[atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to investigations, citations, and fines for violations of the manufactured/mobile home landlord-tenant act; amending RCW 59.22.010, 59.22.020, and 59.22.050; adding new sections to chapter 59.22 RCW; and prescribing penalties.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 59.22.010 and 1995 c 399 s 154 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The legislature finds:

(a) That manufactured housing and mobile home parks provide a source of low-cost housing to the low income, elderly, poor, and ((~~infirmed~~)) infirm, without which they could not afford private housing; but rising costs of mobile home park development and operation, as well as turnover in ownership, has resulted in mobile home park living becoming unaffordable to the low income, elderly, poor, and ((~~infirmed~~)) infirm, resulting in increased numbers of homeless persons, and persons who must look to public housing and public programs, increasing the burden on the state to meet the housing needs of its residents;

(b) That taking legal action against a landlord or tenant for violations of the manufactured/mobile home landlord-tenant act can be a costly and lengthy process, and that many people cannot afford to pursue this process;

(c) That state government can play a vital role in addressing the problems confronted by mobile home park residents by providing assistance which makes it possible for mobile home park residents to acquire the mobile home parks in which they reside and convert them to resident ownership and by providing assistance which makes it possible for manufactured/mobile home tenants and landlords to resolve disputes in a less costly manner; and

((~~(c)~~)) (d) That to accomplish ((~~this~~)) these purposes, information and technical support shall be made available through the department.

(2) Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature((,)):

(a) In order to maintain low-cost housing in mobile home parks to benefit the low income, elderly, poor, and ((~~infirmed~~)) infirm, to encourage and facilitate the conversion of mobile home parks to resident ownership, to protect low-income mobile home park residents from both physical and economic displacement, to obtain a high level of private financing for mobile home park conversions, and to help establish acceptance for resident-owned mobile home parks in the private market; and

(b) In order to provide a less costly and lengthy way for manufactured/mobile home tenants to resolve disputes, to authorize the office of manufactured housing to conduct investigations, issue citations, and impose fines for violations of the manufactured/mobile home landlord-tenant act.

Sec. 2. RCW 59.22.020 and 1995 c 399 s 155 are each amended to read as follows:

The following definitions shall apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

(1) "Account" means the mobile home affairs account created under RCW 59.22.070.

(2) "Affordable" means that, where feasible, low-income residents should not pay more than thirty percent of their monthly income for housing costs.

(3) "Conversion costs" includes the cost of acquiring the mobile home park, the costs of planning and processing the conversion, the costs of any needed repairs or rehabilitation, and any expenditures required by a government agency or lender for the project.

(4) "Department" means the department of community, trade, and economic development.

(5) "Fee" means the mobile home title transfer fee imposed under RCW 59.22.080.

(6) "Fund" or "park purchase account" means the mobile home park purchase account created pursuant to RCW 59.22.030.

(7) "Housing costs" means the total cost of owning, occupying, and maintaining a mobile home and a lot or space in a mobile home park.

(8) "Individual interest in a mobile home park" means any interest which is fee ownership or a lesser interest which entitles the holder to occupy a lot or space in a mobile home park for a period of not less than either fifteen years or the life of the holder. Individual interests in a mobile home park include, but are not limited to, the following:

(a) Ownership of a lot or space in a mobile home park or subdivision;

(b) A membership or shares in a stock cooperative, or a limited equity housing cooperative; or

(c) Membership in a nonprofit mutual benefit corporation which owns, operates, or owns and operates the mobile home park.

(9) "Low-income resident" means an individual or household who resided in the mobile home park prior to application for a loan pursuant to this chapter and with an annual income at or below eighty percent of the median income for the county of standard metropolitan statistical area of residence. Net worth shall be considered in the calculation of income with the exception of the resident's mobile/manufactured home which is used as their primary residence.

(10) "Low-income spaces" means those spaces in a mobile home park operated by a resident organization which are occupied by low-income residents.

(11) "Mobile home park" means a mobile home park, as defined in RCW 59.20.030((~~(4)~~)) (6), or a manufactured home park subdivision as defined by RCW 59.20.030((~~(6)~~)) (8) created by the conversion to resident ownership of a mobile home park.

(12) "Resident organization" means a group of mobile home park residents who have formed a nonprofit corporation, cooperative corporation, or other entity or organization for the purpose of acquiring the mobile home park in which they reside and converting the mobile home park to resident ownership. The membership of a resident organization shall include at least two-thirds of the households residing in the mobile home park at the time of application for assistance from the department.

(13) "Resident ownership" means, depending on the context, either the ownership, by a resident organization, as defined in this section, of an interest in a mobile home park which entitles the resident organization to control the operations of the mobile home park for a term of no less than fifteen years, or the ownership of individual interests in a mobile home park, or both.

