MHCO Columns

Phil Querin: New MHCO Form 5E - For  Park-Owned - Resident Owned - SubLeasing (PortlandOnly)

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Phil Querin

 

 

Portland Housing Code 30.01.085 (Portland Renter Additional Protections), here, became effective on November 1, 2019.  For manufactured housing parks located in the City of Portland, the ordinance DOES NOT apply to rental spaces in which the tenant owns their home; it only applies to rental spaces in which the tenant is renting a park-owned home or subleasing a home from the owner. For purposes of this article, only park-owned homes will be addressed. However, in the event a tenant wishes to sublease a home – and it is permitted by the rules or rental agreement – park owners may discuss with the tenant his or her legal obligations under the Portland ordinances – not because there is a legal obligation to educate the tenant, but because of the financial consequences that can flow from ignoring the law.   


 

 

Below is a short summary of the ordinance. It should not be relied upon to the exclusion of consulting legal counsel or reading the ordinance yourself.

 

Termination of Tenancy in Park-Owned Homes.A Landlord may terminate a Rental Agreement without cause orfor a “qualifying landlord reason”[1]only by delivering a written notice of termination (the “Termination Notice”) to the tenant of:

  • Not less than 90 days before the termination date designated in that notice as calculated under the Act; or
  • The time period designated in the rental agreement, whichever is longer. 
  • Not less than 45 days prior to the termination date provided in the Termination Notice, the landlord shall pay to the tenant, as “Relocation Assistance” a payment as follows: 
    • $2,900 for a studio or single room occupancy (“SRO”) Dwelling unit;
    • $3,300 for a one-bedroom dwelling unit;
    • $4,200 for a two-bedroom dwelling unit; and
    • $4,500 for a three-bedroom or larger dwelling unit. 
  • (A landlord that declines to renew or replace an expiring lease or rental agreement is subject to the above provisions. These payments are intended to apply per dwelling unit, not per individual tenant.) 

 

Rent Increase Limitations For Park-Owned HomesA landlord may not increase a tenant's rent or “Associated Housing Costs”[2]by 5 percent or more over a rolling 12-month period unless the landlord gives notice in writing to each affected tenant: 

  • At least 90 days prior to the effective date of the Rent increase; or 
  • The time period designated in the rental agreement, whichever is longer. 

 

The Increase Notice must specify:

  • The amount of the increase;
  • The amount of the new rent or Associated Housing Costs; and
  • The date when the increase becomes effective.  

 

If, within 45 calendar days after a tenant receives an Increase Notice indicating a rent increase of 10 percent or more within a rolling 12-month period anda tenant provides written notice to the landlord of the tenant’s request for Relocation Assistance (the “Tenant’s Notice”), then:

  • Within 31 calendar days of receiving the Tenant’s Notice, the Landlord shall pay to Relocation Assistance to the tenant in the amount that follows: 
  • $2,900 for a studio or SRO Dwelling unit;
  • $3,300 for a one-bedroom Dwelling unit;
  • $4,200 for a two-bedroom Dwelling unit; and
  • $4,500 for a three-bedroom or larger Dwelling unit.  

 

After the tenant receives the Relocation Assistance from the landlord, the tenant shall have 6 months from the effective date of the rent increase (the “Relocation Period”) to either:

  • Pay back the Relocation Assistance and remain in the dwelling unit and shall be obligated to pay the increased Rent in accordance with the Increase Notice for the duration of the tenant’s occupancy; or
  • Provide the landlord with a notice to terminate the rental agreement in accordance with ORS Chapter 90 (the Oregon Landlord-Tenant Act).  
  • In the event that the tenant has not repaid the Relocation Assistance or provided the landlord with the tenant’s Termination Notice on or before the expiration of the Relocation Period, the tenant shall be in violation of this ordinance. 
  • A landlord that conditions the renewal or replacement of an expiring lease or rental agreement on the tenant’s agreement to pay a rent increase of 10 percent or more within a rolling 12-month period is subject to the above provisions.  
  • A landlord that declines to renew or replace an expiring lease or rental agreement on substantially the same terms except for the amount of rent or Associated Housing Costs is also subject to the above provisions. 
  • (The above requirements are intended to apply per dwelling unit, not per individual tenant, and a tenant may only receive and retain Relocation Assistance once per tenancy per dwelling unit.)

