S 244 Session 109 (1991-1992)
S 0244 General Bill, By I.E. Lourie
A Bill to amend the Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, by adding Chapter 42
to Title 27, so as to provide for the South Carolina Mobile and Modular Home
Park tenancy act by setting forth purposes, scope, jurisdiction, definitions,
interpretation of principles, notice, rental agreements, obligations of mobile
home park owners and mobile home owners, regulations, termination of a
tenancy, and grounds for eviction.
10/15/90 Senate Prefiled
10/15/90 Senate Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry
01/08/91 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-90
01/08/91 Senate Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce and
Industry SJ-90
A BILL
TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976,
BY ADDING CHAPTER 42 TO TITLE 27, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR
THE SOUTH CAROLINA MOBILE AND MODULAR HOME PARK
TENANCY ACT BY SETTING FORTH PURPOSES, SCOPE,
JURISDICTION, DEFINITIONS, INTERPRETATION OF
PRINCIPLES, NOTICE, RENTAL AGREEMENTS, OBLIGATIONS
OF MOBILE HOME PARK OWNERS AND MOBILE HOME
OWNERS, REGULATIONS, TERMINATION OF A TENANCY, AND
GROUNDS FOR EVICTION.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Title 27 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"CHAPTER 42
Mobile and Modular Home Park Tenancy Act
Article 1
General Provisions and Definitions
Subarticle I
Short Title, Construction, and Purpose
Section 27-42-10. This chapter is known as the South Carolina
Mobile and Modular Home Park Tenancy Act.
Section 27-42-20. (A) This chapter must be construed liberally
and applied to promote its underlying purposes and policies.
(B) The underlying purposes and policies of this chapter are to:
(1) provide for the rights and obligations of mobile and
modular home owners and mobile and modular home park owners and
clarify the law governing the renting or leasing of residential lots in a
mobile and modular home park in which ten or more lots are offered for
rent or lease; and
(2) encourage mobile and modular home park owners and
mobile and modular home owners to maintain and improve the quality
of housing.
Subarticle II
Scope and Jurisdiction
Section 27-42-110. This chapter applies to, regulates, and
determines the rights, obligations, and remedies under a rental
agreement for a residential mobile and modular home park lot located
within this State.
Section 27-42-120. The following arrangements are not governed
by this chapter:
(1) tenancy in which both a mobile home and a mobile home lot
are rented or leased by the resident;
(2) tenancy in which a rental space is offered for occupancy by a
vehicle which primarily is designed as temporary living quarters for
recreational camping or travel use and which either has its own motor
power or is mounted on or drawn by another vehicle; and
(3) tenancy at a mobile home park in which fewer than ten lots are
offered for rent or lease.
Section 27-42-130. Jurisdiction and service of process must be
determined pursuant to Section 27-40-130 with respect to a claim arising
from a transaction to which this chapter applies.
Subarticle III
General Definitions and Interpretation
of Principles; Notice
Section 27-42-210. Subject to additional definitions contained in
other provisions of law which apply to the articles or parts of this
chapter and unless the context otherwise requires, the following terms
have the following meanings:
(1) 'Mobile home' or 'manufactured home' means a structure
transportable in one or more sections which in the traveling mode is
eight body feet or more in width or forty body feet or more in length or
when erected on site is three hundred twenty or more square feet and
which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a
dwelling with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the
required utilities and includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning,
and electrical systems contained in the structure. All references to a
mobile home in this chapter apply to a manufactured home.
(2) 'Mobile home owner' or 'resident' means a person who owns
a mobile home and rents or leases a lot within a mobile home park for
residential use.
(3) 'Mobile home park' means a use of land in which lots or
spaces are offered for rent or lease for the placement of mobile homes
and in which the primary use of the park is residential.
(4) 'Mobile home park owner' or 'park owner' means an owner or
operator of a mobile home park.
