Assembly Bill No. 477–Committee on Commerce and Labor

March 11, 1999

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Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor

 

SUMMARY—Makes various changes concerning mobile home parks. (BDR 10-1290)

FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No.

Effect on the State or on Industrial Insurance: No.

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EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. Green numbers along left margin indicate location on the printed bill (e.g., 5-15 indicates page 5, line 15).

 

AN ACT relating to mobile home parks; requiring a landlord of a mobile home park to

remove snow from certain areas of the park; requiring a landlord to trim the trees

within the park and dispose of the trimmings from those trees; increasing the fee

for a late monthly rental payment; authorizing a landlord to give a discount on

the monthly rental payment to a tenant who pays his rent in a timely manner or

pays his rent by check, money order or electronic means; prohibiting a tenant

from harassing a landlord, manager or assistant manager of a mobile home park,

or an employee or agent of a landlord; providing a civil penalty; and providing

other matters properly relating thereto.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN

SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

1-1 Section 1. NRS 118B.090 is hereby amended to read as follows:

1-2 118B.090 The landlord shall:

1-3 1. Maintain all common areas of the park in a clean and safe condition;

1-4 2. Maintain in good working order all electrical, plumbing and

1-5 sanitary facilities, appliances and recreational facilities which he furnishes;

1-6 3. Maintain in a safe and secure location individual mail boxes for the

1-7 tenants if the mail is delivered to the landlord for distribution to the

1-8 tenants; [and]

1-9 4. Maintain all driveways within the park and sidewalks adjacent to

1-10 the street [.] ; and

1-11 5. Remove snow from the sidewalks and streets within the park, and

1-12 from sidewalks adjacent to the street.

2-1 Sec. 2. NRS 118B.120 is hereby amended to read as follows:

2-2 118B.120 1. The landlord or his agent or employee may:

2-3 (a) Require that the tenant landscape and maintain the tenant’s lot if the

2-4 landlord advises the tenant in writing of reasonable requirements for the

2-5 landscaping.

2-6 (b) If the tenant does not comply with the provisions of paragraph (a),

2-7 maintain the tenant’s lot and charge the tenant a service fee for the actual

2-8 cost of that maintenance.

2-9 (c) Require that the mobile home be removed from the park if it is

2-10 unoccupied for more than 90 consecutive days and the tenant or dealer is

2-11 not making good faith and diligent efforts to sell it.

2-12 2. The landlord shall maintain, in the manner required for the other

2-13 tenants, any lot on which is located a mobile home within the park which

2-14 has been repossessed, abandoned or held for rent or taxes. The landlord is

2-15 entitled to reimbursement for the cost of that maintenance from the

2-16 repossessor or lien holder or from the proceeds of any sale for taxes, as the

2-17 case may be.

2-18 3. The landlord shall trim all the trees located within the park and

2-19 dispose of the trimmings from those trees absent a voluntary assumption

2-20 of that duty by the tenant for trees on the tenant’s lot.

2-21 4. For the purposes of this section, a mobile home shall be deemed to

2-22 be abandoned if:

2-23 (a) It is located on a lot in a mobile home park for which no rent has

2-24 been paid for at least 60 days;

2-25 (b) It is unoccupied; and

2-26 (c) The manager of the mobile home park reasonably believes it to be

2-27 abandoned.

2-28 Sec. 3. NRS 118B.140 is hereby amended to read as follows:

2-29 118B.140 The landlord or his agent or employee shall not:

2-30 1. Require a person to purchase a mobile home from him or any other

2-31 person as a condition to renting a mobile home lot to the purchaser or give

2-32 an adjustment of rent or fees, or provide any other incentive to induce the

2-33 purchase of a mobile home from him or any other person.

2-34 2. Charge or receive:

2-35 (a) Any entrance or exit fee for assuming or leaving occupancy of a

2-36 mobile home lot.

2-37 (b) Any transfer or selling fee or commission as a condition to

2-38 permitting a tenant to sell his mobile home or recreational vehicle within

2-39 the mobile home park even if the mobile home or recreational vehicle is to

2-40 remain within the park, unless the landlord is licensed as a dealer of mobile

2-41 homes pursuant to NRS 489.311 and has acted as the tenant’s agent in the

2-42 sale pursuant to a written contract.

2-43 (c) Any fee for the tenant’s spouse or children.

3-1 (d) Any fee for pets kept by a tenant in the park. If special facilities or

3-2 services are provided, the landlord may also charge a fee reasonably

3-3 related to the cost of maintenance of the facility or service and the number

3-4 of pets kept in the facility.

