Abandoned Homes

In the general housing industry, there are two major types of insurance:

Answer: At the risk of dating myself, I represented MHCO many moons ago when Oregon’s abandonment law was first being negotiated.

Answer: Storage agreements are not specifically defined under ORS 90.100 in the Landlord-Tenant Act. They are addressed in ORS 90.425 and 90.675, the abandonment statutes that pertain to the storage of a tenants personal or real property (respectively).

Answer:   This is a good question, and all too frequently ignored by owners and managers. The first question is whether the issue is addressed anywhere in the community documents, i.e. the statement of policy, rules, or rental agreement. Likely not.

Mobile and manufactured homes are personal property. They are only treated as a part of the land (i.e., as “real property”) when properly sited on a lot or parcel owned by the owner of the home and approved by the local authorities. Then, a deed to the land conveys the manufactured home as well, since they are combined under a single ownership.

Answer: [Note: This answer presumes that the landlord has legally declared the abandonment, and following the statute regarding issuance of the 45-day letter. It also presumes that there are no liens on the home, since they would have prior right to determine what happens.]

Answer: The Department of Revenue ("DOR") is treated like any other lienholder. It is critical that before the 45-day letter is sent, the park check with the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services ("DCBS") to determine if there are any lienholders on title. We understand that DOR is now showing up on the DCBS records.

Answer: After sending or delivering the 45-day abandonment letter, a landlord is required to store the home on the rented space and shall exercise reasonable care for it; and is entitled to reasonable or actual storage charges and costs incidental to storage or disposal. The storage charge may be no greater than the monthly space rent last payable by the tenant.