Associate Broker

On July 26, 1990, President Bush signed into law the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), The Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (the "1991 Regulations") were shortly thereafter developed to guide new construction and alterations undertaken by covered entities and established the minimum requirements for "accessibility" for disabled persons in buildings and facilities and in transportation vehicles. After more than twenty years, the Department of Justice implemented new regulations, which became mandatory in 2012 (the "2012 Regulations.") Your state may have passed parallel laws, which could increase the protection of individuals with disabilities, e.g., the Unruh Act in California. However, this article focuses on Federal ADA compliance. Keep in mind that the ADA is a civil rights law, which addresses a number of subjects, but this article focuses on ac- cessibility (no longer called "handicap") issues only.

The SAFE Act has received a lot of attention lately by park owners, but did you know that it's really only one law of many state and federal lending regulations you are required to comply with when selling homes on contract?

Question: Can our park use the regular MHCO manufactured home rental agreement for RV tenants who are allowed in certain spaces throughout our manufactured home park?

We have been on a quest to improve the appearance of our mobile home park. We've done a good job on the mobile homes, but now we're going to focus on the RVs. One of our long-time RV tenants has a dilapidated old travel trailer that is getting worse every year. Another newer RV resident has a decent 5th wheel, but leaves his work tools, wood scraps and other debris all over his space despite several warnings. Do we have to give the long-time tenant the same kind of 30-day notice as mobile home tenants giving him 30 days to repair his trailer (along with the possible extension periods)? What kind of notice should we give the newer RV tenant?

Question: There is a public restroom in the middle of our mobile home park's RV section that is used primarily by RV tenants. Some use it and some don't. The problem is that it is vandalized on a regular basis and has become more trouble than it is worth. Can we close it? What about the adjacent laundry room? It's not as much of a problem, but we'd still like to just get rid of the whole facility.

Question: We have a number of forms that we use for sending notices to our mobile home park tenants. Can we use the same forms for our RV tenants?

Question: Can our park use the regular MHCO manufactured home rental agreement for RV tenants who are allowed in certain spaces throughout our manufactured home park?

Question: How does the eviction process work when evicting an RV tenant? Is it different than evicting a manufactured home community resident?

Question: A mobile home park has a separate RV section. One long-time RV resident recently moved out because of illness, but left behind his RV, which is old and in poor condition. Does the park need to file an eviction action to clear out the space for a new tenant? What can the park do with the RV itself?

Question: A mobile home park has a number of spaces reserved for RVs. Many of the RV tenants are seasonal workers and usually rent a space for 3-6 months before moving on. Is it necessary to do background checks for such short-term tenants? How should the rental agreement be structured? Month to month, weekly, or fixed term?