HB2199 - 572R

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

Section 1. Section 33-1409, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE33-1409. Definitions

In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. "Action" includes recoupment, counterclaim, setoff, suit in equity and any other proceeding in which rights are determined, including an action for possession.

2. "Anniversary date" means an annual date applying to all tenants stated in the rental agreement on which the landlord may adjust the amount of rent.

3. "Appurtenances" means awnings, sheds, porches and other attachments to the mobile home.

4. "Building and housing codes" includes any law, ordinance or governmental regulation concerning fitness for habitation, or the construction, maintenance, operation, occupancy, use or appearance of any premises, dwelling unit or mobile home space.

5. "Change in use" means either of the following:

(a) A change in the use of land from the rental of mobile home spaces in a mobile home park to some other use.

(b) The redevelopment of the mobile home park.

6. "Compatible" means a mobile home that is in a similar condition as the majority of the other mobile homes in the mobile home park, as determined by the maintenance, condition and overall appearance of the mobile home.

7. 6. "Director" means the director of the Arizona department of housing.

8. 7. "Dwelling unit" excludes real property used to accommodate a mobile home.

9. 8. "Educational program" means a class, workshop or educational convention that primarily instructs attendees on issues dealing with the operation of a mobile home park, including information regarding the Arizona mobile home parks residential landlord and tenant act, and that is sponsored by a nonprofit organization whose sole or primary purpose is purposes include the advocacy and promotion of the rental mobile home parks industry.

10. 9. "Fund" means the mobile home relocation fund.

11. 10. "Good faith" means honesty in fact in the conduct or transaction concerned.

12. 11. "Guest" means a nonresident, over and above the occupancy limit set for the resident's space under the terms of the rental agreement or by park rules, of a mobile home park who stays at the home of a person with constructive possession of the home with the consent of the resident for one or more nights and not more than thirty days in any twelve-month period.

13. 12. "Landlord" means either of the following:

(a) The owner, lessor, sublessor or operator, or any combination thereof, of a mobile home park. and it also means

(b) A manager of the premises who fails to disclose as required by section 33-1432.

14. 13. "Mobile home":

(a) Means either of the following:

(i) A residential structure that was manufactured on or before June 15, 1976, that is transportable in one or more sections, eight feet or more in body width, over thirty feet in body length with the hitch, built on an integral chassis, designed to be used as a dwelling when connected to the required utilities and not originally sold as a travel trailer or recreational vehicle and that includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning and electrical systems in the structure.

(ii) A manufactured home built after June 15, 1976, originally bearing an appropriate insignia of approval issued by the United States department of housing and urban development.

(b) Does not include either of the following:

(i) A recreational vehicle such as a motor home, camping trailer, van, fifth wheel trailer or other type of recreational vehicle.

(ii) A structure known as a park model trailer that is a structure built on a single chassis, mounted on wheels and designed to be connected to the utilities necessary for the operation of installed fixtures and appliances and that has a gross interior area of not less than three hundred twenty square feet and not more than four hundred square feet when prepared for occupancy.

15. 14. "Mobile home park" means any parcel of land that contains four or more mobile home spaces.

16. 15. "Mobile home space" means a parcel of land for rent that has been designed to accommodate a mobile home and provide the required sewer and utility connections.

17. 16. "Moving expenses" means the cost incurred by the tenant whose mobile home is moved for taking down, transporting and setting up the mobile home with the identical, or substantially similar, improvements as were attached to the tenant's mobile home on the mobile home space from which it was removed but does not include the cost of landscaping or the cost of utility lines, trenching or utility connections located in excess of twenty-five feet from the point of hookup on the mobile home.

18. 17. "Organization" includes a corporation, limited liability company, government, governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association, two or more persons having a joint or common interest and any other legal or commercial entity that is a landlord, owner, manager or designated agent pursuant to section 33-1432.

19. 18. "Owner":

(a) Means one or more persons, jointly or severally, in whom is vested all or part of the legal title to property or all or part of the beneficial ownership and a right to present use and enjoyment of the premises.

(b) Includes a mortgagee in possession.

20. 19. "Park manager" or "manager" means the person who is primarily responsible for the day-to-day operation of a mobile home park.

