SENATE, No. 327
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION
By Senator LITTELL
An Act concerning municipal service fees on manufactured homes, amending and supplementing P.L.1983, c.400 and amending P.L.1974, c.49.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 3 of P.L.1983, c.400 (C.54:4-1.4) is amended to read as follows:
3. As used in this act:
a. "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs;
b. "Cooperative" means a housing corporation or association which entitles the holder of a share or membership interest thereof to possess and occupy for dwelling purposes a house, apartment, manufactured home or other unit of housing owned by the corporation or association, or to purchase a unit of housing constructed or erected by the corporation or association;
c. "Grade" means a reference plane consisting of the average finished ground level adjacent to a structure, building, or facility at all visible exterior walls;
d. "Manufactured home" means a unit of housing which:
(1) Consists of one or more transportable sections which are substantially constructed off site and, if more than one section, are joined together on site;
(2) Is built on a permanent chassis;
(3) Is designed to be used, when connected to utilities, as a dwelling on a permanent or nonpermanent foundation; and
(4) Is manufactured in accordance with the standards promulgated for a manufactured home by the secretary pursuant to the "National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974," Pub.L. 93-383 (42 U.S.C. § 5401 et seq.) and the standards promulgated for a manufactured or mobile home by the commissioner pursuant to the "State Uniform Construction Code Act," P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-119 et seq.);
"Manufactured home" also means and includes any unit of housing manufactured before the effective date of the standards promulgated by the secretary or, as appropriate, by the commissioner, but which otherwise meets the criteria set forth in this subsection;
e. "Mobile home park" means a parcel of land, or two or more contiguous parcels of land, containing no fewer than 10 sites equipped for the installation of manufactured homes, where these sites are under common ownership and control, other than as a cooperative, for the purpose of leasing each site to the owner of a manufactured home for the installation thereof, and where the owner or owners provide services, which are provided by the municipality in which the park is located for property owners outside the park, which services may include but shall not be limited to:
(1) The construction and maintenance of streets;
(2) Lighting of streets and other common areas;
(3) Garbage removal;
(4) Snow removal; and
(5) Provisions for the drainage of surface water from home sites and common areas.
A parcel, or any contiguous parcels, of land which contain, on the effective date of this act, no fewer than three sites equipped for the installation of manufactured homes, and which otherwise conform to the provisions of this subsection, shall qualify as a mobile home park for the purposes of this act;
f. "Municipal service fee" means a fee imposed on [manufactured homes installed in a mobile home park] the mobile home park owner for the purpose of reasonable payment for services rendered the owners of the manufactured homes by the municipality or any other local taxing authority established pursuant to an ordinance of the municipal governing body[,]. Such fee may include the full cost of municipal garbage collection from the mobile home park and [for] the full or partial reimbursement of the municipality for payments made thereby to the school district in which the mobile home park is located for educational costs occasioned by pupils residing in that park;
g. "Nonpermanent foundation" means any foundation consisting of nonmortared blocks, wheels, a concrete slab, runners, or any combination thereof, or any other system approved by the commissioner for the installation and anchorage of a manufactured home on other than a permanent foundation;
h. "Off site construction of a manufactured home or section thereof" means the construction of that home or section at a location other than the location at which the home is to be installed;
i. "On site joining of sections of a manufactured home" means the joining of those sections at the location at which the home is to be installed;
j. "Permanent foundation" means a system of support installed either partially or entirely below grade, which is:
(1) Capable of transferring all design loads imposed by or upon the structure into soil or bedrock without failure;
(2) Placed at an adequate depth below grade to prevent frost damage; and
(3) Constructed of any material approved by the commissioner;
k. "Runners" means a system of support consisting of poured concrete strips running the length of the chassis of a manufactured home under the lengthwise walls of that home;
l. "Secretary" means the Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development; and
m. "Trailer" means a recreational vehicle, travel trailer, camper or other transportable, temporary dwelling unit, with or without its own motor power, designed and constructed for travel and recreational purposes to be installed on a nonpermanent foundation if installation is required.
