AN ACT Relating to mobile home landlords; and amending RCW 59.20.060, 59.20.074, and 60.72.010.

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

Sec. 1. Section 6, chapter 279, Laws of 1977 ex. sess. as last amended by section 9, chapter 201, Laws of 1989 and RCW 59.20.060 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;

(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;

(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;

(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 appear in print that is larger than the other text of the lease and must 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.

((~~(f)~~)) (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;

((~~(g)~~)) (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;

((~~(h)~~)) (j) A description of the boundaries of a mobile home space sufficient to inform the tenant of the exact location of ((~~his~~)) the tenant's space in relation to other tenants' spaces; and

((~~(i)~~)) (k) A statement of the current zoning of the land on which the mobile home park is located.

(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 ((~~said~~)) 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";

(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.

Sec. 2. Section 1, chapter 78, Laws of 1985 and RCW 59.20.074 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) A secured party who has a security interest in a mobile home that is located within a mobile home park and ((~~takes~~)) who has a right to possession of the mobile home under RCW 62A.9-503, shall be liable to the landlord from the date the secured party receives written notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, for rent for occupancy of the mobile home space under the same terms the tenant was paying prior to repossession, and any other reasonable expenses incurred after the receipt of the notice, until disposition of the mobile home under RCW 62A.9-504. The notice of default by a tenant must state the amount of rent and the amount and nature of any reasonable expenses that the secured party is liable for payment to the landlord. The notice must also state that the secured party will be provided a copy of the rental agreement previously signed by the tenant and the landlord upon request.

(2) This section shall not affect the availability of a landlord's lien as provided in chapter 60.72 RCW.

(3) As used in this section, "security interest" shall have the same meaning as this term is defined in RCW 62A.1-201, and "secured party" shall have the same meaning as this term is defined in RCW 62A.9-105.

(4) For purposes of this section, "reasonable expenses" means any routine maintenance and utility charges for which the tenant is liable under the rental agreement.

(5) Any rent or other reasonable expenses owed by the secured party to the landlord pursuant to this section shall be paid to the landlord prior to the removal of the mobile home from the mobile home park.

(6) If a secured party who has a secured interest in a mobile home that is located in a mobile home park becomes liable to the landlord pursuant to this section, then the relationship between the secured party and the landlord shall be governed by the rental agreement previously signed by the tenant and the landlord unless otherwise agreed, except that the term of the rental agreement shall convert to a month-to-month tenancy. No waiver is required to convert the rental agreement to a month-to-month tenancy. Either the landlord or the secured party may terminate the month-to-month tenancy upon giving written notice of thirty days or more. The secured party and the landlord are not required to execute a new rental agreement. Nothing in this section shall be construed to be a waiver of any rights by the tenant.

Sec. 3. Section 1, chapter 165, Laws of 1917 as amended by section 1, chapter 108, Laws of 1927 and RCW 60.72.010 are each amended to read as follows:

Any person to whom rent may be due, his or her executors, administrators, or assigns, shall have a lien for such rent upon personal property which has been used or kept on the rented premises by the tenant, except property of third persons delivered to or left with the tenant for storage, repair, manufacture, or sale, or under conditional bills of sale duly filed, and such property as is exempt from execution by law. Such liens for rent shall be paramount to, and have preference over, all other liens except liens for taxes, general and special liens of labor, and liens of mortgages duly recorded prior to the tenancy. Such liens shall not be for more than two months' rent due ((~~or to become due~~)), ((~~nor~~)) except that a lien for up to four months' rent due may be established when the tenant is renting a mobile home lot in a mobile home park as defined in RCW 59.20.030. No lien may be enforced for any rent or any installment thereof which has been due for more than two months at the time of the commencement of an action to foreclose such liens((;)), except that a lien may be enforced for rent due for up to four months at the time of the commencement of an action to foreclose the lien when the tenant is renting a mobile home lot in a mobile home park as defined in RCW 59.20.030. No writing or recording shall be necessary to create such lien; and if such property be removed from the rented premises and not returned to the owner, agent, executor, administrator, or assign, ((~~said~~)) the lien shall continue and be a superior lien on the property so removed for ten days from the date of its removal, and ((~~said~~)) the lien may be enforced against the property wherever found. In the event the property contained in the rented premises be destroyed by fire or other elements, the lien shall extend to any money that may be received by the tenant as indemnity for the destruction of ((~~said~~)) the property, nor shall the lien be lost by the sale of the ((~~said~~)) property, except merchandise sold in the usual course of trade or to purchasers without notice of the tenancy. The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to, nor shall it be enforced against, the property of tenants in dwelling houses or apartments or any other place that is used exclusively as a home or residence of the tenant and his or her family.