Assembly Bill No. 388–Assemblymen Ohrenschall, Anderson, Arberry, Bache, Buckley, Chowning, Claborn, Freeman, Giunchigliani, Goldwater, Koivisto, Lee, Manendo, McClain, Mortenson, Parks, Parnell and Price

 

March 16, 2001

____________

 

Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor

 

SUMMARY—Makes various changes relating to mobile home parks. (BDR 10‑251)

 

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; requiring a landlord to make available a rental agreement to rent or lease a mobile home lot for a certain period under certain circumstances; setting forth the provisions that must be included in such an agreement; authorizing a tenant to execute an assignment or sublease in certain circumstances; revising the circumstances under which a landlord may increase the rent of his tenants to recover the cost of a capital improvement made to a park; 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, 3 and 4 of this act.

1-3    Sec. 2.  1.  Upon request from a:

1-4    (a) Prospective tenant;

1-5    (b) Tenant whose tenancy is month to month; or

1-6    (c) Tenant whose tenancy will expire within 60 days,

1-7  a landlord shall make available a rental agreement to rent or lease a

1-8  mobile home lot for a period of not less than 5 years. A landlord shall

1-9  inform such persons about the availability of such long-term rental

1-10  agreements.

1-11    2.  A rental agreement entered into pursuant to subsection 1:

1-12    (a) Must be written in clear and concise language that is set forth in at

1-13  least 10-point type or handwritten legibly on a form approved by the

1-14  division.

1-15    (b) Must not contain any provision that is unlawful or

1-16  unconscionable.

1-17    (c) Must contain the provisions required pursuant to subsection 3.

2-1    3.  A rental agreement entered into pursuant to subsection 1 must

2-2  contain a provision that authorizes:

2-3    (a) The tenant, the spouse of the tenant or, if applicable, the guardian

2-4  of the tenant, to terminate the agreement without notice if, during the

2-5  period the agreement is in force:

2-6       (1) The tenant or the spouse of the tenant is medically certified as

2-7  disabled;

2-8       (2) The tenant or the spouse of the tenant is adjudicated mentally

2-9  incompetent; or

2-10      (3) The tenant or the spouse of the tenant dies.

2-11    (b) The tenant to, in accordance with subsection 4:

2-12      (1) Assign his rights under an existing rental agreement to a person

2-13  who purchases the mobile home of the tenant; and

2-14      (2) Sublease the site on which his mobile home is located.

2-15    (c) The landlord to increase the rent:

2-16      (1) Not more than once every 12 months by a percentage which is

2-17  not more than the percentage of the increase in the Consumer Price

2-18  Index (All Items) for the preceding calendar year;

2-19      (2) To pay for an improvement to the mobile home park which is

2-20  required by a governmental entity or for the maintenance of such an

2-21  improvement; and

2-22      (3) To pay for a capital improvement to the mobile home park

2-23  which costs more than $20,000, unless the project is disapproved by a

2-24  majority of the tenants of the mobile home park pursuant to section 3 of

2-25  this act.

2-26    4.  Before a tenant may execute an assignment or sublease pursuant

2-27  to a provision of a rental agreement required by paragraph (b) of

2-28  subsection 3, the tenant must notify the landlord of his intent to execute

2-29  the assignment or sublease. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 5,

2-30  a landlord may disapprove such an assignment or sublease only if:

2-31    (a) The landlord determines that the person to whom the assignment

2-32  or sublease will be made:

2-33      (1) Lacks the financial ability to pay the rental fee; or

2-34      (2) Would pose an unreasonable threat to the safety or peaceful

2-35  enjoyment of the other tenants of the mobile home park; and

2-36    (b) Within 7 days after receiving from the tenant the required notice

2-37  of intent to execute an assignment or sublease, the landlord notifies the

2-38  tenant in writing of the determination made pursuant to
paragraph (a).

2-39  A landlord shall not require an assignee or sublessee to pay an

2-40  application fee or other administrative fee to enter into a contract with a

2-41  tenant in accordance with this section.

2-42    5.  Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 4, a landlord may

2-43  not disapprove an assignment made by a bona fide creditor of a tenant.

