Current through Register 1531, September 27, 2024
(1)
Unfair or Deceptive Acts or
Practices: General. It shall be an unfair or deceptive act or practice,
in violation of M.G.L. c. 93A, § 2, for an operator:
(a) to restrict the number of occupants of a
manufactured home beyond any applicable restriction in any valid local, state
or federal law . A guest will presumptively not increase the number of persons
deemed normally living in the home.
(b) to impose any occupancy restriction based
upon race, religious creed, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation,
age, ancestry, marital status, familial status, veteran status or membership in
the armed forces, blindness, hearing impairment, or other handicap, or based
upon any other ground prohibited by M.G.L. c. 151B or the Federal Fair Housing
Act, unless such a restriction is explicitly exempted from the scope of those
laws;
(c) to discriminate in the
terms, conditions or privileges of the rental of a manufactured home site, or
in the provision of services or facilities, upon a ground prohibited by either
M.G.L. c. 151B or the Federal Fair Housing Act;
(d) to impose any restriction based upon age
unless the manufactured housing community is a qualifying retirement
community;
(e) to advertise or in
any way hold out a manufactured housing community as a "retirement" or "adults
only" community, or like terms, if the community is not a qualifying retirement
community;
(f) to rent or lease a
manufactured home site, or to offer a new tenancy after terminating a prior
tenancy under M.G.L. c. 186, § 12, without offering a written five-year
lease as required under M.G.L. c. 140, § 32P; or
(g) to require or retain a security deposit
or any other amount in violation of M.G.L. c. 186, § 15B.
(2)
Unfair or Deceptive Acts
or Practices: Fees and Charges. It shall be an unfair or deceptive act
or practice in violation of M.G.L. c. 93A for an operator:
(a) to charge any entrance or exit fee for
assuming or leaving occupancy of the manufactured housing community;
(b) to charge a fee for a service unless such
fee is permitted under M.G.L. c. 140, §§ 32A through 32S or 940 CMR
10.00, and is either listed in the tenant's occupancy agreement or is charged
for services requested by the resident and actually rendered by the
operator;
(c) to charge a fee for
costs associated with the processing of any residency application, including
but not limited to any credit verification costs;
(d) to charge a fee for a guest, except as
allowed in 940 CMR 10.03(2)(h);
(e)
to charge a per capita fee for an additional household occupant, unless such
fee is objectively based on actual additional expenses incurred by the operator
as a result of the increased occupancy, and the operator raises the rent only
to the extent needed to conform to the rent paid by other residents with the
same number of adult occupants in their household;
(f) to charge a fee for maintenance work on
the manufactured home or home site, except as permitted under
940 CMR
10.04(5)(d) or as otherwise
mutually agreed by the operator and the resident;
(g) to charge a pet fee unless such fee is
reasonably related to the actual cost of providing a pet service or facility in
the community, and further provided that no such fee shall be charged for a
guide dog or other service animal assisting a disabled resident or to a pet
that is kept exclusively within a manufactured home;
(h) to charge a fee for the non-exclusive use
of common areas and facilities by any resident or guest, unless such fee is a
user fee for recreational or storage areas and reasonably relates to the cost
of providing and maintaining such areas and facilities. Nothing herein shall
preclude the imposition of reasonable fees for use of such areas and facilities
for a private social or recreational function hosted by a resident;
(i) to impose any interest or other monetary
penalty for late rent, except pursuant to an occupancy agreement and in an
amount reasonably intended to compensate the operator for the delay in payment,
and provided that no such interest or penalty may be charged until payment is
30 days overdue;
(j) to impose in
any occupancy agreement a provision allowing for recovery of the operator's
attorneys' fees and expenses incurred as the result of any legal action taken
against the tenant for violation of the occupancy agreement, unless the
agreement also provides that the tenant may recover his or her attorneys' fees
and expenses if the tenant prevails in any such legal action;
(k) to seek to recover a fee or charge that
is not separately listed in the occupancy agreement;
(l) to seek to recover, through lump sum
charges, the costs of capital improvements to the community or any home site to
the extent such costs exceed $100 in the aggregate; provided that the amortized
costs of such capital improvements may (if specifically listed in the occupancy
agreement) be recovered from tenants over the useful life of such improvements
through community-wide nondiscriminatory rent increases;
(m) to seek to recover costs or expenses
resulting from any legal obligation of the operator to upgrade or repair sewer,
water, gas, or electrical systems to meet minimum standards required by law,
unless such standards first become effective after a tenant has initially
assumed residency in a manufactured housing community and unless such costs are
recovered as capital improvements in accordance with 940 CMR
10.03(2)(l);
(n) to require any
resident to pay for the removal or replacement of oil storage tanks on a home
site to meet environmental concerns or risks not caused by the negligence of
the resident, provided that the operator may recover such costs as capital
improvements in accordance with 940 CMR 10.03(2)(l);
(o) to charge a new fee, during the term of
an occupancy agreement, for a service or facility that had previously been
supplied or maintained by the operator without a separately listed charge in
the occupancy agreement; or
(p) to
charge any fees exceeding those authorized under any applicable rent control
law.
(3)
General
Terms and Conditions. Any violation of any applicable local, state or
federal statute, regulation or ordinance governing landlord-tenant relations
(including, but not limited to, M.G.L. c. 186, §§ 12 through 21,
M.G.L. c. 111, § 127A, 105 CMR 410.000, local ordinances and rent control
laws) with regard to manufactured housing shall constitute a violation of
M.G.L. c. 93A.
