Querin Law

Phil Querin Q&A: Use of Storage Agreements

Question:  A contractor has been buying homes in the community, placing them on Storage Agreement and flipping after improvements.  Can a park owner deny a contractor a storage agreement based on a previous bad track-record in the community - shoddy improvements, bad dealings with new purchasers etc.  Are there any grounds to deny a contractor a storage agreement?  Can the park owner increase the storage fee during the contract and if so with how much notice?  If the property is not being maintained, how does the park owner terminate the storage agreement?

 

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).

Phil Querin Q&A: Landlord Pass-Throughs of Public Service Charges

 

Question: As a park owner we pass through the sewer and water charges to our residents. Currently, they are on 5-year leases, all expiring at various times. The leases address our right to pass through utilities. However, fire and police fees have been attached to the water/sewer bills we receive from the city. May we pass those additional fees through, and if so, how much notice must we give to the residents?

 

Answer:  The short answer is Yes. The utilities section of the manufactured housing side of Oregon’s landlord-tenant law is ORS 90.560(4) provides:

Phil Querin Q&A: Tenants Rent Tenders After Eviction Filed

Question: Landlord sent a 10-day nonpayment of rent notice to a resident.  The night before filing the FED the landlord called the resident to remind them to pay - hoping to resolve it before filing and paying the filing fee.  Landlord did not hear back from the resident, so he filed the FED and paid the filing fee of $143.00.  Several days later the resident shows up at the park office and offers to pay the rent.  Landlord refused to accept the rent tender since the resident would not also pay the filing fee.  Can the landlord decline the rent tender after filing the FED if the resident refuses to pay the filing fee? What happens in court?

 

Answer: This is a timely and important question. In March 2023 HB 2001 was enacted, which reinstated some of the earlier Pandemic tenant protections including restoring the 10-day and 13- day period in nonpayment of rent notices.

Phil Querin: 55 and Older Communities

The following article is a discussion of the federal Fair Housing law governing 55+ communities.  The contents are not intended to constitute legal advice, and should not be relied upon by the reader as such.  All legal questions regarding this complicated and important law should be directed to legal counsel familiar with the area.

 

The Fair Housing Amendments Act (FHAA) went into effect on March 12, 1989.  That Act amended Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, which prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin in the sale, rental, or financing of residential housing.  The FHAA added two additional protected classes; (1) persons with disabilities and (2) families with children.  Children include persons under the age of 18 years.

 

Virtually all forms of “familial discrimination” became illegal under the FHAA, such as the refusal to rent to tenants because they had children; imposing different terms or conditions of rental depending upon whether they had children; discouraging persons from living in a manufactured housing community if they had children, etc.

Phil Querin Q&A: May a Landlord Unilaterally Decline to Renew a Resident’s Fixed Term Tenancy?

 

 

 

Question:  We have a resident in our community that has been nothing but trouble.  He is on a two year lease that is coming up for renewal.  Can we simply decline to renew his lease?

 

Answer:  In a word – No.  Or, to be more precise, as discussed below, if you do not renew the lease, it will automatically become a month-to-month tenancy on the same terms as the lease.  In other words, your non-renewal will not result in forcing the tenant to vacate the space.

MHCO Forms Changes For Pets

Introduction: MHCO has several forms that deal directly and indirectly with pets. In July, 2024, several changes/updates were made to them. Below is a summary:

 

 

  1. Form 21 Pet Agreement. The form now includes a “Notice of Rights Under ORS 90.530” which summarizes management’s rights and restrictions. It is contained at the top of the first page so it can’t be missed. Generally, it informs residents about the landlord’s right to control pet activities, the maximum of $50 on fines, and liability insurance.

 

Phil Querin Q&A: Home Fire in the Community – Rights, Duties and Liabilities

Question: A home burned down over the weekend in my community.  What are my rights and responsibilities?  How does the scenario change depending if the resident has or does NOT have insurance?

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.

Phil Querin Q&A: Partial Rent Payments

Question: What are the rules that apply if the landlord agrees to accept rent in an amount less than required under the Rental Agreement?

 

Answer: This was covered in a December 2016 MHCO Article. The major change in the law since then was due to the elimination of 72-hour notices of nonpayment of rent. Now a 10-day notice must be issued. (MHCO does not have a form for 144-hour notices, but it too has been eliminated.

Phil Querin Article : Tips for Preparing Bulletproof Notices

 

Always Assume The Matter Will Go To Court

 

While most legal notices will have their desired effect – e.g. the tenant will pay the rent, or maintain the space, or do what is necessary to comply – there are a small number of tenants who will fight. Of those who fight, some will secure an attorney. Most attorneys know that the easiest way to win is to attack the notice for some deficiency. If the notice is legally insufficient, the landlord’s case will fail without any examination of the merits of the case. The failure to win in court oftentimes leaves management with an unmanageable tenant.

 

Accordingly, when landlords and managers prepare notices, they should always assume that the notice will be contested. This approach is the best protection landlords have in securing compliance in those cases where the tenant decides to fight.

 

What does it mean to draft a notice as if the matter will go to court? It means that someone – the judge or jury - will be scrutinizing the document. It means making sure that everything is filled out correctly before mailing or delivering it. It means using a form, if one is available, rather than hand-drafting a notice. It means making sure that the proper form is used. In some circumstances, it may mean having your attorney review the form before sending it out.

 

 

Always Use A Calendar

 

Phil Querin Q&A: Bad Tenant Applies for Temporary Occupant

Question:  A former tenant who signed over his mobile but left the Park with almost $8,000 in back rent, unpaid property taxes and attorney fees is now applying to be a Temporary Occupant in a neighbor’s home.  Is there any way I can prevent him from living in the Park? If I deny him temporary occupancy, I’m afraid he will say he will be serving as a care giver for the current tenant.  What can I do?

 

Answer:   Does the former tenant have issues other than his lack of fiscal responsibility?  You could prevent him from being a temporary occupancy based upon prior conduct, etc., but not regarding his failure to pay rent, since “in theory” a temporary occupant is not one who is sharing rent, etc.

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