Assembly Bill No. 341–Assemblymen Buckley, Manendo, Ohrenschall, McClain, Claborn, Anderson, Arberry, Bache, Chowning, Collins, Freeman, Giunchigliani, Koivisto, Nolan, Oceguera, Parks, Price and Williams

 

March 13, 2001

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Joint Sponsors: Senators Titus, Care and Wiener

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Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor

 

SUMMARY—Creates state board to review certain increases in rent relating to mobile home parks. (BDR 10‑1087)

 

FISCAL NOTE:            Effect on Local Government: No.

                                    Effect on the State: No.

 

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EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.

 

AN ACT relating to mobile home parks; creating the mobile home park rent review board within the manufactured housing division of the department of business and industry; prescribing the powers and duties of the board; prohibiting the landlord of a mobile home park, or his agent or employee, from imposing certain increases in rent unless such increases in rent are first approved by the board; 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.  Chapter 118B of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto

1-2  the provisions set forth as sections 2 to 8, inclusive, of this act.

1-3    Sec. 2.  As used in sections 2 to 8, inclusive, of this act, unless the

1-4  context otherwise requires, the words and terms defined in sections 3 and

1-5  4 of this act have the meanings ascribed to them in those sections.

1-6    Sec. 3.  “Board” means the mobile home park rent review board

1-7  created pursuant to section 5 of this act.

1-8    Sec. 4.  “Rent” means the consideration, including, without

1-9  limitation, money and deposits, demanded or paid for the use of a mobile

1-10  home lot. The term does not include an amount of money paid for:

1-11    1.  The use of the mobile home; or

1-12    2.  Water, gas, electricity or any other utility service that is metered

1-13  and billed separately to the tenant.

2-1    Sec. 5.  1.  The mobile home park rent review board is hereby

2-2  created within the division.

2-3    2.  The board consists of five members who are appointed as follows:

2-4    (a) Two members appointed by the Manufactured Home Community

2-5  Owners Association or its successor;

2-6    (b) Two members appointed by the Nevada Association of

2-7  Manufactured Home Owners or its successor; and

2-8    (c) One member appointed by the Nevada Manufactured Housing

2-9  Association or its successor.

2-10    3.  The administrator shall serve ex officio as a nonvoting member of

2-11  the board.

2-12    4.  After the initial appointments, the term of each member appointed

2-13  to the board is 3 years. A member of the board may be removed for good

2-14  cause by the association that appointed him to the board. A vacancy on

2-15  the board must be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term in the

2-16  same manner as the original appointment. A member may be reappointed

2-17  to the board.

2-18    Sec. 6.  1.  The voting members of the board shall select a chairman

2-19  from among their membership. The term of the chairman is 1 year. If a

2-20  vacancy occurs in the chairmanship, the vacancy must be filled for the

2-21  remainder of the unexpired term in the same manner as the original

2-22  selection.

2-23    2.  A majority of the voting members of the board constitutes a

2-24  quorum, and a quorum may exercise all the power and authority

2-25  conferred on the board.

2-26    3.  The appointed members of the board serve without compensation

2-27  and are not entitled to the per diem and travel expenses provided for state

2-28  officers and employees generally.

2-29    4.  The administrator shall provide the board with administrative and

2-30  clerical support and with such other assistance, including, without

2-31  limitation, making arrangements for facilities, equipment and other

2-32  services in preparation for meetings, as may be necessary for the board to

2-33  carry out its duties pursuant to sections 2 to 8, inclusive, of this act.

2-34    Sec. 7.  1.  A landlord who wishes to increase rent:

2-35    (a) By more than 5 percent within 1 year; or

2-36    (b) To an amount which exceeds $400 per month,

2-37  must submit an application for approval of the increase to the board.

2-38    2.  The application must include, without limitation:

2-39    (a) The amount of the current rent;

2-40    (b) The amount by which the landlord proposes to increase the rent;

2-41    (c) The reason for the proposed increase;

2-42    (d) The name and mailing address of each tenant whose rent the

2-43  landlord proposes to increase; and

2-44    (e) Any other information that the board determines to be necessary.

2-45    3.  The board shall, within 10 days after receiving such an

2-46  application:

2-47    (a) Set a date for a public hearing. The date of the public hearing

2-48  must not be more than 40 days after the date on which the board receives

2-49  the application.

3-1    (b) Mail a written notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to

3-2  the landlord. The notice must include, without limitation, the date, time,

3-3  place and purpose of the public hearing. Within 2 calendar days after

3-4  receiving the notice, the landlord shall deliver a copy of the notice to

3-5  each tenant whose rent the landlord proposes to increase.

3-6    4.  In reviewing an application for an increase in rent, the board shall

3-7  consider:

3-8    (a) The operating expenses of the mobile home park;

3-9    (b) The current rent;

3-10    (c) The debt service, including, without limitation, the debt service for

3-11  capital improvements to the mobile home park; and

3-12    (d) A reasonable rate of return on investment by the owner of the

3-13  mobile home park.

3-14    5.  Within 20 days after the public hearing, the board shall approve or

3-15  disapprove the application in whole or in part and mail a written notice

3-16  of its decision and the reason for its decision to the landlord and to each

3-17  tenant of the mobile home park to whom notice was required to be

3-18  delivered pursuant to subsection 3. If the board approves the application,

3-19  the board shall include in the notice the amount of the increase in rent

3-20  that the board has approved.

