ASSEMBLY, No. 845
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION
By Assemblymen COTTRELL and MALONE
An Act concerning relocation of and compensation for mobile homeowner tenants of mobile home parks upon closure of such parks, supplementing P.L.1974, c.49 (C.2A:18-61.1 et al.) and amending P.L.1978, c.139.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Mobile Homeowner Tenants' Protection Act."
2. (New section) a. The owner of a mobile home park who seeks to retire it permanently from use as a mobile home park shall, within 90 days of giving notice to mobile homeowner tenants therein as required pursuant to subsection d. of section 3 of P.L.1974, c.49 (C.2A:18-61.2), notify each mobile homeowner tenant in that mobile home park of the park owner's election either to:
(1) relocate the tenant's mobile home and its appurtenances to a comparable site in another mobile home park owned by the park owner, at the park owner's own expense; or
(2) pay the costs of relocation of the tenant's mobile home and its appurtenances to a comparable site in a mobile home park under other ownership; or
(3) purchase the tenant's mobile home and its appurtenances from the tenant.
b. Nothing contained in subsection a. of this section, or in any notice given pursuant thereto, shall preclude a mobile home park owner and mobile homeowner tenant from concluding any mutually satisfactory agreement for relocation or compensation which does not conform to the requirements prescribed in this amendatory and supplementary act for the carrying out of any of the three elections set out in that subsection.
c. For the purposes of this amendatory and supplementary act, "appurtenances" of a mobile home means those items of furnishings or equipment not integral to the construction of the mobile home or included in or replacing items of original equipment provided by the manufacturer, but necessary or desirable for the use and enjoyment thereof, increasing its habitability and value as a place of residence, and which are installed in, on or about a mobile home at the time when notice is served upon the owner thereof pursuant to subsection d. of section 3 of P.L.1974, c.49 (C.2A:18-61.2). Any device, furnishing or equipment which is included in the book value of a mobile home as determined pursuant to section 3 of this act shall not be deemed an appurtenance. "Comparable," as applied to a mobile home site, has the same meaning as in subsection a. of section 4 of P.L.1975, c.311 (C.2A:18-61.7). "Mobile homeowner tenant" means a person resident in a mobile home of which he is the owner, located upon a site in a mobile home park with respect to which he is a tenant.
3. (New section) a. If a mobile home park owner elects to pay the costs of relocation to a comparable site in a mobile home park under other ownership, he shall pay the actual costs, including set-up fees, of such relocation within a 50-mile radius of the original site, or other distance agreed upon by the park owner and the mobile homeowner being relocated. Since the amount of the damages that a homeowner will suffer due to retirement of the park property from use as a mobile home park cannot be easily estimated and would be difficult and expensive to determine, it is the intent of the Legislature that the payment prescribed herein be considered in the nature of liquidated damages and not as a penalty. The liquidated damages apply only to the harm incurred by the homeowner for having to relocate, and this provision shall not preclude incidental damages that might occur in relocating the mobile home.
b. If the park owner elects to purchase the mobile home and all appurtenances, the amount to be paid shall be determined as follows:
(1) A mutually agreed upon appraiser shall ascertain the book value of the mobile home and actual cash value of all appurtenances thereto and the market value for residential purposes of the mobile home with all appurtenances as sited, if the site were to remain available for such purposes, immediately prior to the notice given to the homeowner pursuant to subsection d. of section 3 of P.L.1974, c.49 (C.2A:18-61.2). The NADA Mobile Home/Manufactured Housing Appraisal Guide shall be used as a guide for determining such value.
(2) The homeowner shall be entitled to the book value of the mobile home and actual cash value of the appurtenances, plus the following portion of the amount by which the market value for residential purposes of the mobile home with all appurtenances as sited, if the site had remained available for such purposes, at the time of appraisal exceeds the sum of the book value of the mobile home and actual cash value of the appurtenances, according to the length of time that the homeowner had resided in the mobile home park at the time when notice was given pursuant to subsection d. of section 3 of P.L.1974, c.49 (C.2A:18-61.2):
Less than five years 40%
At least five, but less than 15 years 60%
At least 15, but less than 20 years 80%
At least 20 years 100%
In addition, a mobile homeowner who had been a resident for less than five years shall be entitled, besides the compensation determined as set forth above, to 60% of the difference between the book value and market value of the mobile home.
c. Between the date of the appraisals made pursuant to subsection b. of this section and the delivery to the park owner of the mobile home and all appurtenances thereto the mobile home and the appurtenances shall be maintained by the homeowner in the condition existing on the date of the appraisals, ordinary wear and tear excepted.
