00 HOUSE BILL NO. 230 01 "An Act relating to mobile home parks; and relating to limiting mobile home park rent 02 increases." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04  * Section 1. AS 34.85.190 is amended to read: 05 Sec. 34.85.190. Definitions. In AS 34.85.010 - 34.85.195 [THIS CHAPTER], 06 unless the context requires otherwise, 07 (1) "affixation affidavit" means an affixation affidavit under 08 AS 34.85.060; 09 (2) "department" means the Department of Administration; 10 (3) "manufactured home" has the meaning given in AS 45.29.102; 11 (4) "permanently affixed" means when a manufactured home is 12 permanently affixed under AS 34.85.150; 13 (5) "severance affidavit" means a severance affidavit under 14 AS 34.85.120. 01  * Sec. 2. AS 34.85.195 is amended to read: 02 Sec. 34.85.195. Short title. AS 34.85.010 - 34.85.195 [THIS CHAPTER] may 03 be cited as the Manufactured Home Property Act. 04  * Sec. 3. AS 34.85 is amended by adding new sections to read: 05 Article 2. Mobile Home Parks. 06 Sec. 34.85.200. Notice of proposed lease, sale, or transfer. (a) If a mobile 07 home park owner receives an offer for the sale, lease, or transfer of the mobile home 08 park that the owner intends to accept, the owner shall, at least 90 days before making a 09 final unconditional acceptance of the offer, give notice by 10 (1) delivery to each mobile home in the mobile home park; and 11 (2) certified mail, with return receipt requested, to 12 (A) the owner of each mobile home in the mobile home park; 13 (B) the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation; and 14 (C) the office of the building inspector for the municipality in 15 which the mobile home park is located, if any. 16 (b) The notice required by this section must include 17 (1) a statement advising the recipient of the intended sale, lease, or 18 other transfer of the mobile home park; 19 (2) a statement of the mobile home owner's rights under AS 34.85.200 20 - 34.85.290 and the deadlines for exercising those rights; 21 (3) the price, terms, and conditions of the offer, and a copy of the 22 proposed purchase agreement, if any; if a proposed sale includes more than one 23 mobile home park or a mobile home park and one or more other unrelated properties 24 in a single transaction, both the aggregate price and the price of the mobile home park 25 where the mobile home owner receiving the notice resides must be included. 26 (c) Within five days after receiving the notice required under this section, the 27 Alaska Housing Finance Corporation shall post the notice on its public Internet 28 website and make the notice available to any individual or organization upon request. 29 (d) A mobile home park owner may accept an offer for the sale, lease, or 30 transfer of the mobile home park before providing the notice required under this 31 section and the purchase opportunity required under AS 34.85.200 - 34.85.290 as long 01 as the acceptance of the offer is contingent on providing the required notice and 02 purchase opportunity. 03 Sec. 34.85.210. Resident purchase opportunity. (a) Not later than the 90th 04 day after a mobile home park owner mails the notices required under AS 34.85.200, a 05 resident homeowner group may deliver in writing a proposed purchase agreement for 06 the mobile home park to the owner. 07 (b) The proposed purchase agreement must include a statement that the 08 owners of more than 50 percent of mobile homes in the mobile home park that are 09 occupied by the homeowner or a family member of the homeowner support submitting 10 the proposed purchase agreement. A homeowner may express support for the 11 proposed purchase agreement by signing a petition or other document that states the 12 homeowner's support. 13 (c) A mobile home park owner shall consider a resident homeowner group's 14 proposed purchase agreement and negotiate with the group in good faith to determine 15 whether a mutual agreement can be reached to enable the group to purchase the 16 mobile home park. The duty to negotiate in good faith includes a duty to make the 17 same information available to a resident homeowner group that the mobile home park 18 owner provides to another prospective purchaser. If the mobile home park owner 19 rejects the resident homeowner group's proposed purchase agreement, the owner shall 20 provide a good faith reason in writing to the group within three days after the date of 21 the rejection. 22 (d) If a proposed purchase agreement matches the price and contains 23 substantially the same terms and conditions as a competing offer, the owner shall 24 allow the group to purchase the mobile home park at the price and under the terms and 25 conditions in the group's proposed purchase agreement. 