Last week the Manufactured Housing Landlord Tenant Coalition held it's final meeting.  Some changes were made to the In Park Sales Conflict" issue but the other three issues remained substantially unchanged from our meeting in January. 

The MHCO Board of Directors has reviewed the proposed coalition bill and voted unanimously to support the proposed legislation.  Phil Querin is working on some last minute adjustments to the "In Park Sales" section of the proposal.  The coalition proposal will go to Legislative Counsel early this week to be drafted into a House Bill. 

MHCO has been working on bi-partisan support for the proposal.  There will be Democratic and Republican sponsors.   All this should make it easier to pass the proposal this spring.  In all likelihood the public hearing for this bill will be in March.

Here is a brief summary of the proposed legislation:

1. Unpaid Taxes on Abandoned Homes

This issue was MHCO's top legislative priority for the 2015 Legislative Session.  We are very happy with the agreement that we were able to reach which nearly eliminates all unpaid taxes on an abandoned home.

In general

The 2015 Oregon Legislative Session convened this month with House and Senate Committees beginning their work the first week in February.  There are a wide variety of issues the Oregon Legislature will be dealing with - many being repeats from previous sessions such as education funding and taxes that never seem to go away.

The Manufactured Housing Landlord-Tenant Coalition continues to work on possible legislation.  The group has been meeting since June 2014 - at least once a month to address a variety of issues.  The issues have been significantly narrowed down as we rapidly approach the end of these negotiations.  The odds are that there will either be a compromise bill (typically know as the coalition bill) or we could face some nasty political battles on some onerous legislation.  The coalition provides a venue for both landlords and tenants to work through selected issues.  In general the coalition's work tends to be better thought out than most of the knee jerk legislative proposals we see from individual legislators. 

The biggest challenge of any negotiation process is the end - reaching a final compromise.   We all know, compromise is something that is not easily accomplished in today's political environment.  Perhaps the best sign of a successful compromise is when both sides are unsatisfied with the final product.  Having worked on coalition bills since 1999 most times both sides grumble their way to agreement.  I suspect this year will be no different.

Over the last six months MHCO has posted updates on the issues we have been working. There are now four issues in the proposed 2015 Coalition Bill.  Many of these issues are complicated and consume pages of proposed legal language.  We will spare you that in this report but will try to convey the key substance of each issue.  The following is a summary of where those issues stand in very broad brushstrokes:

1. Unpaid Taxes on Abandoned Homes

The County Tax Collector and the Oregon Department of Revenue have agreed to cancel all unpaid property taxes and special assessments as provided under ORS 311.790.  There is no limit on the market value of the home or limit on the amount of tax to be canceled.

In general, in order to obtain the tax cancelation of unpaid taxes on an abandoned home the landlord will be required to file an affidavit with the county tax collector stating that the landlord will sell the property in an arms length transaction to an unrelated buyer who intends to occupy the property in that facility.  Once the home is sold by the landlord another affidavit or declaration with the county tax collector would have to be filed stating that the landlord has sold the property, the sale price and description of any costs incurred by the landlord to improve the property for sale.

MHCO will create these affidavits as new MHCO Forms for community owners or managers to utilize. 

This is an issue MHCO has wanted to address over the past ten years.  We are very happy that the issue is finally resolved and the unpaid taxes on an abandoned home will be completely eliminated.  This will impact nearly every community in the state of Oregon.  

In addition, on a separate issue there will also be and increase in the yearly fee paid by community owners paid to Oregon Housing and Community Services.  The department will charge $50 for communities with more than 20 spaces and $25 for those communities with less than 20 spaces.  Under ORS 446.525 the special assessment levied annual upon each manufactured dwelling will increase from $6 to $10.  This  $10 assessment is to be paid by the tenants.

2. Habitability - Ground Support, Natural Gas and Garbage Cans

This issue has been significantly altered since it was first introduced last summer. 

One of the main concerns the residents have is being able to cancel a rental agreement or lease if the foundation of their home is partially washed away.  The proposed language is: For manufactured dwellings only

The Manufactured Housing Landlord-Tenant Coalition met again this month to discuss a number of issues as we head into the 2015 Oregon Legislative Session that is just over a month away.

Lengthy Discussion on Competing Sales Conflict"

OREGON'S 2011 SUBMETERING LAW
BY
PHILLIP C. QUERIN, LEGAL COUNSEL MANUFACTURED HOUSING COMMUNITIES OF OREGON (

The Fair Housing Act (FHA") was passed in 1968

The Manufactured Housing Landlord Tenant Coalition met earlier this week to continue negotiations on a variety of issues.  Here is a summary of what is moving, what is not and what still needs to be discussed as we prepare for the 2015 Oregon Legislative Session.

