1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to housing; providing residents an opportunity to purchase manufactured 
1.3 	home parks;proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 327C; 
1.4 	repealing Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 327C.096.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. [327C.097] OPPORTUNITY TO PURCHASE.
1.7 		Subdivision 1.Definitions. (a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have 
1.8 	the meanings given.
1.9 	(b) "Representative" means a person, including but not limited to a cooperative or 
1.10 	nonprofit, who has obtained a petition signed by at least one resident of at least 51 percent 
1.11 	of the occupied homes in the manufactured home park and authorizing the person to represent 
1.12 	all of the residents in negotiations to purchase the property from the owner under this section.
1.13 	(c) "Cooperative" means a cooperative organized under chapter 308A or 308B.
1.14 	(d) "Nonprofit" means a nonprofit organization under chapter 317A.
1.15 		Subd. 2.Scope. This section does not apply where the conveyance of the manufactured 
1.16 	home park is by a:
1.17 	(1) taking by eminent domain;
1.18 	(2) transfer by a corporation to an affiliate;
1.19 	(3) foreclosure;
1.20 	(4) transfer by a partnership to one or more of its partners; or
1.21 	(5) sale or transfer to a person who would be an heir of the owner who dies intestate.
2.1 		Subd. 3.Notice of sale. (a) No park owner may accept any offer for the sale, lease, or 
2.2 	transfer of a manufactured home park without first giving 60 days' written notice by certified 
2.3 	mail, return receipt requested, of the proposed sale, lease, or transfer to:
2.4 	(1) each resident of the manufactured home park; and
2.5 	(2) the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency.
2.6 	(b) The notice required under this subdivision must be dated and indicate the price, 
2.7 	terms, and conditions of an acceptable offer the park owner has received to sell, lease, or 
2.8 	transfer the manufactured home park. The notice must include the following verbatim 
2.9 	statement: "The park owner has received and is prepared to accept an outside offer to [sell, 
2.10 	lease, transfer] this park. The price, terms, and conditions of the offer are listed below. 
2.11 	Before accepting the offer for the [sale, lease, transfer], the park owner will consider any 
2.12 	offer submitted within 60 days of the date of this notice by a representative of the 
2.13 	homeowners. The owner will negotiate in good faith with the representative. [List of price, 
2.14 	terms, and conditions.]"
2.15 	(c) An owner must make available upon the request of a resident a copy of any acceptable 
2.16 	agreement to sell, lease, or transfer the manufactured home park for a period of 60 days 
2.17 	following the date of the notice required under this subdivision. The owner must provide 
2.18 	the copy within three days of the request by the resident.
2.19 		Subd. 4.Residents' offer to purchase. (a) A representative may submit a written offer 
2.20 	to the park owner to purchase the manufactured home park subject to the conditions required 
2.21 	under subdivision 7. The offer must be submitted within 60 days of the postmark date of 
2.22 	the notice required under subdivision 3, by certified mail, return receipt requested.
2.23 	(b) If the owner rejects the representative's offer, the owner must provide written notice 
2.24 	to the representative of, and an explanation of the reasons for, rejection of the offer. The 
2.25 	notice of rejection must be delivered to the representative by certified mail within five days 
2.26 	of receipt of the offer from the representative. No owner may accept a final, unconditional 
2.27 	offer for the sale, lease, or transfer of a manufactured home park earlier than on the 31st 
2.28 	day following the certified delivery date of the notice of rejection.
2.29 		Subd. 5.Optional recording. (a) A park owner may record with the county recorder or 
2.30 	registrar of titles in the county where the park is located an affidavit, with a copy of the 
2.31 	notice required under subdivision 3 attached, attesting:
2.32 	(1) the park owner has complied with the requirements of this section; or
3.1 	(2) the sale, lease, or transfer of the manufactured home park is exempt from this section 
3.2 	pursuant to subdivision 2.