26 (e) If the mobile home park owner does not receive a proposed purchase 27 agreement from a resident homeowner group in accordance with this section, the 28 mobile home park owner has no further duties under AS 34.85.200 - 34.85.290 with 29 respect to the proposed sale, lease, or transfer of the mobile home park. 30 (f) A mobile home park owner may not unreasonably refuse to enter into or 31 unreasonably delay the execution of a purchase agreement with a resident homeowner 01 group that proposes a purchase agreement that satisfies the requirements of this 02 section and matches the price and contains substantially the same terms and conditions 03 of an offer for which the mobile home park owner is required to give notice under 04 AS 34.85.200. 05 Sec. 34.85.220. Requirements for offer. A mobile home park owner may 06 accept an offer for the sale, lease, or transfer of a mobile home park only if 07 (1) the price, terms, and conditions of the offer are universal and 08 applicable to all potential buyers; and 09 (2) the offer does not contain provisions penalizing the mobile home 10 park owner for entering into a purchase agreement with a resident homeowner group. 11 Sec. 34.85.230. Financing and closing. (a) A mobile home park owner may 12 not reject a proposed purchase agreement solely because the agreement includes a 13 financing contingency. 14 (b) If a resident homeowner group and the mobile home park owner enter into 15 a purchase agreement for the mobile home park, the group has 90 days from the date 16 of the agreement to arrange all necessary financing and a commercially reasonable 17 time to close on the sale. The parties to the agreement may allow a resident 18 homeowner group a longer period to arrange financing. 19 (c) If the resident homeowner group fails to arrange all necessary financing 20 within 90 days after the date of the purchase agreement, or a longer period as agreed to 21 by the parties, or fails to close on the sale in compliance with the agreement, the 22 mobile home park owner has no further duties under AS 34.85.200 - 34.85.290 with 23 respect to the proposed sale, lease, or transfer of the mobile home park. 24 (d) A mobile home park owner may not unreasonably delay the execution of a 25 purchase agreement with or the closing of a sale to a resident homeowner group. 26 Sec. 34.85.240. Subsequent offer. If a mobile home park owner provides the 27 notice and purchase opportunity required under AS 34.85.200 - 34.85.290 for an offer 28 for the sale, lease, or transfer of the mobile home park, a purchase agreement is not 29 reached between the owner and a resident homeowner group, and the owner then 30 receives an offer at a different price or with different terms and conditions that the 31 owner intends to accept, the requirements of AS 34.85.200 - 34.85.290 apply 01 separately to that subsequent offer. 02 Sec. 34.85.250. Recording. (a) A mobile home park owner may record, in the 03 office of the recorder of the recording district in which the mobile home park is 04 located, an affidavit certifying that 05 (1) the mobile home park owner has complied with the requirements of 06 AS 34.85.200 - 34.85.290; the mobile home park owner shall include with the 07 affidavit a copy of the notice sent to the owners of mobile homes in the mobile home 08 park; or 09 (2) the sale, lease, or transfer of the mobile home park is exempt under 10 AS 34.85.290. 11 (b) An affidavit filed by a mobile home park owner in accordance with this 12 section is presumptive evidence of compliance with the requirements of AS 34.85.200 13 - 34.85.290 for the purposes of good title in the hands of a bona fide purchaser. 14 (c) The failure of a mobile home park owner to file an affidavit in accordance 15 with this section is presumptive evidence of noncompliance with the requirements of 16 AS 34.85.200 - 34.85.290. 17 (d) A resident homeowner group that makes an offer to purchase the mobile 18 home park under AS 34.85.210 may record, in the office of the recorder of the 19 recording district in which the mobile home park is located, notice that the resident 20 homeowner group has made an offer. 21 Sec. 34.85.260. Assignment. A resident homeowner group may assign its 22 rights under AS 34.85.200 - 34.85.290 to a municipality where the mobile home park 23 is located, a nonprofit organization, or a state agency, including a public corporation, 24 for the purpose of continuing the use of the property as a mobile home park. The 25 municipality, nonprofit organization, or state agency must consent and have authority 26 to accept the assignment. The assignment may be contingent on financing and closing 27 in accordance with a purchase agreement. Upon assignment, the assignee is entitled to 28 exercise the rights granted to the resident homeowner group under AS 34.85.200 - 29 34.85.290. 30 Sec. 34.85.270. Resident homeowner groups. (a) A resident homeowner 31 group that is formed after the issuance of notice as provided by AS 34.85.200 is 01 entitled to exercise the rights granted to resident homeowner groups under 02 AS 34.85.200 - 34.85.290, including the right to a purchase opportunity under 03 AS 34.85.210. 