HB2275 - 512R

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 33-1478, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE33-1478. Remedies for abandonment; sale; notice; required registration

A. If the tenant abandons the mobile home unit on a mobile home space, it is incumbent upon the landlord to shall locate the legal owner or lienholder of the mobile home unit within ten days and communicate to him his notify the owner or lienholder of the owner's or lienholder's liability for any costs incumbered incurred for the mobile home space for such that mobile home unit, including rent and utilities due and owing. However, The landlord shall be is entitled to a maximum of sixty days' rent due prior to for the period of unpaid rent immediately preceding notice to the legal owner or lienholder. Any and All costs shall then become the responsibility of the legal owner or lienholder of the mobile home. The mobile home unit may not be removed from the mobile home space without a signed written agreement from the mobile home park landlord, owner or manager showing clearance for removal, showing all monies due and owning owing as paid in full, or showing that an agreement was reached with the legal owner or lienholder and the landlord.

B. For the purposes of this section, a mobile home is abandoned if any of the following applies:

1. The tenant is absent from the mobile home without notice to the landlord for at least thirty days.

2. Rent for the mobile home space is outstanding and unpaid for at least one month and there is no reasonable evidence that the tenant is occupying the mobile home.

3. The mobile home remains on the mobile home space after entry of a judgment of eviction.

C. Notwithstanding section 33-1480, a landlord has a lien on an abandoned mobile home until all monies due the landlord for the rental of the space are paid. The landlord's lien is established by operation of law and is not affected by any transfer or encumbrance of the mobile home after any monies become due to the landlord. The lien established pursuant to this subsection does not apply to the mobile home tenant's household goods.

D. If neither the legal owner nor the lienholder makes payment of all monies owed the landlord as prescribed in subsection A of this section after a mobile home has been abandoned, the landlord may serve a notice on the mobile home's legal owner that states the termination of any right to keep the home on the space and demanding payment of all sums due the landlord within seven days after receipt of the notice. On actual or constructive receipt of the termination notice by the legal owner, the mobile home is deemed seized by the landlord. If all monies owed are not paid in full and satisfied within sixty days after seizure of the mobile home, the landlord may sell the mobile home as prescribed in subsection E of this section. At any time before completion of the sale of the mobile home:

1. The legal owner has the right to recover possession of the mobile home as provided in section 33-1485.01, subsection B.

2. The landlord shall give the tenant access to the mobile home at reasonable times during normal business hours to remove household goods and other personal possessions, but the tenant may not remove fixtures, built-in appliances, appurtenances or building components of the mobile home.

E. If the landlord does not receive all monies owed as prescribed in subsection D of this section, the landlord shall notify the legal owner to pay the charges. On failure of the legal owner to pay the charges within seven days, the landlord may sell the mobile home at public auction. The landlord shall provide five days' notice of the sale to the legal owner if the legal owner can be found. If the legal owner cannot be found, the landlord shall provide notice of the sale by two publications in a newspaper published in the county.

F. If the abandoned mobile home is subject to a lien of record:

1. At the time the notice is sent pursuant to subsection D of this section, the landlord shall send a notice of abandonment pursuant to subsection A of this section to the record lienholder at the record lienholder's most recent address as shown in the records of the department of transportation. The landlord shall include in the notice of abandonment a description of the mobile home and its vehicle identification number.

2. At least ten days before conducting a sale under subsection E of this section, the landlord shall send notice to any record lienholder on the mobile home that the lienholder, at any time before the sale, may recover possession of the mobile home. The record lienholder may pay the amount due to the landlord and recover possession of the mobile home. On release of the mobile home to a record lienholder pursuant to this paragraph, the landlord is not liable to the tenant or the mobile home owner for the release of the mobile home.

G. If a sale is held pursuant to this section, the landlord shall distribute the proceeds of the sale in the following manner and in the following order:

1. Payment of all reasonable costs of sale.

2. Satisfaction of the landlord's lien.

3. Satisfaction of the valid claims of any record lienholder.

4. On demand by the former owner within ninety days after the date of sale, payment of any remaining proceeds to the former owner of the mobile home.

5. If the former owner or any other person legally entitled to receive the balance is not known or no longer resides in the county and the balance is not claimed within ninety days after the date of sale, payment of the balance to the department of revenue. If any person claiming the balance within two years from the date of payment to the department of revenue establishes the person's right to the money to the satisfaction of the director of the department of administration, the department of revenue shall pay the balance to that person. After two years, the department of revenue shall deposit all unclaimed monies in the permanent state school fund.

H. If a mobile home is substantially damaged or destroyed by fire or another disaster on the mobile home space and unless work is promptly begun to restore the home to a habitable condition, the landlord shall notify the lienholder of record and the legal owner of the mobile home to remove the mobile home from the park within thirty days. If the mobile home is not removed within thirty days, the landlord may remove or demolish the home and dispose of it in any lawful manner and shall notify the department of transportation of the demolition. A landlord who disposes of a mobile home in compliance with this subsection is not liable to the owner or any lienholder for the loss of the mobile home.

I. If a landlord acquires title to a mobile home in a mobile home park pursuant to this section or otherwise and thereby obtains personal property from the mobile home that has reasonably apparent value, the landlord:

1. May store the personal property in the unoccupied mobile home that was acquired by the landlord or in any other available mobile home, dwelling unit or storage space owned by the landlord on or off the premises. The landlord shall notify the tenant of the location of the personal property.

2. Shall hold the personal property for a period of at least ten days after obtaining title to the mobile home. The landlord shall use reasonable care in holding the personal property. If the landlord holds the property for ten days and the tenant makes no reasonable effort to recover it, the landlord may sell the property, retain the proceeds and apply them toward the actual and reasonable costs of disposing of the personal property. Any excess proceeds shall be mailed to the tenant at the tenant's last known address.

3. If the tenant cannot be found, shall pay the excess proceeds to the department of fire, building and life safety to be deposited in the mobile home relocation fund established by section 33-1476.02.

B. J. A landlord shall require each mobile home space renter to complete a required standardized registration form shall be filled out by each mobile home space renter, upon on renting the mobile home space rental, showing the mobile home make, year, serial number and license number, if any be license number is legally required, and also showing if whether the mobile home is paid for, if whether there is a lien on the mobile home, and if so the name of the lienholder, if any, and who is the name of the legal owner of the mobile home unit. The registration cards or forms shall be kept on file with the park management as long as the mobile home is on the mobile home space within the park. The owner of the mobile home shall give notice shall be given to park management within ten days of after any changes in a new lien, changes of existing lien or settlement of lien. END_STATUTE