Termination of Manager Occupying A Park-Owned Home
Question: As our on-site community manager is living in a park-owned mobile home (POH), consistent with his job duties, rent free. His employment paperwork is legal and minimal, and no rental agreement was included in his hire packet. Each month, he receives a rent credit equal to the total rent & utility charges, so he pays no rent as part of his compensation package. His pay stub does not include a housing allowance, and he does not pay the company rent for the home.
How do we proceed with termination and eviction? For future reference what documentation should a community owner have in the employment packet?
Answer: Below is the relevant statute. Note it is NOT found in the landlord-tenant law (ORS Chapter 90), so many managers don’t see them; they are found in ORS Chapter 91.
91.120 Eviction of employee; notice required. An employee described in ORS 90.110 (7)[1]may only be evicted pursuant to ORS 105.105 to 105.168 after at least 24 hours’ written notice of the termination of employment or a notice period set forth in a written employment contract, whichever is longer. This section does not create the relationship of landlord and tenant between a landlord and such employee. (Emphasis added.)
So, check your manager’s employment contract to see if it addresses continued occupancy after termination. If it says nothing, then minimum amount of time you must give is 24-hours. The statute couldbe read to mean that the written 24-hour termination of employment is sufficient notice. However, I would suggest that when you terminate the manager you alsoissue a written notice of termination of their occupancy.
The manager is not a “tenant” for purposes of ORS Chapter 90, so you don’t need to worry about adding three days for mailing etc. I would try to have the termination of employment and the termination of occupancy hand delivered.
If you have questions about the termination of employment, you should contact an employment attorney. As for the termination of occupancy, all you need to say is the following:
DATE & TIME OF DELIVERY: _________________________
Pursuant to ORS 91.120, please regard this as notice of formal termination of your right of occupancy of [address]:_______________________________________ (“Premises”). Please vacate the Premises no later than 5:00 PM on the ___ day of ________________, 2019 [Date and Time to be no less than24-hours from above date and time of delivery]. If you have any questions please contact your attorney.
[Signed]
______________________________
Make sure the notice gives a full 24-hours advance notice. Certainly, unless there is reason for not doing so, you can always insert a longer period of time to vacate. Don’t agree to any extensions without it being in writing.
If the ex-manager refuses to vacate, you may append the notice to the standard court-issue summons and eviction form and have it served. The eviction process would be the same as if you were evicting a park tenant. The only thing different is that ORS Chapter 90 does not apply.
I think it’s important that your employment agreement makes clear that (a) the manager’s occupancy of the park-owned home is conditioned upon their continued employment, and (b) that upon termination of employment you have the right to terminate their occupancy under ORS 91.120 with not less than 24-hours’ notice.
Note that ORS 92.120 assumes the manager doesn’t own the home. If he or she does own the home, it’s a far different equation in my opinion. If that is the case, it would seem their continued right of occupancy should be addressed in the employment agreement, since otherwise, the ex-manager could morph into a “tenant” under ORS Chapter 90 if they started making payments monthly space rent. If you are thinking about hiring a current tenant as a manager, you should consult your attorney for directions as how to fashion the employment agreement.
[1]Unless created to avoid the application of this chapter, the following arrangements are not governed by this chapter: *** (7) Occupancy by an employee of a landlord whose right to occupancy is conditional upon employment in and about the premises. However, the occupancy by an employee as described in this subsection may be terminated only pursuant to ORS 91.120 (Eviction of employee).
Termination of Manager Occupying A Park-Owned Home
Question: As our on-site community manager is living in a park-owned mobile home (POH), consistent with his job duties, rent free. His employment paperwork is legal and minimal, and no rental agreement was included in his hire packet. Each month, he receives a rent credit equal to the total rent & utility charges, so he pays no rent as part of his compensation package. His pay stub does not include a housing allowance, and he does not pay the company rent for the home.
How do we proceed with termination and eviction? For future reference what documentation should a community owner have in the employment packet?
Answer: Below is the relevant statute. Note it is NOT found in the landlord-tenant law (ORS Chapter 90), so many managers don’t see them; they are found in ORS Chapter 91.