 
  1.15  following national standards:  American Water Works Association 
  1.16  (AWWA), American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), or 
  1.17  American National Standards Institute (ANSI).  The measuring 
  1.18  devices must be installed in accordance with the manufacturer's 
  1.19  instructions or the Minnesota Plumbing Code and equipped with a 
  1.20  manual or digital display that is readily accessible to the 
  1.21  resident for inspection.  
  1.22     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 327C.02, 
  1.23  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.24     Subd. 2.  [MODIFICATION OF RULES.] The park owner must give 
  1.25  the resident at least 60 days' notice in writing of any rule 
  2.1   change.  A rule adopted or amended after the resident initially 
  2.2   enters into a rental agreement may be enforced against that 
  2.3   resident only if the new or amended rule is reasonable and is 
  2.4   not a substantial modification of the original agreement.  Any 
  2.5   security deposit increase is a substantial modification of the 
  2.6   rental agreement.  A reasonable rent increase made in compliance 
  2.7   with section 327C.06, or the implementation and collection of 
  2.8   water and/or sewer charges under section 327C.04 as a rent 
  2.9   increase or reduction under section 327C.06, is not a 
  2.10  substantial modification of the rental agreement and is not 
  2.11  considered to be a rule for purposes of section 327C.01, 
  2.12  subdivision 8.  A rule change necessitated by government action 
  2.13  is not a substantial modification of the rental agreement.  A 
  2.14  rule change requiring all residents to maintain their homes, 
  2.15  sheds and other appurtenances in good repair and safe condition 
  2.16  shall not be deemed a substantial modification of a rental 
  2.17  agreement.  If a part of a resident's home, shed or other 
  2.18  appurtenance becomes so dilapidated that repair is impractical 
  2.19  and total replacement is necessary, the park owner may require 
  2.20  the resident to make the replacement in conformity with a 
  2.21  generally applicable rule adopted after the resident initially 
  2.22  entered into a rental agreement with the park owner.  
  2.23     In any action in which a rule change is alleged to be a 
  2.24  substantial modification of the rental agreement, a court may 
  2.25  consider the following factors in limitation of the criteria set 
  2.26  forth in section 327C.01, subdivision 11:  
  2.27     (a) any significant changes in circumstances which have 
  2.28  occurred since the original rule was adopted and which 
  2.29  necessitate the rule change; and 
  2.30     (b) any compensating benefits which the rule change will 
  2.31  produce for the residents. 
  2.32     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 327C.04, is 
  2.33  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  2.34     Subd. 5.  [WATER AND SEWER CHARGES.] If a park owner 
  2.35  installs measuring devices which accurately meter each 
  2.36  household's use of water, the park owner shall bill the 
  3.1   residents based on each household's metered use of water and 
  3.2   sewer usage.  The park owner may not directly bill the residents 
  3.3   for the cost and installation of the measuring devices.  Each 
  3.4   billing statement shall contain the actual usage amount for the 
  3.5   billing period and the rate charged to the resident.  If the 
  3.6   water and sewer services are provided by a third party, the park 
  3.7   owner shall consider only the actual amount billed by the third 
  3.8   party and shall not consider administrative, capital, or other 
  3.9   expenses.  If the water or sewer service is provided by means of 
  3.10  a private well or private sewer or septic system, the park owner 
  3.11  may bill the residents at the rates permitted for utility 
  3.12  charges under subdivision 3.  Prior to or with the initial bill 
  3.13  for metered usage, the park owner must either: 
  3.14     (1) reduce the resident's monthly rent in an amount equal 
  3.15  to the average monthly amount billed over the previous 12 months 
  3.16  by the current provider of the services divided by the number of 
  3.17  licensed home sites; or 
  3.18     (2) in the case of a private well, the rent reduction shall 
  3.19  be calculated by applying the prevailing municipal water rate to 
  3.20  the previous 12 months of metering as required by the Department 
  3.21  of Natural Resources reporting divided by 12 months and further 
  3.22  divided by the number of licensed home sites.