(cf: P.L.1983, c.400, s.3)
2. Section 4 of P.L.1983, c.400 (C.54:4-1.5) is amended to read as follows:
4. a. Except as otherwise provided for in subsection b. of this section and in P.L.1982, c.220 (C.54:4-23a), a manufactured home shall be subject to taxation as real property under chapter 4 of Title 54 of the Revised Statutes when that home:
(1) Is affixed to the land on which it is sited by a permanent foundation; or
(2) Is affixed to that land by a nonpermanent foundation and connected to utility systems in such manner as to render the home habitable as a dwelling unit on a permanent basis.
b. A manufactured home which is installed in a mobile home park shall not be subject to taxation as real property for the purpose of assessing the value of the mobile home park under section 1 of P.L.1960, c.51 (C.54:4-2.25); however, a manufactured home may be assessed for the purpose of the calculation or allocation of a service fee pursuant to section 5 of P.L.1983, c.400 (C.54:4-1.6).
(cf: P.L.1983, c.400, s.4)
3. Section 5 of P.L.1983, c.400 (C.54:4-1.6) is amended to read as follows:
5. a. A municipality, by ordinance, shall provide for the imposition of an annual municipal service fee, on manufactured homes installed in a mobile home park within its corporate boundaries. In setting this fee, the municipal governing body shall take into account the extent to which the taxes assessed and levied pursuant to Title 54 of the Revised Statutes against the land and improvements thereto which together constitute the mobile home park in which the homes are installed defray the costs of services provided, or paid for, by the municipality, or provided by any other appropriate taxing authority, for lessees of sites in the park. The ordinance imposing the municipal service fee shall provide for the proration of that fee, as necessary, utilizing criteria set forth in the ordinance, in order to account for vacancies in the mobile home park and differences in manufactured home size and occupancy. A municipality adopting a municipal service fee ordinance may establish an assessed value for each manufactured home for the purpose of establishing the municipal service fee in a manner similar to the assessment of real property taxes.
b. [The] Payment of the municipal service fee shall be [collected from each owner of a manufactured home on a monthly basis by the owner of the mobile home park in which the home is installed. The park owner shall issue a receipt to the homeowner upon each collection] the responsibility of the mobile home park owner.
The park owner shall transmit the [fees collected] fee, in [a] the manner set forth in the ordinance imposing the fee, to the tax collector of the taxing district constituting the municipality in which the fee is imposed[, and shall transmit therewith a copy of each receipt issued pursuant to this subsection].
The governing body of the municipality may, by ordinance, fix a rate of interest to be charged [a homeowner by the municipality] a park owner for failure to pay the municipal service fee when due and payable[, and to be charged a park owner for failure to transmit fees actually collected when so required]. This rate shall be fixed within the limits established for interest charged for delinquent property taxes pursuant to R.S.54:4-67. Any service fee a park owner wilfully fails to pay shall be charged against the mobile home park property and the amount so charged, along with interest, shall forthwith become a lien upon the mobile home park property and shall be added to and become and form part of the taxes next to be assessed and levied upon that mobile home park property, and shall be collected and enforced by the same officers and in the same manner as taxes. The pro rata portion of the outstanding municipal service fee attributable to each manufactured home in the mobile home park also shall be a lien on the manufactured homes themselves and shall be filed as a lien with the county in which the mobile home park is situated as well as with the Office of the Secretary of State in Trenton.
c. An ordinance adopted pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall set forth the manner in which the municipal service fee shall be allocated among the owners of manufactured homes within the mobile home park. To the extent that the respective portion of the municipal service fee allocated to the owner of a manufactured home constitutes a new fee or an increase of any similar fee imposed before the effective date of this act, this new fee or increase, as appropriate, shall in turn constitute a rent surcharge, collectible in addition to any surcharge or increase permitted by any rent control or rent levelling ordinance adopted by the municipality.
d. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary of subsection c. of this section, the respective portion of a municipal service fee allocated to the owner of a manufactured home shall be deemed rent for eviction purposes.
