AN ACT Relating to mobile home relocation assistance; amending RCW 59.22.060, 59.22.070, and 59.20.080; adding a new chapter to Title 59 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 43.63A RCW; prescribing penalties; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, mobile home park landlords shall provide reasonable relocation assistance under the provisions of this chapter to mobile home park tenants upon the closure or conversion to another use of a mobile home park: PROVIDED, That no such relocation assistance may be required pursuant to this chapter if relocation assistance for the same mobile home park tenant for the same relocation has been, is, or will be required pursuant to any other law.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Account" means the tenant relocation assistance account.

(2) "Director" means the director of the department of community development.

(3) "Fund" means the mobile home park relocation fund.

(4) "Low-income" means at or below eighty percent of median income for the county where the park is located.

(5) "Mobile home park" or "park" means any real property which is rented or held out for rent to others for the placement of two or more mobile homes for the primary purpose of production of income, except where such real property is rented or held out for rent for seasonal recreational purpose only and is not intended for year-round occupancy.

(6) "Landlord" or "park-owner" means the owner of the mobile home park that is being closed at the time relocation assistance is provided.

(7) "Relocate" means to remove the mobile home from the mobile home park being closed.

(8) "Relocation assistance" means the monetary assistance provided under section 3 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) In the event of the conversion of a mobile home park to another use or its closure or cessation of use as a mobile home park, all affected park tenants shall be provided with relocation assistance at the time the tenant relocates as follows: (a) For single-wide mobile homes, four thousand five hundred dollars; and (b) for double-wide mobile homes, seven thousand five hundred dollars. Beginning in 1993, and every two years thereafter, the director shall adjust the amount of relocation assistance based on the consumer price index.

(2) Where a tenant relocates on or before July 1, 1991, the payment of the relocation assistance shall be shared as follows: (a) The landlord or park-owner shall provide one-third; (b) the fund shall provide one-third; and (c) the account shall provide one-third.

(3) Where a tenant relocates after July 1, 1991, the payment of relocation assistance shall be shared as follows: (a) The landlord or park-owner shall provide five hundred dollars for a single-wide home or one thousand dollars for a double-wide home; (b) the fund shall provide two thousand five hundred dollars for a single-wide home or four thousand dollars for a double-wide home; and (c) the account shall provide one thousand five hundred dollars for a single-wide home or two thousand five hundred dollars for a double-wide home.

(4) The director shall collect the landlord's portion of the relocation assistance. The director shall administer the payment of relocation assistance to tenants. The director shall approve all expenditures from the fund or the account, and shall approve payment of the landlord's portion to the tenants. If the landlord does not pay his or her portion of the relocation assistance to the department when required by the department, the department shall have a lien on the real property on which the park is located. Such lien shall be collected the same as general taxes and shall be forwarded to the department. The fund and the account shall be liable for their share of the relocation assistance, subject to the availability of funds.

(5) Relocation assistance provided from the account shall only be available to low-income tenants. Tenants who are not low income shall receive the share of relocation assistance provide by the landlord and the fund under this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) The landlord shall notify the director and all tenants in writing of a change in use at least one year before the change in use, except that in King and Snohomish counties the notice period shall be two years until June 30, 1991. Tenants in the counties of King and Snohomish are experiencing the problem of parks closing more acutely than other areas of the state. Park spaces in these two counties are much scarcer relative to the need than in other areas of the state. A longer notice period in these two counties, because of the significantly larger number of tenants facing the prospect of relocating and the current unavailability of spaces for mobile homes in these areas, will enable local governments and the private sector to work to increase the number of available spaces to which mobile homes can be relocated.

(2) The landlord shall inform all tenants in writing about the right to relocation assistance under section 3 of this act, shall also notify the department of community development, and shall also record a notice in the county real property records for the real property on which the mobile home park is located.

(3) If a tenant is vacating the premises and has informed the landlord or manager before the change in use notice has been given, the tenant is not eligible for relocation assistance.

