MHCO Legal Counsel

Question:  We would like to start requiring residents with pets to take out $250,000 in insurance with our managers name on the insurance policy.  Can we require this of residents already in the park?  We have looked at Form 21 (Pet Agreement) and 21A (Assistance Animal Agreement) and do not see anything about insurance.  Should there be something about insurance for pets on those forms?  Can we require this of owners of ‘assistance animals’?  

Question: Are parks required to provide a working phone line to the resident's space so they can have phone service? I know electricity and water obviously are required but not sure about phone service.

Question: Are RVs in RV parks exempt under the rent control law, or am I limited to issuing 'for cause' notices for violators in my RV park who have been there over a year?

Question: If a new resident is added to an existing rental agreement with residents who have been in the park for three years does that "reset" the rental agreement so that I cannot give them a rent increase in the first year of the new tenant's occupancy?

Question- A member is near the end of an abandonment notice. The former resident and owner of the home without notice to the landlord sells the "abandoned" home to another person. Does the landlord have to send a new abandonment notice to the new owner and restart the 60 day clock?

Question: We have been informed by the State that it is illegal to have air conditioners in the windows of a home in our community. We are concerned that many residents in the community are unable to put a unit in a window that is not visible from the street or neighbors. Many of our residents are senior citizens that cannot afford to replace window units with portable inside units. As management can we allow air conditioning units in the window? Is there a state law governing this?

The tenant application process is one of the least understood by landlords and managers.  This lack of familiarity can result in significant liability to park owners.  The purpose of this article is to set forth the applicable laws governing the process, and discuss some tips and traps that may be useful when certain issues and problems arise.

Question: In regards to rules changes, I see two problematic scenarios: (1) Parks that post a new rule in a common area that either overrides an existing rule or is an additional rule not covered in residents' current rules and regs; and (2) Parks that send residents a new set of rules and regs without providing any notice about resident opportunity to object to such new rules and regs. In both scenarios, management fails to give notice required under 90.610. In the first scenario, management not only fails to inform residents of their opportunity to object, they are not even complying with the basic notice requirement in 90.155since they are only posting in a common space where residents hopefully will see it. Can you comment?

Question: In the past I have always worked successfully with residents on HUD housing vouchers (Section 8), but I have a resident who is now 2 months behind due to HUD not following through with payments. If this keeps happening, do I have to continue to allow Section 8 vouchers, or is it ultimately the responsibility of the resident to get us the rent on time!

Question: We always ask for a picture of the prospective tenant and all occupants, their RV (if applying to our RV portion of the park), their pets, and the tow vehicle prior to looking at an application. Is this legal? If not, should I destroy all the pictures we have on file? Is it ever legal to have pictures of residents etc. in the files? Would it be better if we did it after the application was reviewed and accepted?