3.3 	(b) An affidavit filed in accordance with this subdivision shall be presumptive evidence 
3.4 	of compliance for purposes of conveying good title to a bona fide purchaser.
3.5 	(c) The representative who makes an offer to purchase the park as provided under 
3.6 	subdivision 4 may record notice of the offer in the county recorder's office.
3.7 		Subd. 6.Good faith obligations. All transactions governed by, and all actions taken 
3.8 	pursuant to, this section must be conducted in good faith.
3.9 		Subd. 7.Requirement of affordable housing preservation. (a) A representative, or 
3.10 	an assignee of the right to purchase, who purchases a park under this section shall maintain 
3.11 	the property for a period of at least 50 years following the closing date of the purchase as:
3.12 	(1) a resident-owned manufactured home park;
3.13 	(2) a combination of manufactured homes and nonmanufactured home single dwelling 
3.14 	units contained in one-family, two-family, or multifamily dwellings affordable for 
3.15 	low-income households; or
3.16 	(3) all nonmanufactured home single dwelling units contained in one-family, two-family, 
3.17 	or multifamily dwellings affordable for low-income households.
3.18 	(b) For the purposes of this section:
3.19 	(1) "affordable" has the meaning given in Code of Federal Regulations, title 24, section 
3.20 	81.15; and
3.21 	(2) "low-income households" has the meaning given in Code of Federal Regulations, 
3.22 	title 24, section 570.3.
3.23 	(c) The deed to the representative must contain a covenant running with the land that 
3.24 	requires the property to meet at least one of the conditions specified in paragraph (a) for at 
3.25 	least 50 years from the date of the deed transfer.
3.26 		Subd. 8.Challenge to petition. In any action challenging the validity of the signatories 
3.27 	of the petition authorizing a representative to represent residents in negotiations to purchase 
3.28 	a manufactured home park, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the challenged 
3.29 	party's signature is sufficient evidence that the party is a valid signatory.
3.30 		Subd. 9.Remedies. (a) A park owner who violates subdivision 3, 4, or 6 is liable to each 
3.31 	resident for actual, incidental, or consequential damages, plus attorney fees and costs.
4.1 	(b) In addition to the remedies that a resident is entitled to under paragraph (a), a court 
4.2 	may grant declaratory, injunctive, or equitable relief.
4.3 	(c) The remedies provided under this subdivision are cumulative, not exclusive, and do 
4.4 	not restrict any remedy that is otherwise available to a plaintiff at law or in equity.
4.5 		Subd. 10.List of interested organizations. The Minnesota Housing Finance Agency 
4.6 	must:
4.7 	(1) within ten days of receipt of a notice received under subdivision 3, distribute a copy 
4.8 	of the notice to nonprofit organizations that register with the Minnesota Housing Finance 
4.9 	Agency to receive such notices; and
4.10 	(2) make the list of nonprofit organizations that have so registered publicly available on 
4.11 	the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency website.

4.12 	Sec. 2. REPEALER.
 4.13 	Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 327C.096, is repealed.

APPENDIX 

Repealed Minnesota Statutes: 19-1471 

327C.096 NOTICE OF SALE.
When a park owner offers to sell a manufactured home park to the public through advertising in a newspaper or by listing the park with a real estate broker licensed by the Department of Commerce, the owner must provide concurrent written notice to a resident of each manufactured home in the park that the park is being offered for sale. Written notice provided once within a one-year period satisfies the requirement under this section. The notice provided by the park owner to a resident of each manufactured home does not grant any property rights in the park and is for informational purposes only. This section does not apply in the case of a taking by eminent domain, a transfer by a corporation to an affiliate, a transfer by a partnership to one or more of its partners, or a sale or transfer to a person who would be an heir of the owner if the owner were to die intestate. If at any time a manufactured home park owner receives an unsolicited bona fide offer to purchase the park that the owner intends to consider or make a counter offer to, the owner is under no obligation to notify the residents as required under this section.