21. 20. "Person" includes a company, partnership or firm as well as a natural person.

22. 21. "Premises" means the mobile home park and its existing facilities and appurtenances, including furniture and utilities where applicable, and grounds, areas and existing facilities held out for the use of tenants generally or whose use is promised to the tenant.

23. 22. "Prospective tenant" means a person who desires to become a tenant.

24. 23. "Redevelopment of the mobile home park" means that the spaces being redeveloped shall remain vacant for at least one hundred eighty days after the effective date of all change in use notices that are given to the tenants and either of the following applies:

(a) A minimum of twenty-five percent of the spaces in the park, in groups of at least five contiguous spaces, are being changed into an upgraded mobile home park.

(b) A minimum of twenty-five of the total number of spaces in the park, in groups of at least five contiguous spaces, are being changed into an upgraded mobile home park.

25. 24. "Rent" means payments to be made to the landlord or designated agent in full consideration for the rented premises.

26. 25. "Rental agreement" means leases or agreements and valid rules adopted under section 33-1452 embodying the terms and conditions concerning the use and occupancy of a mobile home space and premises, and includes month-to-month tenancies that arise out of the expiration of a written rental agreement pursuant to section 33-1413.

27. 26. "Resident":

(a) Means a person entitled under a rental agreement to occupy a mobile home space to the exclusion of others. and

(b) Does not include a person rendering necessary care or services under section 33-1413.03.

28. 27. "Security" or "security deposit" means any refundable money or property given to assure payment or performance under a rental agreement.

29. 28. "Tenant" means a person signing a rental agreement or otherwise agreeing with a landlord for the occupancy of a mobile home space.

30. 29. "Visitor" means a nonresident of a mobile home park who stays at the home of a resident with the consent of the resident but does not stay overnight. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Section 33-1476.02, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE33-1476.02. Mobile home relocation fund; investment of monies

A. The mobile home relocation fund is established consisting of monies collected pursuant to sections 33-1476.03 and 33-2151 and any surcharge collected pursuant to section sections 33-1437 and 33-2124. The director shall administer the fund.

B. Fund monies shall be used as prescribed in sections 33-1476.04 and 41-4008 and to pay premiums and other costs of purchasing, from a private insurer who is licensed to transact insurance business in this state, insurance coverage for tenant relocation costs due to a change in use as prescribed in sections 33-1476.01, 33-1476.05, 33-2149 and 33-2150. Any insurance rebates shall be deposited in the fund. If such insurance is not available, or if the insurance costs exceed the amount available from the fund, the fund shall be used to make direct payments for tenant relocation costs. Monies in the fund in excess of the amount required for these purposes shall be used, as necessary, to support the Arizona department of housing's administration of the hearing function pursuant to section 41-4062 and the Arizona department of housing's administration of section 33-1437, subsection C.

C. On notice from the director, the state treasurer shall invest and divest monies in the fund as provided by section 35-313, and monies earned from investment shall be credited to the fund. Any unexpended and unencumbered monies 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.

D. The director shall adopt, amend or repeal rules pursuant to title 41, chapter 6 for the administration of the fund. Fund monies shall be paid to the Arizona department of housing to offset the costs of administering the fund, including the direct and indirect costs of processing applications for reimbursement submitted under section 41-4008 and administering the direct and indirect costs of section 33-1437, subsection C. The attorney general shall review the costs charged to the fund. END_STATUTE

Sec. 3. Section 33-2102, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE33-2102. Definitions

In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. "Action" includes recoupment, counterclaim, setoff, suit in equity and any other proceeding in which rights are determined, including an action for possession.

2. "Appurtenances" means awnings, sheds, porches and other attachments to the recreational vehicle.

3. "Change in use" means a change in the use of land from the rental of recreational vehicle spaces in a recreational vehicle park to some other use.

4. "Compatible" means a recreational vehicle that is in a similar condition as the majority of the other recreational vehicles in the recreational vehicle park, as determined by the maintenance, condition and overall appearance of the recreational vehicle.

5. "Director" means the director of the Arizona department of housing.

6. "Educational program" means a class, workshop or educational convention that primarily instructs attendees on issues dealing with the operation of a mobile home park or recreational vehicle park, including information regarding the recreational vehicle long-term rental space act, and that is sponsored by a nonprofit organization whose primary purposes include the advocacy and promotion of the rental mobile home or recreational vehicle parks industry.