 

MHCO Form 5E. For all park owners who are renting or leasing park-owned homes to tenants, the Portland ordinance requires that they include a description of a tenant’s rights and obligations and the eligible amount of Relocation Assistance for any of the following events:

  • Issuance of a Termination Notice;
  • Issuance of a Rent Increase Notice; and
  • Payment of Relocation Assistance.

A copy of Form 5E on line at MHCO.ORG. It summarizes the litany or rights and duties imposed by the ordinance and should be delivered to the tenant in any of the above three events.

 

Exceptions. The Portland Ordinance 30.10.085 provides that Relocation Assistance does not apply to the following:

 

1.  Rental agreements for week-to-week tenancies;

2.  Tenants that occupy the same dwelling unit as the Landlord;

3.  Tenants that occupy one dwelling unit in a duplex where the landlord’s principal residence is the second Dwelling unit in the same Duplex;

4.  Tenants that occupy an Accessory Dwelling unit that is subject to the Oregon landlord-tenant law in the City of Portland so long as the owner of the Accessory Dwelling unit lives on the site;

5.  A landlord that temporarily rents out the Landlord's principal residence during the landlord's absence of not more than 3 years;

6.  A landlord that temporarily rents out the landlord’s principal residence during the landlord’s absence due to active duty military service;

7.  A dwelling unit where the landlord is terminating the rental agreement in order for an immediate family member to occupy the dwelling unit;

8.  A dwelling unit regulated as affordable housing by a federal, state or local government for a period of at least 60 years;

9.  A dwelling unit that is subject to and in compliance with the federal Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970;

10. A dwelling unit rendered uninhabitable not due to the action or inaction of a landlord or tenant;

11.  A dwelling unit rented for less than 6 months with appropriate verification of the submission of a demolition permit prior to the tenant renting the dwelling unit.

12.  A dwelling unit where the landlord has provided a fixed term tenancy and notified the tenant prior to occupancy, of the landlord’s intent to sell or permanently convert the dwelling unit to another use.

 

A landlord that fails to comply with any of the above requirements may be liable to the tenant for an amount up to 3 times the monthly rent as well as actual damages, Relocation Assistance, reasonable attorney fees and costs.

 

An Idle Thought For Park-Owned Homes. Why not sell them to a deserving, but cash-poor tenant? I’ll discuss issues with park owners doing exactly that and carrying back the security documents in a later article.

 

Once sold, many of these byzantine landlord-tenant ordinances and laws disappear, and the landlord is still protected in the event of the tenant’s default in space rent by using a cross-default provision in the security documents

 

[1]Pursuant to Oregon Senate Bill 608 (2019), a “qualifying landlord reason” to terminate a tenancy without cause consists of the following events: The landlord intends to demolish the dwelling unit within a reasonabletime; The landlordintendsconvertit to a non-residential use withinareasonabletime; Thelandlordintendstoundertakerepairsor renovationstoit withina reasonable timeandit is currently unsafe or unfit for occupancy;or thedwellingwillbeunsafeorunfitforduringtherepairsor renovations;or the landlordhas acceptedanoffertosellit and thebuyerintendsingoodfaithtooccupyit as a primary residenceandwithin120daysafteracceptingtheoffer,thelandlordprovidesthetenant with a written notice of termination with a specific termination date together with written evidence of the offer of purchase; The landlordintends to, or amemberofhis/her immediatefamily,tooccupythedwelling as a primary residence  andthelandlorddoesnotthen ownaunitinthesamebuildingthatisavailableforoccupancy.

 

[2]According to Portland Housing Ordinance 30.01.030 (Definitions) “Associated Housing Costs” “(i)include, but are not limited to, fees or utility or service charges, means the compensation or fees paid or charged, usually periodically, for the use of any property, land, buildings, or equipment. For purposes of this Chapter, housing costs include the basic rent charge and any periodic or monthly fees for other services paid to the Landlord by the Tenant, but do not include utility charges that are based on usage and that the Tenant has agreed in the Rental Agreement to pay, unless the obligation to pay those charges is itself a change in the terms of the Rental Agreement.”