SF4306

Purpose

• Establish standards for rent, utilities, and related fees in manufactured home parks.
• Protect residents by promoting fair billing, clear notices, and predictable costs.
• Improve safety and maintenance practices (like trees posing hazards).
• Create a process to involve residents when a park owner considers selling the park, with an emphasis on preserving affordable housing.

Main Provisions

• Representative acting on behalf of residents

  • Defines a representative who can negotiate on residents’ behalf if authorized by signatures from at least 51% of occupied homes.
  • A resident’s signature on a park lot lease is presumptive evidence that the representative is authorized and exclusive to that representative.

• Rent and charges

  • Rent must be uniform across the park, with exceptions for lot size, location, or furnished services.
  • Delinquent rent may incur a fee, but it cannot exceed 8% of the delinquent rent.
  • No charges can be added based on number of residents, age of children, guests, home size, or other non-occupancy factors.
  • Pets may incur a fee, but it cannot exceed $4 per pet per month.
  • Abatement of rent for residents with special needs is allowed.

• Utilities and itemized billing

  • Park owners may bill residents for utilities they provide or redistribute, but only under clear rules.
  • Utilities costs must be itemized and labeled separately; a resident must be able to see each service charged and all payments received.
  • A park owner may not charge for utility repair costs or outages; mending of outages must be treated separately from rent.

• Digital payment platforms and alternatives

  • If a park requires or permits digital rent payments, residents must have a workable alternative method (e.g., checks or cash) without extra fees.
  • The digital platform must clearly show an itemized list of current charges and all communications with the resident.
  • If the digital platform is unavailable, park owners may not take adverse actions (such as eviction or late fees) for nonpayment.
  • Courts may dismiss eviction actions for nonpayment if the platform was unavailable, and residents may receive reasonable attorney fees and other relief.

• Access by utility providers

  • Utilities must be accessible for repair or investigation, even if the park owner normally handles utilities.
  • Residents may allow utility workers access to resolve issues.

• Tree safety and maintenance

  • Park owners must address trees that present safety hazards.
  • Upon written notice, they must have a hazardous tree removed or obtain an arborist’s opinion.
  • If an arborist finds a hazard, removal should occur within five days unless seasonality requires a delay; a written removal plan must be provided to the resident.

• Rent increases

  • Rent increase notices must be given 60 days in advance and include the owner’s reasons.
  • Increases are limited to two per resident in any 12-month period.
  • A rent increase should be reasonable; an increase over 3% of the prior year’s rent is presumed unreasonable unless the owner proves it’s necessary for health or safety.
  • Increases approved by a resident-owned cooperative (under specific chapters) are presumptively reasonable.

• Sale and transfer of parks; resident involvement

  • If a park owner gets an unsolicited bona fide offer to purchase, they must notify the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency and each park household with price terms.
  • The Minnesota Housing Finance Agency must share notices with registered resident representatives and nonprofits; agency lists are publicly accessible.
  • Park owners may not sell, lease, or transfer the park without providing 60 days’ written notice to residents and the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency.
  • Residents or representatives may submit offers to purchase within 60 days; park owners must negotiate in good faith and consider offers.
  • An optional recording procedure exists to show compliance with sale-notice requirements.
  • If a park is sold to a representative, the buyer must preserve affordable housing for ten years from the sale date.
  • There is a framework for challenges to the validity of resident signatures and for remedies if the owner violates sale-related provisions.
  • The bill sets out good-faith obligations for park transactions and emphasizes affordability preservation.

• Remedies and enforcement

  • Violations can lead to actual damages, injunctive or equitable relief, and recovery of attorney fees and court costs.
  • Remedies are cumulative and do not limit other available legal remedies.

• Repeal and related changes

  • Repeals the previous 327C.096 notice of sale statute and updates related sections (327C.015, 327C.03, 327C.04, 327C.06, etc.) to align with the new framework.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Introduces formal resident representation to negotiate park purchases.
• Adds mandatory, itemized utility and rent billing with protections against nonessential charges.
• Establishes a right to alternatives to digital payment methods and safeguards when digital systems are unavailable.
• Strengthens safety requirements for trees and hazards in parks.
• Tightens rent increase procedures with explicit notice and a 3% cap, plus a health-and-safety justification pathway.
• Creates a formal process for unsolicited park sale offers and requires notification to residents and the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency; includes a citizen-driven mechanism to preserve affordability.
• Expands remedies and enforcement provisions for violations, including damages and attorney fees.
• Repeals an existing sale-notice statute and replaces it with a modernized, resident-focused framework.

Practical Implications for Residents and Park Owners

• Residents gain clearer protections on what can be charged and how rent and utilities are billed.
• Residents can opt for or appoint a representative to negotiate park sales on their behalf, with formal safeguards.
• Park owners face new duties to maintain safety, to provide transparent billing, and to follow a formal sale-notice process.
• The Minnesota Housing Finance Agency becomes a central conduit for notices related to park sales and for public disclosure of resident representatives.

Notable Terminology Used in the Bill (Key Terms)

• manufactured home park
• rent
• utilities
• fees and charges
• delinquent rent fee
• itemized billing
• digital payment platform
• alternative means of payment
• access by utility providers
• arborist
• safety hazard
• trees
• notice of rent increases
• rent increase
• health and safety
• resident-owned cooperative (chapters 308A or 308B)
• representative acting on behalf of residents
• Minnesota Housing Finance Agency
• unsolicited bona fide offer
• sale, lease, or transfer of a park
• affordable housing preservation
• remedies (damages, injunctive relief, equitable relief)
• attorney fees
• good faith obligations
• recording (county recorder/registrar of titles)

Relevant Terms manufactured home park, rent, utilities, delinquent rent fee, itemized billing, digital payment platform, alternative means of payment, access to utility providers, arborist, safety hazard, trees, notice of rent increases, rent increases, health and safety, representative acting on behalf of residents, resident-owned cooperative, Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, unsolicited sale, sale notice, affordable housing preservation, remedies, damages, attorney fees, good faith obligations, recording.