2-44    6.  The provisions of this section do not apply to a mobile home park

2-45  that has 100 or fewer mobile home lots.

2-46    Sec. 3.  1.  Except as otherwise provided in subsections 4 and 5, a

2-47  landlord may, pursuant to the provisions of this section, increase the rent

2-48  of the tenants of a mobile home park to recover that amount of the cost

3-1  of a capital improvement to the park which exceeds $20,000. The

3-2  landlord must recover that amount over a period of 5 years. To determine

3-3  the monthly increase in the rent of a tenant pursuant to this subsection,

3-4  the amount that a landlord is entitled to recover each year must be

3-5  divided by the number of lots in the mobile home park which are

3-6  occupied at the time the capital improvement is completed, and that

3-7  amount must be divided by 12.

3-8    2.  A landlord who wishes to increase the rent of a tenant to recover

3-9  that amount of the cost of a capital improvement to a mobile home park

3-10  which exceeds $20,000 must conduct a meeting of the tenants of the

3-11  mobile home park to provide the tenants an opportunity to disapprove the

3-12  capital improvement.

3-13    3.  The landlord shall, not less than 60 days before a meeting

3-14  conducted pursuant to subsection 2, provide each tenant with notice of

3-15  the proposed capital improvement to be made to the mobile home park

3-16  and the date, time and place of the meeting. The notice must include:

3-17    (a) A description of the proposed capital improvement;

3-18    (b) An estimate of the cost of the proposed capital improvement; and

3-19    (c) An estimate of the amount by which the rent of each tenant will be

3-20  increased to cover the cost of the capital improvement if it is not

3-21  disapproved.

3-22    4.  A landlord shall not increase the rent of the tenants of a mobile

3-23  home park to recover that amount of the cost of a capital improvement to

3-24  the park which exceeds $20,000 if a majority of the tenants of the park

3-25  disapprove the capital improvement at a meeting conducted pursuant to

3-26  subsection 2.

3-27    5.  A landlord shall not increase the rent of a tenant pursuant to this

3-28  section if the rental agreement of that tenant does not authorize the

3-29  landlord to increase the rent to recover the cost of a capital improvement.

3-30  The mobile home lot of such a tenant shall be deemed to be an occupied

3-31  lot for the purposes of subsection 1.

3-32    6.  The provisions of this section do not apply to a mobile home park

3-33  that has 25 or fewer mobile home lots.

3-34    Sec. 4.  For the purposes of subsection 3 of NRS 118B.150 and

3-35  section 3 of this act, all capital improvements made to a facility in a

3-36  mobile home park within a period of 3 years shall be deemed to be a

3-37  single capital improvement.

3-38    Sec. 5.  NRS 118B.0113 is hereby amended to read as follows:

3-39    118B.0113  “Capital improvement” means [an] :

3-40    1.  An addition or betterment made to a mobile home park that:

3-41    [1.] (a) Consists of more than the repair or replacement of an existing

3-42  facility;

3-43    [2.] (b) Is required by law to be amortized over its useful life for the

3-44  purposes of income tax; and

3-45    [3.] (c) Has a useful life of 5 years or more[.] ; or

3-46    2.  The replacement of an existing facility in a mobile home park.

3-47    Sec. 6.  NRS 118B.150 is hereby amended to read as follows:

3-48    118B.150  The landlord or his agent or employee shall not:

3-49    1.  Increase rent or additional charges unless:

4-1    (a) The rent charged after the increase is the same rent charged for

4-2  mobile homes of the same size or lots of the same size or of a similar

4-3  location within the park, except that a discount may be selectively given to

4-4  persons who:

4-5       (1) Are handicapped;

4-6       (2) Are 55 years of age or older;

4-7       (3) Are long-term tenants of the park if the landlord has specified in

4-8  the rental agreement or lease the period of tenancy required to qualify for

4-9  such a discount;

4-10      (4) Pay their rent in a timely manner; or

4-11      (5) Pay their rent by check, money order or electronic means;

4-12    (b) Any increase in additional charges for special services is the same

4-13  amount for each tenant using the special service; and

4-14    (c) Written notice advising a tenant of the increase is received by the

4-15  tenant 90 days before the first payment to be increased and written notice

4-16  of the increase is given to prospective tenants before commencement of

4-17  their tenancy. In addition to the notice provided to a tenant pursuant to this

4-18  paragraph, if the landlord or his agent or employee knows or reasonably

4-19  should know that the tenant receives assistance from the fund created

4-20  pursuant to NRS 118B.215, the landlord or his agent or employee shall

4-21  provide to the administrator written notice of the increase 90 days before

4-22  the first payment to be increased.