(4) The landlord shall post a sign in a conspicuous location at all entrances to the park. The sign shall disclose that the park is being closed and shall include the date notice was given of the closure of the park.

(5) This section does not apply to a change in use if the landlord moves a tenant to another space in the mobile home park at the landlord's expense.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) The fund is established in the office of the treasurer to be administered by the department of community development and consists of moneys collected under section 6 of this act.

(2) Fund moneys shall be used to pay relocation assistance under section 3 of this act.

(3) The state treasurer shall maintain the fund and shall invest the fund moneys. Moneys earned on these investments shall be deposited in the fund and shall be used for the same purposes as other fund moneys. Any unexpended and unencumbered moneys remaining in the fund at the end of the fiscal year do not revert to the state general fund but remain in the fund, separately accounted for, as a contingency reserve.

(4) The director may adopt, amend, or repeal rules for the administration of the fund. Fund moneys, up to five percent of the fund, may be paid to the department of community development to offset the costs of administering the fund.

Sec. 6. Section 4, chapter 280, Laws of 1988 and RCW 59.22.060 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Every landlord shall register by October 1, 1988, with the department of revenue under such rules as that department shall prescribe.

(2) Every landlord shall pay a fee of one dollar per lot per year, except for unoccupied lots, and in addition, ((~~shall collect from~~)) each tenant ((on)) residing in the park on January 1 shall pay to the landlord by January ((1)) 15th of each year a fee of ((~~one~~)) eleven dollars per year for each lot rented by the tenant. If the tenant fails to make the payment to the landlord after the landlord requests payment in writing, the landlord shall have no further obligation to collect the tenant's fee. Both fees shall be remitted by the landlord to the department of revenue under such rules as the department shall prescribe. The department of revenue shall forward the one-dollar fee per lot paid by the landlord and one dollar of the eleven-dollar fee paid by each tenant per lot to the mobile home affairs account created by RCW 59.22.070. The department of revenue shall forward the remaining ten dollars of the tenant's fee to the mobile home park relocation fund created under section 5 of this act. The fee required by this chapter, to be collected by the landlord, shall be deemed to be held in trust by the landlord until paid to the department of revenue, and any landlord who appropriates or converts the fee collected to his or her own use other than ((~~the~~)) payment to the department, or who charges an administrative fee to the tenant for collection of the tenants' fee, shall be guilty of a gross misdemeanor. The provisions of chapter 82.32 RCW shall apply to the collection and enforcement of this fee.

Sec. 7. Section 5, chapter 280, Laws of 1988 and RCW 59.22.070 are each amended to read as follows:

There is created in the custody of the state treasurer a special account known as the mobile home affairs account. ((~~All fees collected pursuant to RCW 59.22.060 shall be placed in that account.~~))

Disbursements from this special account shall be as follows:

(1) For the two-year period beginning July 1, 1988, forty thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary for costs incurred in registering landlords and collecting fees, and thereafter five thousand dollars per year for that purpose.

(2) All remaining amounts shall be remitted to the department of community development for the purpose of implementing RCW 59.22.050 and 59.22.060.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. If the director determines that the fund or the account exceeds the amount needed for anticipated relocation assistance, the director may transfer excess moneys in the fund or the account to the mobile home park purchase fund in chapter 59.22 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. The department of community development and the office of the treasurer may implement any rules necessary to carry out this chapter.

Sec. 10. Section 8, chapter 279, Laws of 1977 ex. sess. as last amended by section 5, chapter 150, Laws of 1988 and RCW 59.20.080 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the landlord shall not terminate a tenancy, of whatever duration except for one or more of the following reasons:

(a) Substantial violation, or repeated or periodic violations of the rules of the mobile home park as established by the landlord at the inception of the tenancy or as assumed subsequently with the consent of the tenant or for violation of the tenant's duties as provided in RCW 59.20.140. The tenant shall be given written notice to cease the rule violation immediately. The notice shall state that failure to cease the violation of the rule or any subsequent violation of that or any other rule shall result in termination of the tenancy, and that the tenant shall vacate the premises within fifteen days: PROVIDED, That for a periodic violation the notice shall also specify that repetition of the same violation shall result in termination: PROVIDED FURTHER, That in the case of a violation of a "material change" in park rules with respect to pets, tenants with minor children living with them, or recreational facilities, the tenant shall be given written notice under this chapter of a six month period in which to comply or vacate;

