FILED SENATE
Apr 5, 2023
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
S.B. 633
SESSION 2023 PRINCIPAL CLERK
S D
SENATE BILL DRS55053-NKf-37A
Short Title: Mobile Home Park Act. (Public)
Sponsors: Senators Meyer and Smith (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to:
1 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
2 AN ACT TO ENACT THE "MOBILE HOME PARK ACT" TO PROVIDE PROTECTIONS
3 FOR MOBILE HOMEOWNERS AND MOBILE HOME PARK MANAGEMENT AND
4 TO DIRECT THE NORTH CAROLINA HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION TO
5 REGULATE MOBILE HOME PARKS AND RESOLVE DISPUTES.
6 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
7 SECTION 1. Chapter 42 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Article
8 to read:
9 "Article 8.
10 "Mobile Home Park Act.
11 "§ 42-80. Short title.
12 This Article shall be known and may be cited as the "Mobile Home Park Act."
13 "§ 42-81. Application of Article.
14 This Article shall apply only to mobile homes, as defined in G.S. 42-82. Unless indicated
15 otherwise, where there is a conflict with the provisions of this Chapter, the provisions of this
16 Article shall control.
17 "§ 42-82. Definitions.
18 As used in this Article, the following definitions apply:
19 (1) Commission. – The North Carolina Human Rights Commission.
20 (2) Entry fee. – Any fee paid to or received from an owner of a mobile home park
21 or an agent of the owner, except for the following:
22 a. Rent.
23 b. A security deposit against actual damages to the premises or to secure
24 rental payments, which deposit shall not be greater than the amount
25 allowed under this Article. Security deposits will remain the property
26 of the homeowner and shall be deposited into a separate trust account
27 by the landlord to be administered by the landlord as a private trustee.
28 For the purpose of preserving the corpus, the landlord will not
29 commingle the trust funds with other money but may keep the interest
30 and profits thereon as compensation for administering the trust
31 account.
32 c. Fees charged by any State, county, or city governmental agency.
33 d. Utilities.
34 e. Incidental reasonable charges for services actually performed by the
35 mobile home park owner, or an agent of the owner, and agreed to in
36 writing by the homeowner.
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1 f. Late fees.
2 g. Membership fees paid to join a resident or homeowner cooperative
3 that owns the mobile home park.
4 (3) Homeowner. – An individual, including the individual's family, that owns a
5 mobile home that is subject to a tenancy in a mobile home park pursuant to a
6 rental agreement.
7 (4) Management. – The owner, landlord, or person responsible for operating and
8 managing a mobile home park, or an agent, employee, or representative
9 authorized to act on behalf of the owner, landlord, or person responsible in
10 connection with matters relating to tenancy in the mobile home park.
11 (5) Mobile home. – A single-family dwelling built on a permanent chassis
12 designed for long-term residential occupancy and containing complete
13 electrical, plumbing, and sanitary facilities and designed to be installed in a
14 permanent or semi-permanent manner with or without a permanent
15 foundation, which is capable of being drawn over public highways as a unit,
16 or in sections by special permit, or a manufactured home, as defined in
17 G.S. 143-143.9(6), if the manufactured home is situated in a mobile home
18 park.
19 (6) Mobile home park. – A parcel of land used for the continuous accommodation
20 of five or more occupied mobile homes and operated for the pecuniary benefit
21 of the owner of the parcel of land or the owner's agents, lessees, or assignees.
22 Mobile home park does not include mobile home subdivisions or property
23 zoned for manufactured home subdivisions. The term also includes
24 noncontiguous land parcels that are a part of the same subdivision.
25 (7) Mobile home space. – A parcel of land within a mobile home park designated
26 by the management to accommodate one mobile home and its accessory
27 buildings and to which the required sewer and utility connections are provided
28 by the mobile home park. The term also includes a mobile home lot.
29 (8) Premises. – A mobile home park and existing facilities and appurtenances
30 therein, including furniture and utilities where applicable, and grounds, areas,
31 and existing facilities held out for the use of homeowners generally or the use
32 of which is promised to the homeowner.
33 (9) Rent. – Any money or other consideration to be paid to the management for
34 the right of use, possession, and occupation of the premises.