04 (b) A resident homeowner group may allow a resident owner of a home in the 05 mobile home park to become a member of the group, even if the home is not a mobile 06 home. 07 (c) A resident homeowner group may designate an agent to act on its behalf. 08 Sec. 34.85.280. Enforcement. (a) A mobile home park owner who sells, 09 leases, or transfers a mobile home park and fails to comply with the requirements of 10 AS 34.85.200 - 34.85.290 is liable to the resident homeowner group for the mobile 11 home park in the amount of $100,000 or 20 percent of the total sale price, whichever 12 is greater. 13 (b) A violation of AS 34.85.200 - 34.85.290 is an unfair trade practice under 14 AS 45.50.471. 15 (c) The attorney general and, if the mobile home park is located in a 16 municipality, the municipality, may bring an action in the superior court to enforce 17 AS 34.85.200 - 34.85.290. 18 (d) A resident homeowner group may bring an action in the superior court to 19 enforce AS 34.85.200 - 34.85.290. If a resident homeowner group prevails in an action 20 under this section, the court shall award full reasonable attorney fees and costs to the 21 group. 22 (e) A mobile home park owner's lack of knowledge of the requirements of 23 AS 34.85.200 - 34.85.290 is not a defense to an action brought under this section. 24 Sec. 34.85.290. Exemptions. (a) Except as provided by (c) of this section, 25 AS 34.85.200 - 34.85.290 do not apply to a 26 (1) sale, lease, or transfer to a family member of a mobile home park 27 owner or to a trust of which a family member of the mobile home park owner is a 28 beneficiary; 29 (2) transfer by gift, devise, or operations of law; 30 (3) sale, lease, or transfer 31 (A) by a partnership or limited liability company to a partner or 01 member of the partnership or limited liability company; 02 (B) between joint tenants or tenants in common; or 03 (C) by a business entity to a subsidiary or affiliate of the entity; 04 (4) lease of a lot or space within the mobile home park to an individual 05 who will live in a mobile home on the lot or space; 06 (5) conveyance of an interest in the mobile home park that is incidental 07 to the financing of the mobile home park; or 08 (6) sale or transfer by eminent domain. 09 (b) The exemptions under this section do not transfer to a later resale, lease, or 10 transfer of a mobile home park. A later resale, lease, or transfer must independently 11 meet the criteria for an exemption under this section. 12 (c) The exemptions under this section do not apply to a transaction that is 13 made in bad faith, that is not made for a legitimate business or familial purpose, or that 14 is made for the primary purpose of avoiding the provisions of AS 34.85.200 - 15 34.85.290. 16 Article 3. Rent Increase Limit. 17 Sec. 34.85.300. Mobile home park lease and rent increase limit. (a) A 18 mobile home park operator may not increase the amount charged to lease or rent a lot 19 or space in the mobile home park by more than five percent each year. 20 (b) A violation of this section is an unfair trade practice under AS 45.50.471. 21 (c) A person harmed by a violation of this section may bring an action in the 22 superior court. 23 Article 4. General Provisions. 24 Sec. 34.85.990. Definitions. In this chapter, 25 (1) "family member" means a spouse, child, parent, or grandparent of a 26 mobile home owner or mobile home park owner, related by blood, adoption, or 27 marriage, or a descendent of one of those individuals; 28 (2) "mobile home" 29 (A) means a structure that is transportable in one or more 30 sections, is built on a permanent chassis, and is designed to be used as a 31 dwelling with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the 01 required utilities, along with the plumbing, heating, air-conditioning, and 02 electrical systems contained in the structure, and 03 (i) in the traveling mode, is eight body feet or more in 04 width or 40 body feet or more in length, or, when erected on site, is 320 05 or more square feet; 06 (ii) with respect to which the manufacturer voluntarily 07 files a certification required by the United States Secretary of Housing 08 and Urban Development and complies with the standards established 09 under 42 U.S.C.; or 10 (iii) was manufactured before June 15, 1976; 11 (B) does not include a self-propelled vehicle; 12 (3) "mobile home park" means real property on which two or more lots 13 or spaces for mobile homes are offered for lease or rent; 14 (4) "resident homeowner group" means a corporation, cooperative, 15 organization, group, or association, formal or informal, that consists of mobile home 16 owners in a mobile home park and that is governed by and open to all mobile home 17 owners in the mobile home park. 18  * Sec. 4. AS 45.50.471(b) is amended by adding new paragraphs to read: 19 (58) violating AS 34.85.200 - 34.85.290 (mobile home park purchase 20 opportunity); 21 (59) violating AS 34.85.300 (mobile home park lease and rent increase 22 limit).