MHCO Legal Counsel

Questions. My question is in regards to sewer and water pass throughs:

1. Is it still true, that you can pass through utilities?

2. If so, what is a reasonable time for notice?

3. The newer MHCO space rental agreements do have a provision for pass through, however what if a tenant has been in the park for years & there is no provision for pass through on a rental agreement that they signed?

4. I do know of a MHP that does pass through and they send a bifurcated bill- one for utilities and one for space rent. However, most tenants pay with one check or money order. I have a MHP in Southern Oregon and the sewer is a fixed amount, so it would be easy to divide that amount up between the tenants, obviously with a proviso that if the sewer bill increases or decreases we would make an adjustment to the bill.

A MHP that does pass through water and sewer told me that their bill decreased by about 30% because the tenants knew they were now paying for the water and tried to conserve. They knew their bill would be reduced if they used less water. In my Southern Oregon MHP, the sewer is a fixed amount so that incentive would not be there unless the sewer district decreased their bill to the park and I had not intended to pass through water at this time. NOTE: If I metered the park it would be very expensive & I would have to take each tenant to small claims if they didn't pay. Even though it's the same with pass through, the tenants don't get bill separately each month, so it looks different.

Question: A landlord currently charges a $25 late fee. She wants to increase it to $50. Can she do that and if so, what kind of notice should she give? Also, can she change the late fee from a flat amount to a percentage (e.g. 10%) of rent?

Question: A landlord currently charges a $25 late fee. She wants to increase it to $50. Can she do that and if so, what kind of notice should she give? Also, can she change the late fee from a flat amount to a percentage (e.g. 10%) of rent?

Question: A landlord currently charges a $25 late fee. She wants to increase it to $50. Can she do that and if so, what kind of notice should she give? Also, can she change the late fee from a flat amount to a percentage (e.g. 10%) of rent?

Question. A tenant is being forced to move his home because of a landslide. The home is currently in ABC Park and the tenant wants to move it to XYZ Park. However, there are a couple of trees blocking the home from being moved out. Management of ABC Park claims the trees aren't dead so they can't cut them down. Is the home forced to stay in ABC Park because of the trees blocking and keeping the home from moving? If the trees have to be cut down - who pays? Does ABC Park have any obligation to pay for the move since the home is being forced out because of the landslide?

Question. I have a question about the MHCO Temporary Occupant Agreement (MHCO Form 25). I have a friend who is a tenant in a park. He allowed a woman to move into his home with him. The landlord, the woman and he then signed a MHCO Temporary Occupant Agreement. I do not know what the duration was, i.e. month-to-month or for a fixed term.

After a while the tenant realized this was a big mistake and asked her to leave; she refused. As I understand it, the landlord has also asked her to vacate, and she again refused. The park owner does not really want to push the issue in court. She has told the tenant that he will have to have her legally evicted if he wants her out.

Recently, after she left town for several days, the tenant changed the door locks. Upon returning and being unable to gain access, she called the County Sheriff's Office. The responding deputy told the tenant/home owner that he could not require her to leave the premises. He even said that if she forced entry, she could not be arrested for the trespass. He said she had established residency at the home, and had full legal right to remain there until a court eviction occurred. She has been in the home beginning approximately December 2016. The woman has never paid any rent.

I would think she was committing a criminal trespass where either the landlord or the tenant revoked consent to her being at the space. What can he do? I am interested in case I have this situation in my community.

The following items are a compilation of "lessons learned" from some of the cases I have been involved with over the years. Many of you have attended MHCO seminars where I've discussed them.

But it never hurts to be reminded....

Question. A couple of posts ago, I addressed a questions regarding the roots of a non-hazard tree located on the resident's space interfering with their sewer line.

There were some follow-up questions I will address below. However, here's the caveat: This is not legal advice, and community owners and managers should confer with their own legal counsel. Also, my answers are merely my opinions, and others have every right to disagree. Who is ultimately right is up to the judge before whom the matter is submitted.

Here are the follow-up questions:

A tree that was never known by anyone including the tenant, or the landlord, to be considered a "hazard tree" prior to a windstorm, later falls and does no damage. This tree was neither planted by the current tenant, nor the community.[1]

Question No. 1. Given that there was no negligence by anyone, is the damage done by the windstorm considered an Act of God?

Question No. 2. With the tree now uprooted and lying on the ground, does it now present a hazard or meet the definition of a "hazard tree" thereby shifting the obligation to "maintain" a hazard tree to the Landlord?

Question No. 3. Does maintaining a tree include tree removal?

Question No. 4. Who is legally responsible to pay the expenses associated with the disposal of the tree?

Answer. Wow! Asking me if God caused a windstorm could get me in trouble. What if I'm wrong?

Question. Recently the insurance company for our manufactured home community inspected the community. Afterwards I received a notice in the mail from the insurer that they would terminate the insurance on the park unless a trampoline owned by one of the home owners was removed. The trampoline is located within the resident's fenced-in space. The park rules do not mention trampolines or playground items like swings. Since there are no rules addressing this how do I go forward trying to remove the trampoline if the home owner is not cooperative?

Question - A tenant's son has a conviction for sex abuse and is still on parole. He was living with his father in the community until neighbors found out about his conviction and began complaining about his presence because this is a family park with many children. We informed the son's father that he would have to leave due to his conviction. He did leave but now he is doing odd jobs here in the park. He also comes into the park to visit his family. We are getting resident complaints because people are still concerned for their children. Is there anything I can do as a manager to keep this man out of our community?