35 (10) Rental agreement. – An agreement, written or implied by law, between the
36 management and the homeowner establishing the terms and conditions of a
37 tenancy, including reasonable rules and regulations promulgated by the park
38 management. The term also includes a lease agreement.
39 (11) Subdivision. – A parcel of land that is divided into two or more parcels,
40 separate interests, or interests in common, where each parcel or interest is
41 owned by an individual or entity that owns both a mobile home and the land
42 where the mobile home is situated. The term does not include parcels of land
43 where the same owner owns a parcel or subdivided parcels or interests that are
44 collectively used for the continuous accommodation of five or more occupied
45 mobile homes and is operated for the pecuniary benefit of the landowner or
46 the landowner's agents, lessees, or assignees.
47 (12) Tenancy. – The rights of a homeowner to use a mobile home space within a
48 mobile home park on which to locate, maintain, and occupy a mobile home,
49 lot improvements, and accessory structures for human habitation, including
50 the use of services and facilities of the mobile home park.
51 "§ 42-83. Tenancy; notice to quit.
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1 (a) No tenancy or other lease or rental occupancy of space in a mobile home park shall
2 commence without a written lease or rental agreement, and no tenancy in a mobile home park
3 shall be terminated until a notice to quit has been given in accordance with G.S. 42-14.
4 (b) Service of the notice to quit shall be provided by delivering a copy to the homeowner
5 or by affixing a copy of the notice to the main entrance of the mobile home.
6 (c) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the homeowner shall be given a
7 period of not less than 90 days to sell the mobile home or remove any mobile home from the
8 premises from the date the notice is served or posted. In those situations where a mobile home is
9 being leased to, or occupied by, persons other than its owner and in a manner contrary to the rules
10 and regulations of the landlord, then in that event, the tenancy may be terminated by the landlord
11 upon giving a 30-day notice rather than said 90-day notice. If the tenancy is terminated on
12 grounds specified in G.S. 42-85(a)(5), the homeowner shall be given a period of not less than 10
13 days to remove any mobile home from the premises from the date the notice is served or posted.
14 (d) No lease shall contain any provision by which the rights of the homeowner under this
15 Article are waived, and any such waiver shall be deemed contrary to public policy and shall be
16 unenforceable and void.
17 (e) The landlord or management of a mobile home park shall specify, in the notice
18 required by this section, the reason for the termination, as described in G.S. 42-85, of any tenancy
19 in the mobile home park. If the tenancy is being terminated based on the mobile home or mobile
20 home lot being out of compliance with the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to
21 G.S. 42-85(a)(3), the notice required by this section shall include a statement advising the
22 homeowner that the homeowner has a right to cure the noncompliance within 30 days of the date
23 of service or posting of the notice to quit. The 30-day period to cure any noncompliance set forth
24 in this subsection shall run concurrently with the 60-day period to remove a mobile home from
25 the premises as set forth in this section. Acceptance of rent by the landlord or management of a
26 mobile home park during the 30-day right to cure period set forth in G.S. 42-85(a)(3) shall not
27 constitute a waiver of the landlord's right to terminate the tenancy for any noncompliance set
28 forth in G.S. 42-85(a)(3).
29 "§ 42-84. Action for termination.
30 (a) An action for termination shall be commenced in the manner described in G.S. 42-26.
31 (b) After commencement of the action and before judgment, any person not already a
32 party to the action who is discovered to have a property interest in the mobile home shall be
33 allowed to enter into a stipulation with the landlord and be bound thereby.
34 "§ 42-84.1. Condemnation or change of use of the mobile home park.
35 (a) When the owner of a mobile home park is formally notified by a notice of intent to
36 acquire pursuant to a condemnation action or other similar provision of law, or a complaint in a
37 condemnation action from an appropriate governmental agency that the mobile home park, or
38 any portion thereof, is to be acquired by the governmental agency or may be the subject of a
39 condemnation proceeding, the landlord shall, within 17 days, notify the homeowners in writing
40 of the terms of the notice of intent to acquire or complaint received by the landlord.
