HOUSE BILL REPORT

HB 1797

BYRepresentatives Todd, Nutley, Cooper, Cantwell, Nelson, Brough and Rasmussen

Applying the mobile home landlord-tenant act to individual lots.

House Committe on Housing

Majority Report:  The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass.  (8)

      Signed by Representatives Nutley, Chair; Leonard, Vice Chair; Winsley, Ranking Republican Member; Anderson, Inslee, Padden, Rector and Todd.

House Staff:Charlie Gavigan (786-7340)

AS REPORTED BY COMMITTEE ON HOUSING FEBRUARY 17, 1989

BACKGROUND:

In 1977, the legislature passed the Mobile Home Landlord-Tenant Act. A Residential Landlord-Tenant Act had passed the legislature four years earlier. The Mobile Home Landlord-Tenant Act has been amended several times since it was adopted.

The Mobile Home Landlord-Tenant Act addresses the unique characteristics of renting space for mobile homes in a mobile home park.  The tenant usually owns the mobile home and is renting the land (space or lot) from a park owner. The mobile home is very difficult and expensive to move; differences between the Residential and the Mobile Home Landlord-Tenant Acts are due in large part to this fact.

The present Mobile Home Landlord-Tenant Act lists general provisions, defines the duties of the landlord and the remedies available to the tenant, defines the duties of the tenant and the remedies available to the landlord, makes mediation mandatory in some cases, and makes mediation and arbitration available in most cases.

The general provisions include: (1) an obligation of good faith imposed on all parties; (2) the landlord must offer the tenant a one year lease; if the tenant takes a shorter lease, the tenant must waive the tenant's right to a one year lease in writing; (3) every rental agreement must be in writing; (4) the rental agreement renews automatically at the end of the term unless either a different term is agreed to or the landlord serves notice to terminate without cause; (5) the unlawful detainer provisions in the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act apply to the Mobile Home Landlord Tenant Act except in cases of abandonment; and (6) the procedures for security deposits.

The landlord's duties include: (1) complying with codes, laws, and ordinances; (2) maintaining utilities outside the mobile home; (3) respecting the privacy of the tenant and not entering without authorization except in cases of an emergency or abandonment; and (4) maintaining roads inside a mobile home park.

A tenant's duties include: (1) paying the rent; (2) complying with laws, codes, and ordinances; (3) keeping the lot clean and sanitary, and (4) not damaging the space.

The Residential Landlord-Tenant Act applies to all rentals of residential units, including single family residences, apartments, condominiums, and mobile homes where the landlord owns both the mobile home and the land.  The Mobile Home Landlord-Tenant Act applies to all mobile homes in mobile home parks (defined as two or more lots).  Neither the Residential nor the Mobile Home Landlord- Tenant Act applies to mobile homes owned by a tenant renting an individual lot from a landlord who owns the land.

SUMMARY:

SUBSTITUTE BILL:  The Mobile Home Landlord-Tenant Act applies to mobile homes that are owned by the tenant and are placed on an individual lot owned by the landlord or are placed in a mobile home park. A distinction is made between provisions that apply to all lots regardless of whether they are located in a park, and provisions that apply only to lots located in a park.

Examples of provisions that apply to all lots include: (1) the requirement that the rental agreement be in writing and that the tenant be offered at least a one year term; (2) the automatic renewal of the tenancy unless agreed to otherwise by both parties or unless a 12 month no cause eviction notice has been issued; and (3) the provisions regarding any security deposit paid by the tenant.

Examples of provisions that apply only to lots in a mobile home park include: (1) the provisions dealing with maintaining common areas and maintaining roads in a mobile home park; and (2) the provision allowing eviction of a tenant in a mobile home park because the tenant is convicted of a crime that indicates the tenant is a danger to other tenants.

SUBSTITUTE BILL COMPARED TO ORIGINAL:  The substitute bill provides that the unlawful detainer provisions in current law are not affected. Also, mobile home "space" means the same as "lot."  The substitute bill clarifies that the provision regarding rules agreed to by the landlord and the tenant and the provision regarding providing the name and address of the landlord apply to all lots, whether in a park or not.

Fiscal Note:      Not Requested.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    Bruce Neas, Puget Sound Legal Assistance Foundation.

House Committee - Testified Against:      None Presented.

House Committee - Testimony For:    The landlord-tenant relationship when a mobile home owner rents an individual lot from a landlord is not governed by either the Residential or the Mobile Home Landlord-Tenant Acts. This can be a significant number of cases in many counties in the state.  The landlord and the tenant should be afforded the protection of the Mobile Home Landlord-Tenant Act when the mobile home owner rents an individual lot, not just when the lot is located in a mobile home park.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      None Presented.