BILL REQ. #:  S-4786.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/03/06.   

     AN ACT Relating to closure of mobile home parks and manufactured housing communities; and amending RCW 59.21.030 and 59.20.060.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 59.21.030 and 1995 c 122 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Notice required by RCW 59.20.080 before park closure or conversion of the park, whether twelve months or longer, shall be given to the director and all tenants in writing, and posted at all park entrances. The notice required by RCW 59.20.080 must also meet the following requirements:
     (a) A copy of the closure notice must be provided with all month-to-month rental agreements signed after the original park closure notice date((.));
     (b) Notice to the director must include: (i) A good faith estimate of the timetable for removal of the mobile homes ((and)); (ii) the reason for closure((.)); and (iii) a list of the names and mailing addresses of the current registered park tenants. Notice required under this subsection must be sent to the director within ten business days; and
     (c) Notice must ((also)) be recorded in the office of the county auditor for the county where the mobile home park is located.
     (2) The department must mail every tenant an application and information on relocation assistance within ten business days of receipt of the notice required in subsection (1) of this section.

Sec. 2   RCW 59.20.060 and 2002 c 63 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Any mobile home space tenancy regardless of the term, shall be based upon a written rental agreement, signed by the parties, which shall contain:
     (a) The terms for the payment of rent, including time and place, and any additional charges to be paid by the tenant. Additional charges that occur less frequently than monthly shall be itemized in a billing to the tenant;
     (b) Reasonable rules for guest parking which shall be clearly stated;
     (c) The rules and regulations of the park;
     (d) The name and address of the person who is the landlord, and if such person does not reside in the state there shall also be designated by name and address a person who resides in the county where the mobile home park is located who is authorized to act as agent for the purposes of service of notices and process. If no designation is made of a person to act as agent, then the person to whom rental payments are to be made shall be considered the agent;
     (e) The name and address of any party who has a secured interest in the mobile home, manufactured home, or park model;
     (f) A forwarding address of the tenant or the name and address of a person who would likely know the whereabouts of the tenant in the event of an emergency or an abandonment of the mobile home, manufactured home, or park model;
     (g)(i) A covenant by the landlord that, except for acts or events beyond the control of the landlord, the mobile home park will not be converted to a land use that will prevent the space that is the subject of the lease from continuing to be used for its intended use for a period of three years after the beginning of the term of the rental agreement;
     (ii) A rental agreement may, in the alternative, contain a statement that: "The park may be sold or otherwise transferred at any time with the result that subsequent owners may close the mobile home park, or that the landlord may close the park at any time after the required notice." The covenant or statement required by this subsection must: (A) Appear in print that is in bold face and is larger than the other text of the ((lease and must)) rental agreement; (B) be set off by means of a box, blank space, or comparable visual device;
     ((The requirements of this subsection shall apply to tenancies initiated after April 28, 1989)) and (C) be located directly above the tenant's signature on the rental agreement.
     (h) The terms and conditions under which any deposit or portion thereof may be withheld by the landlord upon termination of the rental agreement if any moneys are paid to the landlord by the tenant as a deposit or as security for performance of the tenant's obligations in a rental agreement;
     (i) A listing of the utilities, services, and facilities which will be available to the tenant during the tenancy and the nature of the fees, if any, to be charged;
     (j) A description of the boundaries of a mobile home space sufficient to inform the tenant of the exact location of the tenant's space in relation to other tenants' spaces;
     (k) A statement of the current zoning of the land on which the mobile home park is located; and
     (l) A statement of the expiration date of any conditional use, temporary use, or other land use permit subject to a fixed expiration date that is necessary for the continued use of the land as a mobile home park.
     (2) Any rental agreement executed between the landlord and tenant shall not contain any provision:
     (a) Which allows the landlord to charge a fee for guest parking unless a violation of the rules for guest parking occurs: PROVIDED, That a fee may be charged for guest parking which covers an extended period of time as defined in the rental agreement;
     (b) Which authorizes the towing or impounding of a vehicle except upon notice to the owner thereof or the tenant whose guest is the owner of the vehicle;
     (c) Which allows the landlord to alter the due date for rent payment or increase the rent: (i) During the term of the rental agreement if the term is less than one year, or (ii) more frequently than annually if the term is for one year or more: PROVIDED, That a rental agreement may include an escalation clause for a pro rata share of any increase in the mobile home park's real property taxes or utility assessments or charges, over the base taxes or utility assessments or charges of the year in which the rental agreement took effect, if the clause also provides for a pro rata reduction in rent or other charges in the event of a reduction in real property taxes or utility assessments or charges, below the base year: PROVIDED FURTHER, That a rental agreement for a term exceeding one year may provide for annual increases in rent in specified amounts or by a formula specified in such agreement;
     (d) By which the tenant agrees to waive or forego rights or remedies under this chapter;
     (e) Allowing the landlord to charge an "entrance fee" or an "exit fee." However, an entrance fee may be charged as part of a continuing care contract as defined in RCW 70.38.025;
     (f) Which allows the landlord to charge a fee for guests: PROVIDED, That a landlord may establish rules charging for guests who remain on the premises for more than fifteen days in any sixty-day period;
     (g) By which the tenant agrees to waive or forego homestead rights provided by chapter 6.13 RCW. This subsection shall not prohibit such waiver after a default in rent so long as such waiver is in writing signed by the husband and wife or by an unmarried claimant and in consideration of the landlord's agreement not to terminate the tenancy for a period of time specified in the waiver if the landlord would be otherwise entitled to terminate the tenancy under this chapter; or
     (h) By which, at the time the rental agreement is entered into, the landlord and tenant agree to the selection of a particular arbitrator.