Senate Bill S5198

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S5198

SPONSOR: SKOUFIS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the real property law, in relation to increases of rent
in manufactured home parks

 
PURPOSE:

Clarify existing requirements of manufactured home park owners to justi-
fy rent increases in excess of 3% of the current rent.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Amends § 233-b of the Real Property Law to add a new subdivi-
sion 9 and subdivision 10.

The new subdivision 9 would require when a manufactured home park owner
notifies the manufactured homeowners in the park of a rent or fee
increase and the increase is in excess of 3% above the current rent, the
manufactured home park owner shall provide a written justification for
              

the increase and make documentation, supporting the justification avail-
able to any resident, by request, that show the costs and commencement
of work that justify the rent or fee increase.

The new subdivision 10 details that in order for an increase in costs to
justify a rent increase above 3%, the community owner must demonstrate
that the costs incurred for ordinary maintenance, including preventive
maintenance, or repair of the roads, infrastructure, or other community
property of services was necessary to meet the community owner's warran-
ty of habitability obligations and demonstrate that the rent increase
imposed was no more than was necessary to cover the actual and reason-
able cost of the work performed.

Section 2: Renumbers the other § 233-b of the Real Property Law entitled
"campgrounds" to § 233-c.

Section 3: Effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

New York State has approximately 84,956 manufactured home households in
nearly 1,818 manufactured home parks. These communities provide afforda-
ble homes and tight-knit communities for seniors on fixed incomes,
veterans, low-income families, immigrants, people with disabilities, and
people being displaced from higher-cost areas. In 2019, the legislature
recognized that these communities, a critical source of rural and exur-
ban affordable housing, were under threat. Large, corporate, multistate
investors have been pouring into the manufactured home community sector,
buying up communities and dramatically raising lot rent (the rent resi-
dents pay for the land beneath their homes) and fees for large profit.
To address this threat, the legislature adopted rent justification for
manufactured home communities as part of the Housing Stability and
Tenant Protection Act of 2019.

Under the rent justification law, codified in § 233-b of the Real Prop-
erty Law, all manufactured home community owners (except those with a
regulatory agreement with a government entity) are permitted to increase
the rent (all rent, fees, costs, assessments, and utilities) annually up
to 3% above the current rent. A rent increase above 3% must be justified
by increases in the park owner's operating expenses, the property taxes
on the park, or the costs that relate directly to capital improvements
in the park. Aggrieved manufactured homeowners may challenge an increase
above 3% as unjustified, within 90 days, by filing an action in court.
Rent increases cannot exceed 6% unless the court finds a temporary hard-
ship on the manufactured home park owner.

Since the law went into effect, mobile home residents have reported
loopholes that require legislative fixes. Residents report that mobile
home park owners have increased rent above 3% without notifying the
residents that the rent increase exceeded allowable limits nor without
any justification. Residents, with the assistance of advocacy organiza-
tions, had to calculate the rent increase to determine if it was above
the allowable limit and would have had to find legal counsel and file an
action to receive a justification from the park owner. This bill fixes
the process by requiring park owners to provide residents with a written
justification for an annual rent increase that is above 3%, and to make
available to residents the documentation of that justification.

Further, residents report that the current law does not provide enough
clarity on what constitutes a justification for an increase above 3W.
This bill clarifies that in order for an increase in costs to justify a
rent increase above 3%, the community owner must demonstrate that the
costs incurred for ordinary maintenance, including preventive mainte-
nance, or repair of the roads, infrastructure, or other community prop-
erty of services was necessary to meet the community owner's warranty of
habitability obligations and demonstrate that the rent increase imposed
was no more than was necessary to cover the actual and reasonable cost
of the work performed.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

Senate

2021-2022: S6199C, Advanced to Third Reading

2021-2022: S6199C, Committed to rules

Assembly

2021-2022: A6755D, Passed Assembly

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Anticipated savings to local governments from the consolidation of vari-
ous elections at different times of the year on election day in even-
numbered years.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.