41 (b) In those cases where the landlord desires to change the use of the mobile home park
42 and where such change of use would result in eviction of inhabited mobile homes, the landlord
43 shall first give the owner of each mobile home subject to such eviction a written notice of the
44 landlord's intent to evict not less than 12 months prior to such change of use of the land, notice
45 to be mailed to each homeowner. The notice shall advise the homeowner of the right to
46 compensation pursuant to subsection (c) of this section.
47 (c) A landlord shall not make any oral or written statement threatening eviction for a
48 violation or action that is not grounds for terminating a tenancy under G.S. 42-85. A homeowner
49 may file a complaint pursuant to G.S. 42-108 or a civil action pursuant to G.S. 42-105 for a
50 violation of this subsection. If a court determines that the landlord violated this subsection, the
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1 court shall award a statutory penalty of up to twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) to the homeowner
2 in addition to any other remedies authorized under G.S. 42-91.
3 "§ 42-84.2. Homeowner recourse for change in use of park.
4 (a) As used in this section, the following definitions apply:
5 (1) In-place fair market value. – The fair market value of the mobile home and
6 any attached appurtenances and structures on the lot owned by the
7 homeowner, such as porches, decks, skirting, awnings, and sheds, taking into
8 account the actual cost of all improvements made to the mobile home by the
9 homeowner. Fair market value is determined based on the value of the mobile
10 home in its current location prior to the decision to change the use of the
11 mobile home park.
12 (2) Relocation costs. – Reasonable costs associated with relocating a mobile
13 home, including the following:
14 a. Costs incurred to move the mobile home, furniture, and personal
15 belongings therein to a replacement site.
16 b. Costs of disassembling, moving, and reassembling any attached
17 appurtenances and structures on the lot owned by the homeowner, such
18 as porches, decks, skirting, awnings, and sheds, which were not
19 acquired by the landlord.
20 c. Costs of anchoring the unit.
21 d. Costs of connecting or disconnecting the mobile home to utilities.
22 e. Insurance coverage during transport.
23 f. Costs incurred to disassemble and reinstall any accessibility
24 improvements, such as wheelchair ramps, lifts, and grab bars.
25 (b) If a landlord intends to change the use of the land comprising a mobile home park or
26 part of a mobile home park and the change in use would result in the displacement of one or more
27 mobile homes in the park, for each displaced mobile home, within 30 days of receipt of a written
28 demand by the homeowner, the landlord shall provide the homeowner one of the following
29 options:
30 (1) Payment of relocation costs to relocate the mobile home to a location of the
31 homeowner's choosing within 100 miles of the park. Relocation costs shall be
32 determined based on the lowest estimate obtained by the homeowner from a
33 mobile home mover. The landlord may request a copy of the estimate to
34 support the request for payment of relocation costs. If the homeowner
35 exercises this option, the homeowner must actually relocate the mobile home
36 and all personal belongings in accordance with the estimate used to determine
37 relocation costs prior to the date of the change in use set forth in the notice
38 required under G.S. 42-85. The homeowner shall be responsible for additional
39 mileage costs to move the mobile home to a location more than 100 miles
40 from the mobile home park.
41 (2) Submit a binding offer to purchase the mobile home for the greater of the
42 following:
43 a. Seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500) for a single-section
44 mobile home or ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for a multi-section
45 mobile home.
46 b. One hundred percent (100%) of the in-place fair market value as
47 determined through the appraisal process set forth in this section.
48 Within 30 days of submitting the offer, the landlord shall hire a
49 licensed appraiser to conduct an appraisal. If the homeowner disputes
50 the appraised value of the mobile home, the homeowner may hire a
51 licensed appraiser to obtain a second appraisal at the homeowner's
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1 expense. To be considered, the homeowner must obtain the appraisal
2 within 60 days of receipt of the landlord's appraisal. The results of all
3 appraisals shall be provided by the appraiser, in writing, to both the
4 landlord and the homeowner. If a second appraisal is obtained, the
5 homeowner is entitled to the average of the two appraisals. If the
6 homeowner is not satisfied with the appraisal or appraisals received,
7 the homeowner may submit a request for payment of relocation costs
8 as provided in sub-subdivision a. of this subdivision. If the homeowner
9 exercises the option for purchase under this sub-subdivision, the sale
10