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A05029 Summary:

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A05029 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
            S. 3177--A                                            A. 5029--A
 
                               2011-2012 Regular Sessions
 
                SENATE - ASSEMBLY
 
                                    February 10, 2011
                                       ___________
 
        IN  SENATE  --  Introduced  by Sens. LAVALLE, NOZZOLIO -- read twice and
          ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on
          Judiciary  -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
          amended and recommitted to said committee
 

        IN ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by M. of A. THIELE, LOSQUADRO -- read once and
          referred to the Committee on Judiciary -- committee  discharged,  bill
          amended,  ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
          tee
 
        AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation to providing recourse
          for manufactured  homeowners  in  manufactured  home  parks,  who  are
          confronted with unjustifiable rent increases
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Legislative findings. The legislature  finds  and  declares
     2  that:
     3    (a) Factors unique to home ownership in manufactured home parks in New
     4  York  state  require  that  the  owners  of  such  manufactured homes be
     5  protected from involuntary forfeiture of their homes due to unreasonable
     6  increases in lot rent.

     7    (b) Homeownership in such manufactured home parks differs  from  other
     8  forms  of  homeownership as well as from the traditional landlord-tenant
     9  relationship. Unlike other homeowners, because the manufactured homeown-
    10  ers do not control the land on which  their  manufactured  homes  exist,
    11  they  have  no  control  over  this substantial portion of their housing
    12  costs.
    13    (c) Vacant lots on which to place an existing  manufactured  home  are
    14  extremely  rare in New York state, and the cost of relocating a manufac-
    15  tured home, even if such a vacancy exists,  is  prohibitively  high  and
    16  threatens the structural integrity of many manufactured homes.
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07661-02-1

        S. 3177--A                          2                         A. 5029--A
 
     1    (d)  The  manufactured  homeowners'  total  lack  of  bargaining power
     2  disrupts the normal operation of market forces and renders such manufac-
     3  tured homeowners captive to whatever  terms  a  manufactured  home  park
     4  owner  may choose to impose. Although many manufactured home park owners
     5  choose  not  to  take advantage of their superior bargaining power, many
     6  do. This often results in manufactured homeowners being evicted  because
     7  of  manufactured  home  park  rents  they can no longer afford, and as a
     8  result, losing their manufactured home altogether because  there  is  no
     9  alternative site on which to place such home.
    10    (e)  Under current law, manufactured homeowners who rent lots in manu-
    11  factured home parks have no legal remedy for an unjustifiable and unrea-

    12  sonable rent increase.
    13    § 2. Subdivision e of section 233 of the real property law is  amended
    14  by adding a new paragraph 4 to read as follows:
    15    4. All rent increases, including all fees, rents, charges, assessments
    16  and  utilities,  shall  be  subject  to  judicial  challenge pursuant to
    17  section two hundred thirty-three-b  of  this  article  for  manufactured
    18  homeowners.
    19    §  3. Paragraph 2 of subdivision g of section 233 of the real property
    20  law, as amended by chapter 566 of the laws of 1996, is amended  to  read
    21  as follows:
    22    2.  A  manufactured  home  park owner or operator shall be required to
    23  fully disclose in writing  all  fees,  charges,  assessments,  including
    24  rental  fees, rules and regulations prior to [a manufactured home tenant

    25  assuming occupancy] entering into a rental agreement with a  prospective
    26  tenant in the manufactured home park.
    27    § 4. The real property law is amended by adding a new section 233-b to
    28  read as follows:
    29    §  233-b.  Unjustified  rent increases in manufactured home parks.  1.
    30  Local option. The provisions of this section shall apply in  any  county
    31  in  which  the  governing  board  of  such county has passed a local law
    32  adopting the provisions of this section.
    33    2. Scope. To be eligible for this remedy, the manufactured  home  must
    34  be the primary residence of the manufactured homeowner.
    35    3.  Prima facie case. An increase in rent which exceeds the percentage
    36  increase in the consumer price index since the current lot  rent  became

    37  effective  may  be  challenged by an aggrieved manufactured homeowner as
    38  unjustified. The term "consumer price index" means the  index  published
    39  monthly  by  the  United  States  Department  of  Labor, Bureau of Labor
    40  Statistics, for  the  applicable  New  York  region.  In  this  section,
    41  "increase  in  lot  rent"  includes  all  cost  increases, including all
    42  increased rent, fees, charges, assessments and utilities.
    43    4. Joinder. Multiple aggrieved manufactured homeowners may join in the
    44  same action where there is a common question of law or fact.
    45    5. Venue and statute of limitation. Within ninety days of  the  notice
    46  of  the proposed increase, an aggrieved manufactured homeowner may chal-

    47  lenge such increase by filing an action in the  county  where  the  real
    48  property  is  located  seeking  a  declaratory  judgment  that  the rent
    49  increase is unjustifiable.
    50    6. Presumption.  In any proceedings under this section there shall  be
    51  an irrebuttable presumption that a rent increase is justifiable when the
    52  amount  of  such increase does not exceed the tenant's pro-rata share in
    53  operating costs and property taxes for the  manufactured  home  park  in
    54  which the tenant resides.
    55    7.  Standard for judicial review.  In determining whether the proposed
    56  rent increase is unjustifiable, the court shall consider:
        S. 3177--A                          3                         A. 5029--A
 

     1    (a)  Increases  in  the  manufactured  home  park  owner's   operating
     2  expenses.
     3    (b)  Increases in the manufactured home park owner's property taxes on
     4  such park.
     5    (c) Increases in the cost of debt service which is directly related to
     6  acquisition or capital improvements in the manufactured home park.
     7    (d) The return on the manufactured home park owner's equity investment
     8  over the past three years, and the reasons  offered  by  the  owner  for
     9  seeking an increase in the return on his or her investment.
    10    (e) A sampling of current lot rents in the region in which the park is
    11  located.
    12    (f) Any other costs asserted by the manufactured home park owner which

    13  are relevant and probative of the need for an increase.
    14    8.  Conditional  approval. The court may condition its approval of any
    15  justified increase upon the redress of conditions  in  the  manufactured
    16  home  park which threaten the health and safety of the manufactured home
    17  park tenants.
    18    9. Escrow.  While a challenge to a  rent  increase  pursuant  to  this
    19  section  is pending, manufactured home park tenants shall pay the amount
    20  of the rent increase to the manufactured home park owner, who shall hold
    21  such amounts in escrow pending a mediated agreement between the  parties
    22  or  a final decision from the court, provided, however, that no manufac-
    23  tured home park tenant shall be evicted  for  non-payment  of  the  rent

    24  increase  prior to a final disposition of the matter by the court in the
    25  county where the manufactured home park is located. Failure by the manu-
    26  factured home park owner to  place  such  challenged  rent  increase  in
    27  escrow  shall  be  punishable  by  a civil penalty of not more than five
    28  hundred dollars.  If the petitioners appeal, the manufactured home  park
    29  owner  may remove the rent increase funds from escrow, mingle such funds
    30  with any other funds, and evict a tenant who has not paid  the  increase
    31  for  non-payment of rent. If the court enters a final judgment declaring
    32  the rent increases or any part thereof unjustifiable,  the  manufactured
    33  home  park  owner  shall  refund the amount of unjustifiable increase to
    34  each tenant household.

    35    § 5. This act shall take effect on the first of January next  succeed-
    36  ing the date  on which it shall have become a law.