4. (New section) a. Either a mobile homeowner or a park owner may apply to the Superior Court in the county where the mobile home site is located for purposes of selecting an appraiser pursuant to subsection b. of section 2 of this amendatory and supplementary act, or for the resolution of any other dispute or disagreement arising in carrying out the provisions of that section.
b. In any dispute in Superior Court regarding the value of a mobile home as appraised pursuant to subsection b. of section 3 of this amendatory and supplementary act, the court shall determine the amount to be deposited by the park owner with the clerk of the court to secure full compensation of the homeowner as may ultimately be determined by the final judgment of the court. The court shall fix the time within which, and the terms upon which, the homeowner shall be required to surrender possession and title to the park owner. The order of the court shall not become effective unless the required deposit shall have been made with the clerk of the court pursuant to this subsection.
5. (New section) The Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs, in accordance with the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt such rules and regulations as may be necessary or expedient to carry out the provisions of this amendatory and supplementary act.
6. Section 2 of P.L.1978, c.139 (C.2A:18-61.14) is amended to read as follows:
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 3 of P.L.1974, c.49 (C.2A:18-61.2) to the contrary, in any municipality in which casino gaming is authorized, [1] one year's notice shall be required prior to the institution of an action alleging permanent retirement under subsection h. of section 2 of P.L.1974, c.49 (C.2A:18-61.1) with respect to a tenant who is a permanent domiciliary in such municipality; provided, that where there is a written lease in effect no action shall be instituted until the lease expires. The notice shall provide the tenant with the information required by section 6 of this act; and provided further, that nothing in this section or any other provisions of P.L.1978, c.139 (C.2A:18-61.1 et al.) shall apply to any mobile homeowner tenant who is entitled to the protection of the provisions of P.L....., c.... (C............) (now pending before the Legislature as this amendatory and supplementary bill). In the event that a landlord chooses one of the relocation alternatives authorized by section 4 of this act, he shall send a second notice in accordance with the requirements of section 4 of this act at least [6] six months prior to the institution of an action for possession.
(cf: P.L.1978, c.139, s.2)
7. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day next following the date of enactment, except that section 5 shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill increases the protections available to residents of mobile home parks in those cases where the owner of the park elects to close it and retire the land permanently from use as a mobile home park. Such closures present owners of mobile homes with relocation problems that are distinct from those faced by apartment tenants.
At present, mobile homeowners whose parks are being permanently retired are entitled to receive an 18 month notice before eviction proceedings may be commenced, except in the special case of Atlantic City (P.L.1978, c.139, C.2A:18-61.13 et seq.) where they are also entitled to the landlord's assistance in relocation or, in lieu thereof, compensation in the form of five months free rent or its cash equivalent. Such assistance, however, does not directly address the mobile homeowner's unique and difficult problem, which is to find a new and satisfactory site for their mobile home.
This bill would require that the owner of the closing mobile home park choose either (1) to relocate the mobile home to another comparable park owned by him, (2) to pay the cost of relocating the mobile home to a comparable park owned by another (within 50 miles, unless otherwise agreed to by the homeowner and the park owner), or (3) to purchase the mobile home and its appurtenances at a valuation made by an assessor agreed upon between the park owner and the homeowner.
In the case of a purchase, the compensation would consist of the book value of the mobile home and the cash value of its appurtenances, plus a percentage of the difference between those values and the actual market value of the home, as sited. The percentage would vary from 40% for the owners who had resided in the park for less than five years to up to 100% for those who had resided in the park for 20 or more years. In addition, owners who had resided in the park for less than five years would be entitled to 60% of the difference between the book value and the market value of the home.
Arrangements which do not conform to any of those three options are not, however, precluded, so long as they are mutually agreeable to the homeowner and the park owner.
The bill also affords the park owner and the homeowner with recourse to the Superior Court for resolution of any conflicts resulting from the relocation or compensation agreements, or for the appointment of an appraiser if they are unable to agree on one.
Requires owner of closing mobile home park to provide relocation or compensation to mobile homeowners.