Abandoned Manufactured Home and Back Taxes

The coalition further discussed the abandoned home back tax" issue that MHCO negotiated with the Oregon Tax Assessors earlier last month.  The Oregon Department of Revenue expressed concerns about the agreement specifically as it impacts tax revenue from the Oregon Senior Deferral program.  The Oregon Department of Revenue typically has liens on 40 abandoned homes a year.  Moving forward the coalition will need to identify back taxes that are owed to the State of Oregon and back taxes owed to Oregon Counties.  We hope to have proposed language addressing this issue ready next month. 

One additional concern expressed by a MHCO Board Member was clarification of when the community owner acquires the title of the abandoned home.  Community owners will be reluctant to make the necessary improvements in an abandoned home if there is any question regarding the transfer of title.  The general consensus is that this needs to happen early in the process and be defined in statute.

Overall we are pleased that all parties remain committed to eliminating the community owner's responsibility to pay back taxes on an abandoned home. 

Changes to Annual Special Assessment on Park Residents and Community Registration Fee

As we have mentioned in earlier Legislative Updates

Last week MHCO met with representatives of the Oregon county tax assessors and successfully negotiated the elimination of abandoned home back taxes.

For those you who have been following this issue - earlier this year MHCO set out to make significant changes to ORS 90.675 that requires community owners to pay the back taxes owed on an abandoned home if they want to purchase the home and keep it in their community.  After a lengthy series of meetings with MHCO, the counties agreed to cancel unpaid back taxes on abandoned manufactured homes.

There remain technical issues, but the main hurdle - eliminating the tax obligation - has been resolved.  Here are the details of the agreement -

• No cap on the amount of back taxes to be cancelled.

• The landlord will need to file an affidavit/form (MHCO will work with the county tax assessors on the form which ultimately will be posted on MHCO.ORG). 

• The affidavit/form will state:

• That the landlord has sold or will sell the MH to an unrelated buyer;
• The buyer will live in the MH in the park;
• The sale is an arms-length transaction;
• The amount of the sale price, along with the total of the landlord's claims or costs against the manufactured home, limited to unpaid back rent, sale costs (per ORS 90.675 (13) (a) consists of the reasonable or actual cost of notice, storage for a reasonable period, and sale; presumably this includes attorney fees, but only to do these tasks), and any improvements done by the landlord to the manufactured home as part of the sale.
• The landlord may deduct from any sale proceeds the cost of storage (typically space rent) only for a reasonable period, as necessary to complete the abandonment process, to make any repairs necessary to make the manufactured home saleable, and to sell it.
• The landlord will pay any county warrant fees required for the cancellation
• The landlord will pay any amount from the sale in excess of the landlord's costs (unpaid rent, sale costs, improvement, etc.) to the county for unpaid taxes.  The landlord will be allowed to keep any excess over the unpaid back tax amount.

Later this month there will be further discussions on the details regarding the affidavit and other potential legislative issues.  As with all previous landlord-tenant coalition bills the participants in the negotiations reserve the right not to make a final commitment until the final draft is on the table.  Depending on what is or is not in that final agreement will determine MHCO's final position.  A lot can happen between now and the final draft of a bill - but today we are very happy that we have made significant progress in changing a very onerous statute that impacts every community owner who ends up wanting to buy an abandoned home in their community.

Thanks to everyone from MHCO who worked on these negotiations.  We will keep you posted on legislative developments as move in to the post election/pre legislative world.  Stay tuned!

Elder Abuse in our society is hidden.  For every one case that is reported, 24 cases go unreported (National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Late Life).  There are several factors that contribute to this.  An older adult is reluctant to admit that abuse is happening.  Guilt and shame are silencers in Elder Abuse.  Some folks do not have the capacity to report that abuse is happening.  This could be a capacity issue but also is impacted by Generational Culture.  Does the older adult know that rape in a marriage is rape? Rape in a marriage was legal until 1976.  Is the older adult comfortable talking about his or her body? Another reason cases go unreported is because no one inquires how an older person is doing with changes in their lives.  For example, when an adult child moves back in with the older person the assumption is it's a positive change.  Does the older person get asked about the change in his or her living situation? Elder abuse can also be physically hidden.  When an older adult is hurt it can go unnoticed because of the belief that bruises and falls are part of the aging process.