5. 7. "Factory-built building":

(a) Means a residential or nonresidential building, including a dwelling unit or habitable room of the building, that is either wholly or in substantial part manufactured at an off-site location to be assembled on site. , except that it

(b) Does not include a manufactured home, recreational vehicle or mobile home as defined in section 41-4001.

6. 8. "Good faith" means honesty in fact in the conduct or transaction concerned.

7. 9. "Guest" means a nonresident of a recreational vehicle park, over and above the limit set for the resident's space under the terms of the rental agreement or by park rules, who stays at the home of a person with constructive possession of the home with the consent of the resident for one or more nights and not more than fourteen days in any twelve month twelve-month period.

8. 10. "Landlord" means:

(a) The owner, lessor, sublessor or operator, or any combination of these persons, of a recreational vehicle park.

(b) A manager of the premises.

9. 11. "Mobile home" means either of the following:

(a) A residential structure that was manufactured on or before June 15, 1976, that is transportable in one or more sections, eight feet or more in body width, over thirty feet in body length with the hitch, built on an integral chassis, designed to be used as a dwelling when connected to the required utilities and not originally sold as a travel trailer or recreational vehicle and that includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning and electrical systems in the structure.

(b) A manufactured home built after June 15, 1976, originally bearing an appropriate insignia of approval issued by the United States department of housing and urban development.

10. 12. "Mobile home park" means any parcel of land that contains four or more mobile home spaces and two or more recreational vehicle spaces.

11. 13. "Mobile home space" means a parcel of land for rent that has been designed to accommodate a mobile home and provide the required sewer and utility connections.

12. 14. "Notice" means delivery by hand or mailed by registered or certified mail to the last known address of the landlord or tenant. If notice is mailed by registered or certified mail, the landlord or tenant is deemed to have received the notice on the date the notice is actually received or five days after the date the notice is mailed, whichever occurs first.

13. 15. "Organization" includes a corporation, government, governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association, two or more persons having a joint or common interest and any other legal or commercial entity that is a landlord, owner, manager or designated agent.

16. "Park manager", "manager" or "operator" means the person who is primarily responsible for the day-to-day operation of a mobile home park or recreational vehicle park.

14. 17. "Owner":

(b) Includes a mortgagee in possession.

15. 18. "Person" includes a company, partnership or firm as well as a natural person.

16. 19. "Premises" means the recreational vehicle park and existing facilities and appurtenances in the park, including furniture and utilities, if applicable, and grounds, areas and existing facilities held out for the use of tenants generally or whose use is promised to the tenant.

17. 20. "Prospective tenant" means a person who expresses an interest to a landlord in becoming a tenant.

18. 21. "Recreational vehicle" means a vehicular type unit that is any of the following:

(a) A portable camping trailer mounted on wheels and constructed with collapsible partial sidewalls that fold for towing by another vehicle and unfold for camping.

(b) A motor home designed to provide temporary living quarters for recreational, camping or travel use and built on or permanently attached to a self-propelled motor vehicle chassis or on a chassis cab or van that is an integral part of the completed vehicle.

(c) A park trailer or park model built on a single chassis, mounted on wheels or originally mounted on wheels and from which the wheels have been removed and designed to be connected to utilities necessary for operation of installed fixtures and appliances and has a gross trailer area of not less than three hundred twenty square feet and not more than four hundred square feet when it is set up, except that it does not include fifth wheel trailers.

(d) A travel trailer mounted on wheels, designed to provide temporary living quarters for recreational, camping or travel use and of a size or weight that may or may not require special highway movement permits when towed by a motorized vehicle and that has a trailer area of less than three hundred twenty square feet. This subdivision includes fifth wheel trailers. If a unit requires a size or weight permit, it shall be manufactured to the standards for park trailers in section A 119.5 of the American national standards institute code.

(e) A portable truck camper constructed to provide temporary living quarters for recreational, camping or travel use and consisting of a roof, floor and sides designed to be loaded onto and unloaded from the bed of a pickup truck.

19. 22. "Recreational vehicle space" means a parcel of land for rent that has been designed to accommodate a recreational vehicle and provide the required sewer and utility connections.