3-5 (e) Any additional service fee unless the landlord provides an additional

3-6 service which is needed to protect the health and welfare of the tenants,

3-7 and written notice advising each tenant of the additional fee is sent to the

3-8 tenant 90 days in advance of the first payment to be made, and written

3-9 notice of the additional fee is given to prospective tenants on or before

3-10 commencement of their tenancy. A tenant may only be required to pay the

3-11 additional service fee for the duration of the additional service.

3-12 (f) Any fee for a late monthly rental payment within 4 days [of] after

3-13 the date the rental payment is due or which exceeds [$1] $5 for each day ,

3-14 excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, which the payment is

3-15 overdue, beginning on the day after the payment was due. Any fee for late

3-16 payment of charges for utilities must be in accordance with the

3-17 requirements prescribed by the public utilities commission of Nevada.

3-18 (g) Any fee, surcharge or rent increase to recover from his tenants the

3-19 costs resulting from converting from a master-metered water system to

3-20 individual water meters for each mobile home lot.

3-21 (h) Any fee, surcharge or rent increase to recover from his tenants

3-22 any amount that exceeds the amount of the cost for a governmentally

3-23 mandated service or tax that was paid by the landlord.

3-24 Sec. 4. NRS 118B.150 is hereby amended to read as follows:

3-25 118B.150 The landlord or his agent or employee shall not:

3-26 1. Increase rent or additional charges unless:

3-27 (a) The rent charged after the increase is the same rent charged for

3-28 mobile homes of the same size or lots of the same size or of a similar

3-29 location within the park, except that a discount may be selectively given to

3-30 persons who [are:

3-31 (1) Handicapped;

3-32 (2) Fifty-five] :

3-33 (1) Are handicapped;

3-34 (2) Are 55 years of age or older; [or

3-35 (3) Long-term]

3-36 (3) Are long-term tenants of the park if the landlord has specified in

3-37 the rental agreement or lease the period of tenancy required to qualify for

3-38 such a discount;

3-39 (4) Pay their rent in a timely manner; or

3-40 (5) Pay their rent by check, money order or electronic means;

3-41 (b) Any increase in additional charges for special services is the same

3-42 amount for each tenant using the special service; and

4-1 (c) Written notice advising a tenant of the increase is received by the

4-2 tenant 90 days before the first payment to be increased and written notice

4-3 of the increase is given to prospective tenants before commencement of

4-4 their tenancy. In addition to the notice provided to a tenant pursuant to this

4-5 paragraph, if the landlord or his agent or employee knows or reasonably

4-6 should know that the tenant receives assistance from the fund created

4-7 pursuant to NRS 118B.215, the landlord or his agent or employee shall

4-8 provide to the administrator written notice of the increase 90 days before

4-9 the first payment to be increased.

4-10 2. Require a tenant to pay for an improvement to the common area of

4-11 a mobile home park unless the landlord is required to make the

4-12 improvement pursuant to an ordinance of a local government.

4-13 3. Require a tenant to pay for a capital improvement to the mobile

4-14 home park unless the tenant has notice of the requirement at the time he

4-15 enters into the rental agreement. A tenant may not be required to pay for a

4-16 capital improvement after the tenant enters into the rental agreement unless

4-17 the tenant consents to it in writing or is given 60 days’ notice of the

4-18 requirement in writing. The landlord may not establish such a requirement

4-19 unless a meeting of the tenants is held to discuss the proposal and the

4-20 landlord provides each tenant with notice of the proposal and the date, time

4-21 and place of the meeting not less than 60 days before the meeting. The

4-22 notice must include a copy of the proposal. A notice in a periodic

4-23 publication of the park does not constitute notice for the purposes of this

4-24 subsection.

4-25 4. Require a tenant to pay his rent by check or money order.

4-26 5. Require a tenant who pays his rent in cash to apply any change to

4-27 which he is entitled to the next periodic payment that is due. The landlord

4-28 or his agent or employee shall have an adequate amount of money

4-29 available to provide change to such a tenant.

4-30 6. Prohibit or require fees or deposits for any meetings held in the

4-31 park’s community or recreational facility by the tenants or occupants of

4-32 any mobile home or recreational vehicle in the park to discuss the park’s

4-33 affairs, or any political or social meeting sponsored by a tenant, if the

4-34 meetings are held at reasonable hours and when the facility is not

4-35 otherwise in use, or prohibit the distribution of notices of those meetings.