4-23    2.  Require a tenant to pay for an improvement to the common area of a

4-24  mobile home park unless the landlord is required to make the improvement

4-25  pursuant to an ordinance of a local government.

4-26    3.  Require a tenant to pay for a capital improvement to the mobile

4-27  home park unless the tenant has notice of the requirement at the time he

4-28  enters into the rental agreement. A tenant may not be required to pay for

4-29  that amount of the cost of a capital improvement which is $20,000 or less

4-30  after the tenant enters into the rental agreement unless the tenant consents

4-31  to it in writing or is given 60 days’ notice of the requirement in writing.

4-32  The landlord may not establish such a requirement unless a meeting of the

4-33  tenants is held to discuss the proposal and the landlord provides each tenant

4-34  with notice of the proposal and the date, time and place of the meeting not

4-35  less than 60 days before the meeting. The notice must include a copy of the

4-36  proposal. A notice in a periodic publication of the park does not constitute

4-37  notice for the purposes of this subsection.

4-38    4.  Require a tenant to pay his rent by check or money order.

4-39    5.  Require a tenant who pays his rent in cash to apply any change to

4-40  which he is entitled to the next periodic payment that is due. The landlord

4-41  or his agent or employee shall have an adequate amount of money

4-42  available to provide change to such a tenant.

4-43    6.  Prohibit or require fees or deposits for any meetings held in the

4-44  park’s community or recreational facility by the tenants or occupants of

4-45  any mobile home or recreational vehicle in the park to discuss the park’s

4-46  affairs, or any political or social meeting sponsored by a tenant, if the

4-47  meetings are held at reasonable hours and when the facility is not otherwise

4-48  in use, or prohibit the distribution of notices of those meetings.

5-1    7.  Interrupt, with the intent to terminate occupancy, any utility service

5-2  furnished the tenant except for nonpayment of utility charges when due.

5-3  Any landlord who violates this subsection is liable to the tenant for actual

5-4  damages.

5-5    8.  Prohibit a tenant from having guests, but he may require the tenant

5-6  to register the guest within 48 hours after his arrival, Sundays and legal

5-7  holidays excluded, and if the park is a secured park, a guest may be

5-8  required to register upon entering and leaving.

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

5-10  than a total of 60 days in a calendar year. The tenant of a mobile home lot

5-11  who is living alone may allow one other person to live in his home without

5-12  paying an additional charge or fee, unless such a living arrangement

5-13  constitutes a violation of chapter 315 of NRS. No agreement between a

5-14  tenant and his guest alters or varies the terms of the rental contract between

5-15  the tenant and the landlord, and the guest is subject to the rules and

5-16  regulations of the landlord.

5-17    10.  Prohibit a tenant from erecting a fence along the perimeter of the

5-18  tenant’s lot if the fence complies with any standards for fences established

5-19  by the landlord, including limitations established for the height of fences,

5-20  the materials used for fences and the manner in which fences are to be

5-21  constructed.

5-22    11.  Prohibit any tenant from soliciting membership in any association

5-23  which is formed by the tenants who live in the park. As used in this

5-24  subsection, “solicit” means to make an oral or written request for

5-25  membership or the payment of dues or to distribute, circulate or post a

5-26  notice for payment of those dues.

5-27    12.  Prohibit a public officer or candidate for public office from

5-28  walking through the park to talk with the tenants.

5-29    13.  If a tenant has voluntarily assumed responsibility to trim the trees

5-30  on his lot, require the tenant to trim any particular tree located on the lot or

5-31  dispose of the trimmings unless a danger or hazard exists.

 

5-32  H