20. 23. "Rent" means payments to be made to the landlord or designated agent in full consideration for the rented premises.

21. 24. "Rental agreement" means oral or written leases or agreements and valid rules embodying the terms and conditions concerning the use and occupancy of a recreational vehicle space.

22. 25. "Resident" means a person entitled under a rental agreement to occupy a recreational vehicle space to the exclusion of others.

23. 26. "Security deposit" means money or property given to assure payment or performance under a rental agreement.

24. 27. "Tenant" means a person signing a rental agreement or otherwise agreeing with a landlord for the occupancy of a recreational vehicle space for more than one hundred eighty days.

25. 28. "Visitor" means a nonresident of a recreational vehicle park who stays at the home of a resident with the consent of the resident but does not stay overnight. END_STATUTE

Sec. 4. Title 33, chapter 19, article 2, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 33-2124, to read:

START_STATUTE33-2124. Education requirements for park managers; complaint; administrative hearing; civil penalty

A. Within six months after employment as a park manager or OPERATOR of a park PRESCRIBED by this chapter, a park manager or operator shall complete at least four hours of educational programs and shall complete at least four additional hours of educational programs every two years.

B. A park manager or operator shall post proof of completion of and compliance with the educational program requirements prescribed by this section in a conspicuous place at the park.

C. A tenant may file a complaint with the director if, on request from the tenant, the tenant’s park manager or operator cannot produce proof of completion of the requirements prescribed in this section. The director shall issue a show cause order to the landlord directing the landlord to provide proof that the requirements of subsection A of this section have been satisfied. If the landlord fails to produce satisfactory evidence of compliance or fails to respond within thirty days after service by certified mail of the show cause order, the director shall impose a $500 civil penalty, with an additional $500 per month civil penalty to accrue each full calendar month beginning with the second month following service of the notice of imposition of civil penalty. All civil penalties shall be exonerated if, within six months after service of the notice of imposition of civil penalty, the landlord furnishes satisfactory evidence of compliance. Otherwise, the matter shall be referred to the attorney general for enforcement and collection of the civil penalties and a ten percent surcharge on the total amount of the civil penalties collected. All civil penalties shall be deposited in the state general fund and the ten percent surcharge shall be deposited in the mobile home relocation fund established by section 33-1476.02. END_STATUTE

Sec. 5. Section 33-2132, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE33-2132. Rules

A. A landlord shall adopt written rules, however described, concerning the tenant's use and occupancy of the premises. Rules are enforceable against the tenant only if:

1. They apply to all tenants on the premises in a fair manner.

2. They are sufficiently explicit in prohibition, direction or limitation of the tenant's conduct to fairly inform the tenant of what the tenant must or must not do to comply.

3. They are not for the purpose of evading the obligations of the landlord.

4. The prospective tenant has a copy of the current rules before entering into the rental agreement.

B. If the owner or agent adds, changes, deletes or amends any rule, the owner or agent shall provide notice in writing of all additions, changes, deletions or amendments to all tenants thirty days before they become effective. Any rule or condition of occupancy that is unfair and deceptive or that does not conform to the requirements of this chapter is unenforceable. A rule adopted after the tenant enters into the rental agreement is enforceable against the tenant only if the rule does not substantially modify the rental agreement. For purposes of this subsection, notice shall be by personal delivery or mailed by first class or certified mail.

C. A landlord shall not:

1. Deny rental unless the prospective resident cannot conform to park rules. A landlord is not required to enter into an initial recreational vehicle space agreement in excess of one hundred seventy-nine days.

2. Charge an exit fee to a tenant whose rental agreement has expired.

3. Require a person as a precondition to renting, leasing or otherwise occupying a recreational vehicle space in a recreational vehicle or mobile home park to pay an entrance or exit fee, unless the fee is for services that are actually rendered or pursuant to a written agreement.