(4)
Initial
Disclosure and Lease Offer. All terms and conditions of occupancy shall
be disclosed in writing to any prospective resident, including without
limitation, an existing tenant whose prior occupancy agreement is being
amended, renewed, or extended, any tenant at will whose terms of tenancy are
being changed under M.G.L. c. 186, § 12, or any approved subtenant. Such
disclosure shall be signed by the operator and delivered at least 72 hours
prior to either the signing of the occupancy agreement or the commencement of
the new occupancy, whichever comes first. Disclosure shall include, but shall
not be limited to:
(a) the amount of
rent;
(b) an itemized list of any
usual charges or fees, including, upon request of any prospective resident, a
statement of the charges and fees assessed over the preceding 12 months and
estimated for the ensuing 12 months, and a description of the circumstances
under which any special charges or fees may be imposed for extraordinary work,
services, or repairs to the extent otherwise permitted under M.G.L. c. 140,
§§ 32A through 32S and 940 CMR 10.00;
(c) the proposed term(s) of occupancy, as
provided under 940 CMR 10.03(5);
(d) the names and addresses of all the owners
and operators of the community, and if a corporation, partnership, trust or
other entity, the principal beneficial owners thereof;
(e) all community rules;
(f) the size and location of the manufactured
home site, including a disclosure of any known and materially adverse
conditions or defects;
(g) a
description of all common areas and facilities and any restrictions on the use
thereof;
(h) the statutory notice
required under M.G.L. c. 140, § 32P.
(5)
Minimum Term of Occupancy.
The written disclosure required by 940 CMR 10.03(4) shall contain a
bona fide, good faith offer to enter into an occupancy
agreement with a term of five years at fair market rental rates, subject to any
applicable rent control restrictions, as an alternative to any other proposed
term lengths which may include periods shorter or longer than five years. Where
a valid notice of discontinuance under M.G.L. c. 140, § 32L and
940 CMR
10.10 is then in effect, such offer shall be
for the period remaining before the scheduled effective date of the
discontinuance.
The requirement in 940 CMR 10.00 regarding an operator's
responsibility to offer a fair market five year lease does not create a new
right of action, beyond those available at common law and/or by statute, by
which tenants can challenge the fair market rent of such leases after executing
the leases. However, any fraud, material misrepresentation, or other unfair or
deceptive act by operators during negotiations with prospective tenants
regarding the fair market value shall be a violation of M.G.L. c. 93A.
(6)
Credit
Verification. An operator shall not, in requiring a prospective tenant
to complete any credit application, require the prospective tenant to supply
more than three credit references; all credit verifications shall be carried
out through recognized credit verification sources and in accordance with
applicable law.
(7)
Sublease
and Assignment. An operator shall not unreasonably restrict leasing of a
tenant's manufactured home or subleasing or assignment of a tenant's interest
in a manufactured home site. In addition, all restrictions imposed by the
operator on tenant subleasing or assignment shall also apply to any direct
leasing of homes by the operator. Moreover, an operator shall not restrict a
tenant's ability to lease his or her manufactured home and sublease the
underlying manufactured home site after a discontinuance notice has been
issued.
(8)
Operator's Right
of Entry.
(a) No occupancy agreement
shall contain a provision that an operator may enter a manufactured home.
Moreover, an operator shall not enter a manufactured home without the prior
written consent of the tenant, provided on a separate document which addresses
only the issue of consent and no other topic. Such consent may be revoked at
any time, without penalty or consequence to the tenant of any sort.
(b) No occupancy agreement shall contain a
provision that an operator may enter onto a manufactured home site prior to the
termination of such agreement, except to inspect the site, to make repairs
thereto subject to
940 CMR
10.04(5)(d), or to show the
site to a prospective tenant, purchaser or mortgagee or its agents. An operator
may enter onto a manufactured home site as permitted in M.G.L. c. 186, §
15B(l)(a)(i),(ii) or (iii). Any entry pursuant to 940 CMR 10.03(8)(b) shall
require reasonable prior notice from the operator, except in the case of an
emergency that creates an imminent threat to the safety or property of the
tenant or others, and shall not interfere unreasonably with the tenant's right
to use and enjoyment of the manufactured home or the manufactured home
site.
(9)
Resident's Insurance and Indemnification.
(a) An operator shall not require a tenant to
maintain insurance unless insurance is available at reasonable rates.
(b) Any rule or provision of an occupancy
agreement which imposes liability on a resident without regard to fault, or
which violates M.G.L. c. 186, § 15B, or which releases or limits the
operator's liability arising under law or resulting from an act or omission of
the operator, or which provides for indemnification of an operator for any such
liability or costs connected therewith, shall be void and unenforceable. The
foregoing shall not affect any statutory liability of either the operator or
the tenant.
(10)
Notice of Change in Terms and Conditions of Occupancy. An operator
shall give each resident, and any tenants' association written notice of any
permitted increase in rent or charges, any permitted reduction in services or
utilities, or any other permitted change in the terms and conditions of tenancy
at least 30 days before the effective date of the change, or with such longer
notice period as the occupancy agreement or M.G.L. c. 186, § 12 may
require. An operator shall give notice of any change or proposed change in the
community rules in accordance with
940 CMR
10.04.