4-36 7. Interrupt, with the intent to terminate occupancy, any utility service

4-37 furnished the tenant except for nonpayment of utility charges when due.

4-38 Any landlord who violates this subsection is liable to the tenant for actual

4-39 damages.

4-40 8. Prohibit a tenant from having guests, but he may require the tenant

4-41 to register the guest within 48 hours after his arrival, Sundays and legal

4-42 holidays excluded, and if the park is a secured park, a guest may be

4-43 required to register upon entering and leaving.

5-1 9. Charge a fee for a guest who does not stay with the tenant for more

5-2 than a total of 60 days in a calendar year. The tenant of a mobile home lot

5-3 who is living alone may allow one other person to live in his home without

5-4 paying an additional charge or fee, unless such a living arrangement

5-5 constitutes a violation of chapter 315 of NRS. No agreement between a

5-6 tenant and his guest alters or varies the terms of the rental contract between

5-7 the tenant and the landlord , and the guest is subject to the rules and

5-8 regulations of the landlord.

5-9 10. Prohibit a tenant from erecting a fence along the perimeter of the

5-10 tenant’s lot if the fence complies with any standards for fences established

5-11 by the landlord, including limitations established for the height of fences,

5-12 the materials used for fences and the manner in which fences are to be

5-13 constructed.

5-14 11. Prohibit any tenant from soliciting membership in any association

5-15 which is formed by the tenants who live in the park. As used in this

5-16 subsection, "solicit" means to make an oral or written request for

5-17 membership or the payment of dues or to distribute, circulate or post a

5-18 notice for payment of those dues.

5-19 12. Prohibit a public officer or candidate for public office from

5-20 walking through the park to talk with the tenants.

5-21 13. If a tenant has voluntarily assumed responsibility to trim the trees

5-22 on his lot, require the tenant to trim any particular tree located on the lot

5-23 or dispose of the trimmings unless a danger or hazard exists.

5-24 Sec. 5. NRS 118B.210 is hereby amended to read as follows:

5-25 118B.210 1. The landlord shall not terminate a tenancy, refuse to

5-26 renew a tenancy, increase rent or decrease services he normally supplies,

5-27 or bring or threaten to bring an action for possession of a mobile home lot

5-28 as retaliation upon the tenant because:

5-29 (a) He has complained in good faith about a violation of a building,

5-30 safety or health code or regulation pertaining to a mobile home park to the

5-31 governmental agency responsible for enforcing the code or regulation.

5-32 (b) He has complained to the landlord concerning the maintenance,

5-33 condition or operation of the park or a violation of any provision of NRS

5-34 118B.040 to 118B.220, inclusive, and 118B.240.

5-35 (c) He has organized or become a member of a tenants’ league or

5-36 similar organization.

5-37 (d) He has requested the reduction in rent required by:

5-38 (1) NRS 118.165 as a result of a reduction in property taxes.

5-39 (2) NRS 118B.153 when a service, utility or amenity is decreased or

5-40 eliminated by the landlord.

5-41 (e) A citation has been issued to the landlord as the result of a complaint

5-42 of the tenant.

6-1 (f) In a judicial proceeding or arbitration between the landlord and the

6-2 tenant, an issue has been determined adversely to the landlord.

6-3 2. A landlord, manager or assistant manager of a mobile home park

6-4 shall not willfully harass a tenant.

6-5 3. A tenant shall not willfully harass a landlord, manager, assistant

6-6 manager of a mobile home park or an employee or agent of the landlord.

6-7 4. As used in this section, "harass" means to threaten or intimidate,

6-8 through words or conduct, with the intent to affect the terms or conditions

6-9 of a tenancy or [the tenant’s] a person’s exercise of his rights pursuant to

6-10 this chapter.

6-11 Sec. 6. NRS 118B.260 is hereby amended to read as follows:

6-12 118B.260 Any landlord who violates any of the provisions of this

6-13 chapter [:] and any other person who violates NRS 118B.210:

6-14 1. For the first violation, shall pay a civil penalty of not more than

6-15 $1,000.

6-16 2. For the second violation, shall pay a civil penalty of not more than

6-17 $2,500.

6-18 3. For the third or subsequent violation, shall pay a civil penalty of not

6-19 more than $5,000 for each violation.

6-20 If a civil penalty is imposed pursuant to this section, the costs of the

6-21 proceeding, including investigative costs and attorney’s fees, must be

6-22 recovered by the administrator, if possible.

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