(5) 'Modular home' means a manufactured single family dwelling
or an integral part over thirty-five feet in length or over eight feet in
width, so constructed that it may be transported from one site to another,
temporarily or permanently affixed to real estate, made up of one or
more components, and constructed with the same or similar electrical,
plumbing, heating, and sanitary facilities as on-site constructed housing.
All references to a mobile home in this chapter apply to a modular home.
(6) 'Rental agreement' means an oral or written mutual
understanding or lease between a mobile home owner and a mobile
home park owner in which the mobile home owner is entitled to place
his mobile home on a lot for either direct or indirect remuneration of the
mobile home park owner.
(7) 'Tenancy' means the temporary possession or occupancy of a
mobile home park lot by a mobile home owner pursuant to a rental
agreement.
(8) 'User fees' means the amounts charged in addition to the lot
rental amount for nonessential optional services provided by or through
the mobile home park owner to the mobile home owner under a separate
written agreement between the mobile home owner and the person
furnishing the service.
Section 27-42-220. Every duty under this chapter and every act
which must be performed as a condition precedent to the exercise of a
right or remedy under this chapter imposes an obligation of good faith
in its performances or enforcement.
Section 27-42-230. Unconscionability must be determined
according to Section 27-40-230.
Section 27-42-240. Notice must be given pursuant to the
provisions of Section 27-40-240.
Subarticle IV
General Provisions
Section 27-42-320. (A) A mobile home park owner who rents
or leases a space for a mobile home shall provide a written rental
agreement for not less than two years which must be signed by the
mobile home park owner and the mobile home owner.
(B) The rental agreement may be for less than two years if the
mobile home owner requests a shorter term in writing.
(C) The rental agreement is renewable for three years if mutually
agreed upon by the mobile home park owner and the mobile home
owner. If the rental agreement is renewed, the mobile home owner must
not be evicted except pursuant to the provisions of Section 27-42-540.
(D) The rental agreement must specify:
(1) location and approximate size of the rented space;
(2) rent for each month and date on which it is due;
(3) personal property, services, and facilities to be provided by
the mobile home park owner;
(4) regulations which, if violated, may be cause for eviction;
(5) refundable deposits, nonrefundable fees, and installation
charges imposed by the mobile home park owner;
(6) improvements which the mobile home owner may make
to the rental space including landscaping;
(7) procedures to be used if the mobile home is sold and a new
rental agreement is needed. The procedure may include but is not
limited to provisions for children, pets, number of occupants, credit and
character references, and criminal records; and
(8) that the mobile home owner may not sell his home to a
person who intends to leave it on the rental space until the mobile home
park owner and that person have signed a rental agreement as provided
in this section.
(E) A user fee must not be charged by the mobile home park
owner to the mobile home owner for a service or amenity which
previously was provided and included in the lot rental amount unless
there is a corresponding decrease in the amount within the terms of the
contract.
Article 3
Mobile Home Park Owner's Obligations
Section 27-42-410. Upon the termination of the tenancy,
property or money held by the mobile home park owner as security must
be returned to the mobile home owner within thirty days pursuant to the
provisions of Section 27-40-410. An appropriate deduction from the
security deposit must be made if one or more of the reasons provided in
Section 27-42-540 exist.
Section 27-42-420. (A) A mobile home park owner shall
disclose his name and address or the name and address of a person
authorized to act as his agent for the purposes of service of process and
receiving or receipting notices and demands. The information required
to be furnished by this section must be kept current, and the provisions
of this section may be enforced against a successor mobile home park
owner.
(B) A person authorized to enter into a rental agreement on behalf
of a mobile home park owner who fails to comply with this section with
regard to a rental agreement entered into on behalf of the mobile home
park owner becomes his agent for purposes of that rental agreement for:
(1) service of process and receiving and receipting for notices
and demands;
(2) performing the obligations of the mobile home park owner
under this chapter and under the rental agreement and expending or
making available for the performance of the obligations all rent collected
from the mobile home owner and retained by the person on behalf of the
mobile home park owner.