While we know that anyone in a trusting relationship with the older person has the potential to be abusive, the dynamic is still predominantly intimate partner violence.  This can be a long term relationship that has had abuse occurring all throughout the history of the relationship.  Another form is a new relationship, possible post-divorce or widowed.  In this relationship an older person may have experienced abuse in the past or this may be his or her first experience with abuse.  Late Onset is a description of a relationship that has changed with an organic condition.  The abusive person could have been controlling and verbally abusive and now is physically abusive.  Or abuse may have not been present in the history of the relationship and now is, due to an organic condition such as dementia or capacity changes.  Another dynamic is a person who was abused in the past and is now abusing the abuser.  Believing, safety planning and collaboration are key in supporting the older survivor.

Take action by not letting the older folks in your lives be invisible.  Try to notice when your older neighbor isn't around or big changes occur in his or her lives.  An adult child moving in, mobility changing, caregivers that aren't consistent or anyone that appears to be controlling the older person's life.  Are the same support folks coming around or has something changed? Try to give that older adult some private space to have a safe conversation.  Often, if the abuser thinks the older adult might be asking for help or telling others about the controlling behaviors, the abuser will retaliate.  This could be punishing, physically and emotionally abusing or further isolation. Connecting with your local Adult Protective Services agency, Domestic Violence Agency and Social Service Senior agencies are a key way to help the older adult.  The collaboration of these agencies can provide protection and support by the way of Elderly/Disabled Persons Abuse Prevention Act, criminal charges, emotional and resource support.

The Manufactured Housing Landlord - Tenant Coalition (negotiations) convened again the end of last month (August 2014) to further discuss a number of issues that may potentially be adopted into legislation in 2015.  Here is a summary of the latest developments on several key issues.

The $6 Assessment.  The coalition spent a considerable amount of time discussing the $6.00 assessment that community residents pay to finance Oregon Housing & Community Services Manufactured Communities Resource Center.  Oregon counties are increasingly not collecting property taxes on homes in communities and hence the $6 assessment is not being collected.  Both the residents and the agency are concerned about continued funding.  MHCO is concerned that community owners will be given the responsibility of collecting the assessment from the residents and handing it over to the government.  MHCO is adamantly opposed to landlord's becoming tax/assessment collectors.

The tax assessor association floated the idea of the residents paying more - sort of a surcharge on the assessment in order to cover the cost of the counties in collecting the assessment.  No decision was made on this issue - we will see what the next meeting brings.

Abandoned Manufactured Homes and Unpaid Taxes.  The coalition continued to discuss ORS 90.675.  Currently, Oregon law causes a landlord to throw or give away a manufactured home worth more than $8,000 if the back taxes exceed the value of the home. The back taxes owed on some abandoned MHs may be significant, even exceeding the value of the manufactured home. In these cases, the financial incentive for the landlord, assuming there is no purchaser at the required abandoned property sale, is to destroy or give away the manufactured home. This creates a vacant space in the park.

MHCO would like to see all taxes on an abandoned manufactured home waived.  The tax assessor association proposed waiving the first $8,000 of taxes owed to be waived if the landlord buys the home.  At this time the MHCO is considering options to raise that amount or to completely waive the taxes owed.  Again, no final decision has been made and negotiations continue.

Cure Period for Discrete vs. Ongoing Violations.  As we have mentioned in earlier legislative updates, MHCO would like to see the 30-day cure" (ORS 90.630) period reviewed with some changes.  Allowing a resident to continue disruptive behavior for 29 days and then correct the behavior just before the 30 day "cure" period ends does not seem fair to the other residents in the community and management.  We continue to discuss options.  MHCO has proposed  that anything that impacts the resident's "peaceful enjoyment" should require a shorter "cure" period.  Again - no final decision was made and we will continue to discuss this at the next coalition meeting.

Manufactured Home Sales - Conflict Community Owner Sales vs. Resident Sales.  The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS) has been investigating conflicts between community owner sales of homes and resident sales.  DCBS has met with the coalition on several occasions but no specific proposal has been put on the table.  This is the issue that MHCO is most concerned about as we head into the 2015 Legislative session.  There will be a more in depth discussion on this issue at the next meeting.  MHCO will keep you posted as this issue develops.

Fixes to Resident Purchase.   There are several issues that have been discovered regarding the resident purchase program (HB 4038) that was passed in the 2014 February session.  Below is a brief summary of the issue and the proposed solutions. 

A. The loophole is in favor of tenants