(b) Nonpayment of rent or other charges specified in the rental agreement, upon five days written notice to pay rent and/or other charges or to vacate;

(c) Conviction of the tenant of a crime, commission of which threatens the health, safety, or welfare of the other mobile home park tenants. The tenant shall be given written notice of a fifteen day period in which to vacate;

(d) Failure of the tenant to comply with local ordinances and state laws and regulations relating to mobile homes or mobile home living within a reasonable time after the tenant's receipt of notice of such noncompliance from the appropriate governmental agency;

(e) Change of land use of the mobile home park including, but not limited to, conversion to a use other than for mobile homes or conversion of the mobile home park to a mobile home park cooperative or mobile home park subdivision: PROVIDED, That the landlord shall give the tenants twelve months' notice, except where twenty-four months' notice is required under chapter 59.-- RCW (sections 1 through 5, 8, 9, and 13 through 15 of this act), in advance of the proposed effective date of such change: PROVIDED FURTHER, That relocation assistance under chapter 59.-- RCW (sections 1 through 5, 8, 9, and 13 through 15 of this act) shall apply;

(f) Engaging in "drug-related activity." "Drug-related activity" means that activity which constitutes a violation of chapter 69.41, 69.50, or 69.52 RCW.

(2) A landlord may terminate any tenancy without cause. Such termination shall be effective twelve months from the date the landlord serves notice of termination upon the tenant or at the end of the current tenancy, whichever is later: PROVIDED, That a landlord shall not terminate a tenancy for any reason or basis which is prohibited under RCW 59.20.070 (3) or (4) or is intended to circumvent the provisions of (1)(e) of this section.

(3) Within five days of a notice of eviction as required by subsection (1)(a) or (2) of this section, the landlord and tenant shall submit any dispute, including the decision to terminate the tenancy without cause, to mediation. The parties may agree in writing to mediation by an independent third party or through industry mediation procedures. If the parties cannot agree, then mediation shall be through industry mediation procedures. A duty is imposed upon both parties to participate in the mediation process in good faith for a period of ten days for an eviction under subsection (1)(a) of this section, or for a period of thirty days for an eviction under subsection (2) of this section. It is a defense to an eviction under subsection (1)(a) or (2) of this section that a landlord did not participate in the mediation process in good faith.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. Sections 1 through 5, 8, 9, and 13 through 15 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 59 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. A new section is added to chapter 43.63A RCW to read as follows:

The tenant relocation assistance account is created in the custody of the state treasurer. The tenant relocation assistance account shall include revenue from the sources established by this act, appropriations by the legislature, private contributions, and all other sources. Only the director of community development or the director's designee may authorize expenditures from the account. The account is subject to allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW, but no appropriation is required for expenditures.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. Any public or private entity may, with the director's approval, give or loan moneys to the fund if insufficient moneys are available to pay the fund's share of relocation assistance under section 3 of this act. When sufficient moneys exist in the fund, the director shall approve the repayment of the loaned moneys to the local government. The account may, with the director's approval, loan moneys to the fund; the director shall approve repayment to the account when sufficient moneys are in the fund.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. The tenant may, with written approval of the tenant's attorney, waive the tenant's rights under this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. (1) The relocation assistance under section 3 of this act shall be available to any tenant who relocates after the effective date of this act, even though notice of the park closure may have been provided prior to the effective date of this act.

(2) The requirements of section 4 of this act, except for section 4(1) of this act, shall apply to all park-owners even though notice may have been provided by the park-owner prior to the effective date of this act. The notice requirements under section 4(1) of this act shall apply to all parks where notice of closure of the park has not been provided to the tenants prior to the effective date of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect immediately.