(cf: P.L.1983, c.400, s.5)
4. (New section) Failure of a municipality to adopt a municipal service fee ordinance prior to the effective date of P.L. , c. (now pending before the Legislature as this bill), shall not invalidate any pre-existing municipal ordinance levying municipal fees or charges for reimbursement for local government services. A municipality shall be entitled to collect any outstanding fees, including interest or penalties, where applicable, and the park owner or resident shall not be entitled to a refund or reimbursement for any fees paid to the municipality. Municipalities containing a mobile home park shall adopt a municipal service fee ordinance on or before the first day of the fifth month next following enactment of P.L. , c. (now pending before the Legislature as this bill).
5. Section 2 of P.L.1974, c.49 (C.2A:18-61.1) is amended to read as follows:
2. No lessee or tenant or the assigns, under-tenants or legal representatives of such lessee or tenant may be removed by the Superior Court from any house, building, mobile home or land in a mobile home park or tenement leased for residential purposes, other than (1) owner-occupied premises with not more than two rental units or a hotel, motel or other guest house or part thereof rented to a transient guest or seasonal tenant; (2) a dwelling unit which is held in trust on behalf of a member of the immediate family of the person or persons establishing the trust, provided that the member of the immediate family on whose behalf the trust is established permanently occupies the unit; and (3) a dwelling unit which is permanently occupied by a member of the immediate family of the owner of that unit, provided, however, that exception (2) or (3) shall apply only in cases in which the member of the immediate family has a developmental disability, except upon establishment of one of the following grounds as good cause:
a. The person fails to pay rent due and owing under the lease whether the same be oral or written. Any payment to the owner of a mobile home park by or on behalf of a tenant shall first be applied to any municipal service fee imposed pursuant to the "Manufactured Home Taxation Act," P.L.1983, c.400 (C.54:4-1.2 et seq.) and then shall be applied to the rent outstanding.
b. The person has continued to be, after written notice to cease, so disorderly as to destroy the peace and quiet of the occupants or other tenants living in said house or neighborhood.
c. The person has willfully or by reason of gross negligence caused or allowed destruction, damage or injury to the premises.
d. The person has continued, after written notice to cease, to substantially violate or breach any of the landlord's rules and regulations governing said premises, provided such rules and regulations are reasonable and have been accepted in writing by the tenant or made a part of the lease at the beginning of the lease term.
e. The person has continued, after written notice to cease, to substantially violate or breach any of the covenants or agreements contained in the lease for the premises where a right of reentry is reserved to the landlord in the lease for a violation of such covenant or agreement, provided that such covenant or agreement is reasonable and was contained in the lease at the beginning of the lease term.
f. The person has failed to pay rent after a valid notice to quit and notice of increase of said rent, provided the increase in rent is not unconscionable and complies with any and all other laws or municipal ordinances governing rent increases.
g. The landlord or owner (1) seeks to permanently board up or demolish the premises because he has been cited by local or State housing inspectors for substantial violations affecting the health and safety of tenants and it is economically unfeasible for the owner to eliminate the violations; (2) seeks to comply with local or State housing inspectors who have cited him for substantial violations affecting the health and safety of tenants and it is unfeasible to so comply without removing the tenant; simultaneously with service of notice of eviction pursuant to this clause, the landlord shall notify the Department of Community Affairs of the intention to institute proceedings and shall provide the department with such other information as it may require pursuant to rules and regulations. The department shall inform all parties and the court of its view with respect to the feasibility of compliance without removal of the tenant and may in its discretion appear and present evidence; (3) seeks to correct an illegal occupancy because he has been cited by local or State housing inspectors or zoning officers and it is unfeasible to correct such illegal occupancy without removing the tenant; or (4) is a governmental agency which seeks to permanently retire the premises from the rental market pursuant to a redevelopment or land clearance plan in a blighted area. In those cases where the tenant is being removed for any reason specified in this subsection, no warrant for possession shall be issued until P.L.1967, c.79 (C.52:31B-1 et seq.) and P.L.1971, c.362 (C.20:4-1 et seq.) have been complied with.
h. The owner seeks to retire permanently the residential building or the mobile home park from residential use or use as a mobile home park, provided this subsection shall not apply to circumstances covered under subsection g. of this section.
