Bill Text: NY A02682 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to providing recourse for manufactured homeowners in manufactured home parks confronted with unjustifiable rent increases; creates a local option in counties in New York state to provide such protection.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - ordered to third reading cal.213 [A02682 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-A02682-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ S. 3231 A. 2682 2017-2018 Regular Sessions SENATE - ASSEMBLY January 20, 2017 ___________ IN SENATE -- Introduced by Sen. LAVALLE -- read twice and ordered print- ed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development IN ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by M. of A. THIELE, GRAF, JAFFEE, PALUMBO, WEPRIN -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. SKARTADOS -- read once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary 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. 17 (d) The manufactured homeowners' total lack of bargaining power 18 disrupts the normal operation of market forces and renders such manufac- 19 tured homeowners captive to whatever terms a manufactured home park EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD04079-01-7S. 3231 2 A. 2682 1 owner may choose to impose. Although many manufactured home park owners 2 choose not to take advantage of their superior bargaining power, many 3 do. This often results in manufactured homeowners being evicted because 4 of manufactured home park rents they can no longer afford, and as a 5 result, losing their manufactured home altogether because there is no 6 alternative site on which to place such home. 7 (e) Under current law, manufactured homeowners who rent lots in manu- 8 factured home parks have no legal remedy for an unjustifiable and unrea- 9 sonable rent increase. 10 § 2. Subdivision e of section 233 of the real property law is amended 11 by adding a new paragraph 4 to read as follows: 12 4. All rent increases, including all fees, rents, charges, assessments 13 and utilities, shall be subject to judicial challenge pursuant to 14 section two hundred thirty-three-b of this article for manufactured 15 homeowners. 16 § 3. Paragraph 2 of subdivision g of section 233 of the real property 17 law, as amended by chapter 566 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read 18 as follows: 19 2. A manufactured home park owner or operator shall be required to 20 fully disclose in writing all fees, charges, assessments, including 21 rental fees, rules and regulations prior to [a manufactured home tenant22assuming occupancy] entering into a rental agreement with a prospective 23 tenant in the manufactured home park. 24 § 4. The real property law is amended by adding a new section 233-b to 25 read as follows: 26 § 233-b. Unjustified rent increases in manufactured home parks. 1. 27 Local option. The provisions of this section shall apply in any county 28 in which the governing board of such county has passed a local law 29 adopting the provisions of this section. 30 2. Scope. To be eligible for this remedy, the manufactured home must 31 be the primary residence of the manufactured homeowner. 32 3. Prima facie case. An increase in rent which exceeds the percentage 33 increase in the consumer price index since the current lot rent became 34 effective may be challenged by an aggrieved manufactured homeowner as 35 unjustified. The term "consumer price index" means the index published 36 monthly by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor 37 Statistics, for the applicable New York region. In this section, 38 "increase in lot rent" includes all cost increases, including all 39 increased rent, fees, charges, assessments and utilities. 40 4. Joinder. Multiple aggrieved manufactured homeowners may join in the 41 same action where there is a common question of law or fact. 42 5. Venue and statute of limitation. Within ninety days of the notice 43 of the proposed increase, an aggrieved manufactured homeowner may chal- 44 lenge such increase by filing an action in the county where the real 45 property is located seeking a declaratory judgment that the rent 46 increase is unjustifiable. 47 6. Presumption. In any proceedings under this section there shall be 48 an irrebuttable presumption that a rent increase is justifiable when the 49 amount of such increase does not exceed the tenant's pro-rata share in 50 operating costs and property taxes for the manufactured home park in 51 which the tenant resides. 52 7. Standard for judicial review. In determining whether the proposed 53 rent increase is unjustifiable, the court shall consider: 54 (a) Increases in the manufactured home park owner's operating 55 expenses.S. 3231 3 A. 2682 1 (b) Increases in the manufactured home park owner's property taxes on 2 such park. 3 (c) Increases in the cost of debt service which is directly related to 4 acquisition or capital improvements in the manufactured home park. 5 (d) The return on the manufactured home park owner's equity investment 6 over the past three years, and the reasons offered by the owner for 7 seeking an increase in the return on his or her investment. 8 (e) A sampling of current lot rents in the region in which the park is 9 located. 10 (f) Any other costs asserted by the manufactured home park owner which 11 are relevant and probative of the need for an increase. 12 8. Conditional approval. The court may condition its approval of any 13 justified increase upon the redress of conditions in the manufactured 14 home park which threaten the health and safety of the manufactured home 15 park tenants. 16 9. Escrow. While a challenge to a rent increase pursuant to this 17 section is pending, manufactured home park tenants shall pay the amount 18 of the rent increase to the manufactured home park owner, who shall hold 19 such amounts in escrow pending a mediated agreement between the parties 20 or a final decision from the court, provided, however, that no manufac- 21 tured home park tenant shall be evicted for non-payment of the rent 22 increase prior to a final disposition of the matter by the court in the 23 county where the manufactured home park is located. Failure by the manu- 24 factured home park owner to place such challenged rent increase in 25 escrow shall be punishable by a civil penalty of not more than five 26 hundred dollars. If the petitioners appeal, the manufactured home park 27 owner may remove the rent increase funds from escrow, mingle such funds 28 with any other funds, and evict a tenant who has not paid the increase 29 for non-payment of rent. If the court enters a final judgment declaring 30 the rent increases or any part thereof unjustifiable, the manufactured 31 home park owner shall refund the amount of unjustifiable increase to 32 each tenant household. 33 § 5. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed- 34 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