4. Deny any resident of a recreational vehicle park the right to sell the recreational vehicle at a price of the resident's own choosing during the term of the tenant's rental agreement, but the landlord may reserve the right to approve the purchaser of the recreational vehicle as a tenant. This permission shall not be unreasonably withheld, except that the landlord may require, in order to preserve or upgrade the quality of the recreational vehicle park, that any recreational vehicle not compatible with the other recreational vehicles in the park, in a rundown condition or in disrepair be removed from the park within sixty days. Within ten days after a written request by the seller or prospective purchaser, a landlord shall notify the seller and the prospective purchaser in writing of any reasons for withholding approval of a purchase pursuant to this paragraph. The notice to the prospective purchaser shall identify the reasons for disapproval with reasonable specificity. The notice to the seller shall identify the reasons in summary fashion consistent with applicable federal and state consumer protection laws and shall inform the seller that the seller should consult with the prospective purchaser for more specific details.

5. Require an existing tenant to furnish permanent improvements that cannot be removed without damage to the improvements or to the recreational vehicle space by a tenant at the expiration of the rental agreement.

6. Prohibit a tenant from advertising the sale or exchange of the tenant's recreational vehicle, including the display of a for sale or open house sign on the recreational vehicle or in the window of the recreational vehicle stating the name and contact information of the owner or agent of the recreational vehicle. In addition, a tenant may display a sign on a central posting board in the park that is reasonably accessible to the public seven days a week during daylight hours.

7. Require a tenant or prospective tenant to use any specific sales agency, manufacturer, retailer or broker.

8. Require a tenant to place any additional person's name on the title to the recreational vehicle as a condition of tenancy or residency for that additional person or pay a fee or other form of penalty for failing to place an additional person's name on the title to the recreational vehicle.

9. For recreational vehicles as defined in section 33-2102, paragraph 18 21, subdivision (b), (c) or (d), prohibit a tenant from installing reasonably necessary commercial cooling methods on the tenant's recreational vehicle.

D. The landlord shall not prohibit or adopt a rule that prohibits tenants or a tenant association from meeting with permission of the tenant in the tenant's recreational vehicle or from assembling or meeting with or without invited speakers in the park to discuss issues relating to recreational vehicle or mobile home living and affairs, including the forming of a tenant association. Such meetings shall be allowed in common facilities if such meetings are held during normal operating hours of the common facility and when the facility is not otherwise in use. The tenant or tenant association shall be allowed to post notice of a meeting on a bulletin board in the park used for similar notices and shall be allowed to include notice of a meeting in a park newsletter. Meeting notices and meetings prescribed in this subsection shall not constitute a solicitation. For the purposes of this subsection, "common facilities" means a recreation hall, a clubhouse, a community center and any outdoor common area meeting location that is used by the tenants.

E. If a tenant dies, any surviving joint tenant or cotenant continues as a tenant with the same rights, privileges and liabilities as if the surviving tenant were the original tenant.

F. A new tenant who brings a recreational vehicle into a park or who purchases an existing recreational vehicle or mobile home shall comply with all rules then in effect.

G. Pursuant to state and federal fair housing laws, a resident who has a disability as defined in section 41-1491 may have one or more persons occupy the recreational vehicle to provide necessary live-in health care, personal care or supportive services if the care or services are necessary to afford the resident with a disability an equal opportunity to use and enjoy the dwelling. The landlord shall not charge a fee for the persons rendering live-in health care, personal care or supportive services. The persons rendering live-in health care, personal care or supportive services have no rights of tenancy. Any agreement between the resident and the persons rendering live-in health care, personal care or supportive services does not modify the rental agreement between the landlord and tenant. The persons rendering live-in health care, personal care or supportive services shall comply with the rules of the park. END_STATUTE

Sec. 6. Section 33-2144, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE33-2144. Abandonment

A. If a tenant abandons a recreational vehicle on the space, the landlord shall notify the owner and lienholder of record of the recreational vehicle within fifteen days about the owner's or lienholder's liability for any costs incurred for the rental space including rent and utility costs due. Before notice is provided to the legal owner or lienholder, the landlord is entitled to a maximum of sixty days' rent. After notice is provided, the legal owner or lienholder is responsible for all costs. The recreational vehicle shall not be removed from the space without a signed statement from the landlord, owner or park manager that shows clearance for removal of the recreational vehicle, that all monies due have been paid in full or that the legal owner and landlord have agreed to allow removal.

B. This section applies only to recreational vehicles that are park models or park trailers as defined in section 33-2102, paragraph 18 21, subdivision (c).END_STATUTE