i. The landlord or owner proposes, at the termination of a lease, reasonable changes of substance in the terms and conditions of the lease, including specifically any change in the term thereof, which the tenant, after written notice, refuses to accept; provided that in cases where a tenant has received a notice of termination pursuant to subsection g. of section 3 of P.L.1974, c.49 (C.2A:18-61.2), or has a protected tenancy status pursuant to section 9 of the "Senior Citizens and Disabled Protected Tenancy Act," P.L.1981, c.226 (C.2A:18-61.30), or pursuant to the "Tenant Protection Act of 1992," P.L.1991, c.509 (C.2A:18-61.40 et al.), the landlord or owner shall have the burden of proving that any change in the terms and conditions of the lease, rental or regulations both is reasonable and does not substantially reduce the rights and privileges to which the tenant was entitled prior to the conversion.
j. The person, after written notice to cease, has habitually and without legal justification failed to pay rent which is due and owing.
k. The landlord or owner of the building or mobile home park is converting from the rental market to a condominium, cooperative or fee simple ownership of two or more dwelling units or park sites, except as hereinafter provided in subsection l. of this section. Where the tenant is being removed pursuant to this subsection, no warrant for possession shall be issued until this act has been complied with. No action for possession shall be brought pursuant to this subsection against a senior citizen tenant or disabled tenant with protected tenancy status pursuant to the "Senior Citizens and Disabled Protected Tenancy Act," P.L.1981, c.226 (C.2A:18-61.22 et al.), or against a qualified tenant under the "Tenant Protection Act of 1992," P.L.1991, c.509 (C.2A:18-61.40 et al.), as long as the agency has not terminated the protected tenancy status or the protected tenancy period has not expired.
l. (1) The owner of a building or mobile home park, which is constructed as or being converted to a condominium, cooperative or fee simple ownership, seeks to evict a tenant or sublessee whose initial tenancy began after the master deed, agreement establishing the cooperative or subdivision plat was recorded, because the owner has contracted to sell the unit to a buyer who seeks to personally occupy it and the contract for sale calls for the unit to be vacant at the time of closing. However, no action shall be brought against a tenant under paragraph (1) of this subsection unless the tenant was given a statement in accordance with section 6 of P.L.1975, c.311 (C.2A:18-61.9);
(2) The owner of three or less condominium or cooperative units seeks to evict a tenant whose initial tenancy began by rental from an owner of three or less units after the master deed or agreement establishing the cooperative was recorded, because the owner seeks to personally occupy the unit, or has contracted to sell the unit to a buyer who seeks to personally occupy it and the contract for sale calls for the unit to be vacant at the time of closing;
(3) The owner of a building of three residential units or less seeks to personally occupy a unit, or has contracted to sell the residential unit to a buyer who wishes to personally occupy it and the contract for sale calls for the unit to be vacant at the time of closing.
m. The landlord or owner conditioned the tenancy upon and in consideration for the tenant's employment by the landlord or owner as superintendent, janitor or in some other capacity and such employment is being terminated.
n. The person has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to, or if a juvenile, has been adjudicated delinquent on the basis of an act which if committed by an adult would constitute an offense under the "Comprehensive Drug Reform Act of 1987," N.J.S.2C:35-1 et al. involving the use, possession, manufacture, dispensing or distribution of a controlled dangerous substance, controlled dangerous substance analog or drug paraphernalia within the meaning of that act within or upon the leased premises or the building or complex of buildings and land appurtenant thereto, or the mobile home park, in which those premises are located, and has not in connection with his sentence for that offense either (1) successfully completed or (2) been admitted to and continued upon probation while completing, a drug rehabilitation program pursuant to N.J.S.2C:35-14; or, being the tenant or lessee of such leased premises, knowingly harbors therein a person who has been so convicted or has so pleaded, or otherwise permits such a person to occupy those premises for residential purposes, whether continuously or intermittently, except that this subsection shall not apply to a person who harbors or permits a juvenile to occupy the premises if the juvenile has been adjudicated delinquent upon the basis of an act which if committed by an adult would constitute the offense of use or possession under the said act.