3-21    6.  An increase in rent described in subsection 1 is void unless it has

3-22  been approved by the board pursuant to the provisions of this section.

3-23    7.  The decision of the board to approve or disapprove an application

3-24  for an increase in rent is a final decision for the purposes of judicial

3-25  review.

3-26    Sec. 8.  The administrator shall adopt such regulations as the

3-27  administrator determines are necessary to carry out the provisions of

3-28  sections 2 to 8, inclusive, of this act.

3-29    Sec. 9.  NRS 118B.150 is hereby amended to read as follows:

3-30    118B.150 The landlord or his agent or employee shall not:

3-31    1.  Increase rent or additional charges [unless:

3-32    (a) The] :

3-33    (a) Unless the rent charged after the increase is the same rent charged

3-34  for mobile homes of the same size or lots of the same size or of a similar

3-35  location within the park, except that a discount may be selectively given to

3-36  persons who are:

3-37      (1) Handicapped;

3-38      (2) Fifty-five years of age or older; or

3-39      (3) Long-term tenants of the park if the landlord has specified in the

3-40  rental agreement or lease the period of tenancy required to qualify for such

3-41  a discount;

3-42    (b) [Any] Unless the increase in [additional] the charges for special

3-43  services is the same amount for each tenant using the special service; [and

3-44    (c) Written]

3-45    (c) More than 5 percent in 1 year, or to an amount which exceeds

3-46  $400 per month, unless the increase has been approved pursuant to the

3-47  provisions of section 7 of this act by the mobile home park rent review

3-48  board created pursuant to the provisions of section 5 of this act; and

4-1    (d) Unless written notice advising a tenant of the increase is received by

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

4-9  before the first payment to be increased.

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

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

4-12  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 holidays

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

4-43  register upon entering and leaving.

4-44    9.  Charge a fee for a guest who does not stay with the tenant for more

4-45  than a total of 60 days in a calendar year. The tenant of a mobile home lot

4-46  who is living alone may allow one other person to live in his home without

4-47  paying an additional charge or fee, unless such a living arrangement

4-48  constitutes a violation of chapter 315 of NRS. No agreement between a

4-49  tenant and his guest alters or varies the terms of the rental contract between

5-1  the tenant and the landlord , and the guest is subject to the rules and

5-2  regulations of the landlord.

5-3    10.  Prohibit a tenant from erecting a fence along the perimeter of the

5-4  tenant’s lot if the fence complies with any standards for fences established

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

5-6  the materials used for fences and the manner in which fences are to be

5-7  constructed.

5-8    11.  Prohibit any tenant from soliciting membership in any association

5-9  which is formed by the tenants who live in the park. As used in this

5-10  subsection, “solicit” means to make an oral or written request for

5-11  membership or the payment of dues or to distribute, circulate or post a

5-12  notice for payment of those dues.

5-13    12.  Prohibit a public officer or candidate for public office from

5-14  walking through the park to talk with the tenants.

5-15    Sec. 10. NRS 118B.251 is hereby amended to read as follows:

5-16    118B.251  1.  [The] Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2,

5-17  the administrator may impose a fine of not more than $1,000 against any

5-18  person who violates any of the provisions of this chapter.

5-19    2.  The administrator may impose a fine of $1,000 against a landlord

5-20  for each month or fraction thereof during which the landlord, or his

5-21  agent or employee, has increased rent in violation of paragraph (c) of

5-22  subsection 1 of NRS 118B.150.

5-23    3.  The administrator shall, before imposing the fine, notify the person

5-24  by certified mail that he will impose a fine for the violation unless the

5-25  person requests a hearing within 20 days after the notice is mailed.

5-26    [3.] 4.  If a hearing is requested, the administrator shall hold a hearing

5-27  pursuant to the provisions of NRS 233B.121 to 233B.150, inclusive.

5-28    [4.] 5.  If a hearing is not requested within the prescribed period and

5-29  the matter is not otherwise resolved, the administrator shall impose the fine

5-30  and notify the person by certified mail.

5-31    [5.] 6.  The decision of the administrator to impose a fine pursuant to

5-32  this section is a final decision for the purposes of judicial review.

5-33    Sec. 11.  On or before June 15, 2001:

5-34    1.  The Manufactured Home Community Owners Association and the

5-35  Nevada Association of Manufactured Home Owners shall each appoint to

5-36  the mobile home park rent review board created pursuant to section 5 of

5-37  this act:

5-38    (a) One member whose term expires on June 30, 2002.

5-39    (b) One member whose term expires on June 30, 2003.

5-40    2.  The Nevada Manufactured Housing Association shall appoint to the

5-41  mobile home park rent review board created pursuant to section 5 of this

5-42  act one member whose term expires on June 30, 2002.

5-43    Sec. 12.  Not later than September 1, 2001, the chief of the

5-44  manufactured housing division of the department of business and industry

5-45  shall adopt the regulations required pursuant to section 8 of this act.

5-46    Sec. 13.  1.  This section and sections 1 to 6, inclusive, 8, 11 and 12

5-47  of this act become effective upon passage and approval.

 

6-1    2.  Sections 7, 9 and 10 of this act become effective on October 1,

6-2  2001.

 

6-3  H