Section 27-42-430. (A) A mobile home park owner shall give
written notice to each affected mobile home owner and the board of
directors of the homeowners' association of the park, if one has been
formed, at least ninety days before an increase in the lot rental amount,
a reduction in services or utilities provided by the park owner, or a
change in regulations. The notice must identify all affected mobile
home owners which may be by lot number, name, group, or phase. The
association has no standing to challenge the increase, reduction, or
change unless a majority of the affected mobile home owners, in writing,
approve the challenge.
(B) A committee of not more than five mobile home owners,
designated by a majority of the affected owners or by the board of
directors of the homeowners' association, if applicable, may elect to
meet at a mutually convenient time with the mobile home park owner
within thirty days of the notice to discuss the reasons for the increase,
reduction, or change.
Section 27-42-440. The mobile home park owner has the burden
of proving a mobile home located in the park is unsafe, unsanitary, or
fails to meet the park's aesthetic standards. A mobile home owner must
not be forced to make an aesthetic change to his home's original design
which would create undue financial hardship including, but not limited
to, altering its size, original color, or original building materials.
Section 27-42-450. (A) The purchaser of a mobile home may not
become a resident of a mobile home park without the approval of the
park owner. However, the park owner may not withhold his approval
except for a failure of the purchaser to meet the park's entry
requirements or for good cause. Good cause is:
(1) intention to use the mobile home for illegal or immoral
purposes or a purpose that would disturb the quiet enjoyment of the
park; or
(2) financial inability to pay the lot rental amount.
(B) The mobile home park owner has ten days after receiving the
purchaser's application for entry to the park to notify him in writing of
the reasons for withholding approval. If the owner fails to act within ten
days, the application is approved.
Section 27-42-460. A mobile home park owner must:
(1) comply with the requirements of applicable building, housing,
and health codes;
(2) maintain the buildings and improvements in common areas to
provide for reasonable appearance, safety, and cleanliness;
(3) provide access to the common areas, including buildings and
improvements, at reasonable times for the benefit of the mobile home
owners and their guests;
(4) maintain utility connections and systems for which he is
responsible in a proper operating condition; and
(5) comply with regulations and require other persons in the park
with his consent to comply and conduct themselves in a manner that
does not disturb the mobile home owners unreasonably or is a breach of
the peace.
Article 5
Mobile Home Owner's Obligations
Section 27-42-510. A mobile home owner must:
(1) comply with all obligations of applicable provisions of the
building, housing, and health codes;
(2) keep his mobile home lot clean; and
(3) comply with regulations and require other persons on his lot
with his consent to comply and conduct themselves in a manner that
does not disturb other mobile home owners unreasonably.
Section 27-42-520. A mobile home park owner may adopt
regulations relating to the mobile home owner's use and occupancy of
the park. The regulations are enforceable against the mobile home
owner only if the conditions provided in Section 27-40-510 are met.
Section 27-42-530. A mobile home owner shall give thirty days'
notice to terminate a tenancy.
Section 27-42-540. (A) A mobile home park owner may evict a
mobile home owner for one or more of the following reasons:
(1) failure to comply with local, state, or federal laws
governing mobile homes after he receives a written notice of
noncompliance and has had a reasonable opportunity to remedy the
violation;
(2) engaging in repeated conduct that is a substantial
annoyance to other mobile home owners;
(3) noncompliance with a provision of the rental agreement or
park regulations and failure to remedy the violation within a reasonable
time;
(4) not paying rent due within seven days after receiving
written notice by the mobile home park owner of nonpayment;
(5) noncompliance with a law affecting the health, safety, or
welfare of other mobile home owners in the park or affecting the
physical condition of the park; or
(6) wilfully and knowingly making a false or misleading
statement in the rental agreement.
(B) A mobile home park owner must give sixty days' notice of the
eviction."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect one hundred eighty days after
approval by the Governor.
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