o. The person has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to, or if a juvenile, has been adjudicated delinquent on the basis of an act which if committed by an adult would constitute an offense under N.J.S.2C:12-1 or N.J.S.2C:12-3 involving assault, or terroristic threats against the landlord, a member of the landlord's family or an employee of the landlord; or, being the tenant or lessee of such leased premises, knowingly harbors therein a person who has been so convicted or has so pleaded, or otherwise permits such a person to occupy those premises for residential purposes, whether continuously or intermittently.
p. The person has been found, by a preponderance of the evidence, liable in a civil action for removal commenced under this act for an offense under N.J.S.2C:12-1 or N.J.S.2C:12-3 involving assault or terroristic threats against the landlord, a member of the landlord's family or an employee of the landlord, or under the "Comprehensive Drug Reform Act of 1987," N.J.S.2C:35-1 et al., involving the use, possession, manufacture, dispensing or distribution of a controlled dangerous substance, controlled dangerous substance analog or drug paraphernalia within the meaning of that act within or upon the leased premises or the building or complex of buildings and land appurtenant thereto, or the mobile home park, in which those premises are located, and has not in connection with his sentence for that offense either (1) successfully completed or (2) been admitted to and continued upon probation while completing a drug rehabilitation program pursuant to N.J.S.2C:35-14; or, being the tenant or lessee of such leased premises, knowingly harbors therein a person who committed such an offense, or otherwise permits such a person to occupy those premises for residential purposes, whether continuously or intermittently, except that this subsection shall not apply to a person who harbors or permits a juvenile to occupy the premises if the juvenile has been adjudicated delinquent upon the basis of an act which if committed by an adult would constitute the offense of use or possession under the said "Comprehensive Drug Reform Act of 1987."
For purposes of this section, (1) "developmental disability" means any disability which is defined as such pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1977, c.82 (C.30:6D-3); (2) "member of the immediate family" means a person's spouse, parent, child or sibling, or a spouse, parent, child or sibling of any of them; and (3) "permanently" occupies or occupied means that the occupant maintains no other domicile at which the occupant votes, pays rent or property taxes or at which rent or property taxes are paid on the occupant's behalf.
(cf: P.L.1993, c.342, s.1)
6. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill amends and clarifies provisions of the "Manufactured Home Taxation Act," P.L.1983, c.400 (C.54:4-1.2). The law was enacted in 1983 and requires municipalities to adopt ordinances imposing a service fee on mobile home parks. To date, the sponsor is aware of only two municipalities that have adopted such ordinances. This bill is intended to amend provisions of that law in order to provide greater guidance to municipalities in the adoption of their mobile home park service fee ordinances.
The bill amends the definition of "municipal service fee" so that each municipality can determine whether it requires full or only partial reimbursement of payments made by the municipality to the school district for the educational costs of the pupils residing in the park. The current definition implies that full reimbursement is required, placing a greater school-cost burden on mobile home park residents than on other residential property taxpayers within the municipality. Partial reimbursement of the educational costs would permit a municipality to put its mobile home park residents on par with other municipal residents so as not to defeat the affordable housing nature of some mobile home parks. The bill changes current law to place the fee on the mobile home park owner directly, instead of having that person be a collection agent for the municipality. Unpaid fees would be a lien against the mobile home park as well as against the individual manufactured homes within the park.
The bill also makes clear that a manufactured home installed in a mobile home park, while not subject to taxation as real property for the purposes of assessing the value of the mobile home park, may be assessed for the purpose of calculating and prorating the municipal service fee. The bill also clarifies the law so that it is up to the municipal ordinance imposing the service fee how the fee is to be prorated among the units in a park. Municipalities would be able to use criteria such as the size of the manufactured home unit or the number of persons residing in each unit. In order to make collection of the service fee easier for the municipality, any service fee that a park owner wilfully fails to collect or transmit to the municipality shall be charged against the mobile home park property as a tax and then may be collected and enforced in the same manner as property taxes are collected and enforced. The eviction for cause law is amended by the bill to protect mobile home park owners by providing that partial rent payments collected from tenants are first to be applied to satisfy the municipal service fee and then to satisfy any rent delinquency.
Amends and clarifies "Manufactured Home Taxation Act."