(14) "Landlord" shall have the same meaning as it does in RCW 59.20.030.

(15) "Manufactured housing" means residences constructed on one or more chassis for transportation, and which bear an insignia issued by a state or federal regulatory agency indication compliance with all applicable construction standards of the United States department of housing and urban development.

(16) "Mobile home" shall have the same meaning as it does in RCW 46.04.302.

(17) "Mobile home lot" shall have the same meaning as it does in RCW 59.20.030.

(18) "Tenant" means a person who rents a mobile home lot for a term of one month or longer and owns the mobile home on the lot.

(19) "Office" means the office of manufactured housing.

Sec. 3. RCW 59.22.050 and 1991 c 327 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) In order to provide general assistance to mobile home resident organizations, park owners, and landlords and tenants, the department shall establish an office of ((~~mobile home affairs~~)) manufactured housing which will serve as the coordinating office within state government for matters relating to mobile homes or manufactured housing.

This office will provide an ombudsman service to mobile home park owners and mobile home tenants with respect to problems and disputes between park owners and park residents and to provide technical assistance to resident organizations or persons in the process of forming a resident organization pursuant to chapter 59.22 RCW. The office will keep records of its activities in this area.

(2) The office may, upon receiving complaints alleging violations of chapter 59.20 RCW, investigate the alleged violations, issue citations, and impose fines as provided by this chapter. The office may develop rules to implement this subsection.

(3) The office shall perform all the consumer complaint and related functions of the state administrative agency that are required for purposes of complying with the regulations established by the federal department of housing and urban development for manufactured housing, including the preparation and submission of the state administrative plan.

((~~(3)~~)) (4) The office shall administer the mobile home relocation assistance program established in chapter 59.21 RCW, including verifying the eligibility of tenants for relocation assistance.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 59.22 RCW to read as follows:

(1) Upon receiving complaints alleging violations of chapter 59.20 RCW, the office may investigate the alleged violations and issue citations.

(2) If after an investigation the office finds a violation of chapter 59.20 RCW, the office must deliver a citation to the person who has committed the violation either by certified mail or in person. The citation must specify the violation, the corrective action to be taken, the time within which the corrective action must be taken, the penalties that will result if corrective action is not taken within the specified time period, and the process for contesting the citation through a hearing.

(3) Citations for all violations other than those deemed imminently life-threatening may be contested through an administrative hearing under chapter 34.05 RCW. In order to obtain a hearing a person must, within fifteen days of receiving a citation from the office, request that the office conduct a hearing. If a hearing is not requested within this time period, the citation constitutes a final order of the office and is not subject to review by any court or agency. If an administrative law judge decides that a person has violated chapter 59.20 RCW, that person shall pay for the cost incurred by the office in conducting the hearing.

(4) For those violations deemed imminently life-threatening, corrective action must take place within twenty-four hours of the receipt of the office's citation. For all other violations, corrective action must take place within fifteen days of the receipt of the office's citation.

(5) If a person fails to take corrective action within the required time period and the office has not received a timely request for an administrative hearing, the office may impose a fine for every day that the violation remains uncorrected. The office shall establish a schedule of fines by rule.

(6) Upon application by a person showing that good faith effort to comply with the corrective action requirements of the citation has been made and that the corrective action has not been completed because of factors beyond the person's control, the office may extend the time period in which corrective action must be taken before fines are imposed.

(7) This section does not limit the right of landlords or tenants to take legal action against another party as provided in chapter 59.20 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 59.22 RCW to read as follows:

The manufactured/mobile home investigations account is created in the custody of the state treasurer. All receipts from the imposition of fines for violations of chapter 59.20 RCW and the fees collected under section 6 of this act must be deposited into the account. Expenditures from the account may be used only for the administrative costs associated with enforcing this chapter. Only the director or the director's designee may authorize expenditures from the account. The account is subject to allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW, but an appropriation is not required for expenditures.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 59.22 RCW to read as follows:

(1) Each owner of a mobile home park shall pay to the office an annual fee to fund the administrative costs of investigating violations of the manufactured/mobile home landlord-tenant act under this chapter. The fee shall be determined annually by the office, and may not exceed five dollars for each lot within a park.

(2) If an owner fails to pay the fee within thirty days after receiving written notice of the amount due, a penalty of fifty percent of the amount of the fee will be added. The owner is not entitled to any reimbursement of this penalty from his or her tenants. If an owner fails to pay the required fees within sixty days after receiving written notice of the amount due, the amount due under this section becomes a lien in favor of the state upon the owner's property. The lien is superior to all other liens and encumbrances except general taxes and local and special assessments, and bears interest computed monthly and compounded annually at a rate of eight percent.

(3) All fees collected by the office under subsection (1) of this section must be deposited into the manufactured/mobile home investigations account.