71st OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2001 Regular Session
NOTE: Matter within { + braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within { - braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
{ + braces and plus signs + } .
LC 2329
House Bill 2758
Sponsored by COMMITTEE ON RULES, REDISTRICTING, AND PUBLIC
AFFAIRS (at the request of Manufactured Housing Communities of
Oregon)
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.
Allows unilateral amendment of rental agreement for space for
manufactured dwelling or floating home in response to changes in
law affecting landlord or tenant duties. Allows landlord to
charge tenant if written rental agreement allows for utility or
service provided for benefit of tenant unit or common area.
Eliminates requirement that handling or administrative charge for
utility or service be billed to landlord by provider of utility
or service in order for landlord to bill tenant for such charges.
Adds requirement that charges be actually billed to landlord and
be for utilities or services provided to or for benefit of
tenant.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to rental agreements; amending ORS 90.510.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. ORS 90.510 is amended to read:
90.510. (1) { - Effective July 1, 1992, - } Every landlord
who rents a space for a manufactured dwelling or floating home
shall provide a written statement of policy to prospective and
existing tenants. The purpose of the statement of policy is to
provide disclosure of the landlord's policies to prospective
tenants and to existing tenants who have not previously received
a statement of policy. The statement of policy is not a part of
the rental agreement. The statement of policy shall provide the
following information in summary form:
(a) The location and approximate size of the space to be
rented;
(b) The federal fair-housing age classification and present
zoning that affect the use of the rented space;
(c) The facility policy regarding rent adjustment;
(d) All personal property, services and facilities to be
provided by the landlord;
(e) All installation charges imposed by the landlord and
installation fees imposed by government agencies;
(f) The facility policy regarding rental agreement termination
including, but not limited to, closure of the facility;
(g) The facility policy regarding facility sale;
(h) The facility policy regarding informal dispute resolution;
(i) Utilities and services available, the person furnishing
them and the person responsible for payment;
(j) If a tenants' association exists for the facility, a
one-page summary about the tenants' association that shall be
provided to the landlord by the tenants' association; and
(k) Any facility policy regarding the removal of a manufactured
dwelling, including a statement that removal requirements may
impact the market value of a dwelling.
(2) The rental agreement and the facility rules and regulations
shall be attached as an exhibit to the statement of policy. If
the recipient of the statement of policy is a tenant, the rental
agreement attached to the statement of policy shall be a copy of
the agreement entered by the landlord and tenant.
(3) { - Effective July 1, 1992: - }
(a) Prospective tenants shall receive a copy of the statement
of policy before signing a rental agreement;
(b) Existing tenants who are on month-to-month rental
agreements shall receive a copy of the statement of policy at the
time the next 90-day notice of a rent increase is issued; and
(c) All other existing tenants shall receive a copy of the
statement of policy upon the expiration of their current rental
agreement and before signing a new agreement.
(4) Every landlord who rents a space for a manufactured
dwelling or floating home shall provide a written rental
agreement, except as provided by ORS 90.710 (2)(d), that shall be
signed by the landlord and tenant and that cannot be unilaterally
amended by one of the parties to the contract except by:
(a) Mutual agreement of the parties;
(b) Actions pursuant to ORS 90.530 or 90.600; or
(c) { - Those provisions required by - } Changes in statute
or ordinance { + that affect the rights or duties of the
landlord or tenant + }.
(5) The agreement required by subsection (4) of this section
shall specify:
(a) The location and approximate size of the rented space;
(b) The federal fair-housing age classification;
(c) The rent per month;
(d) All personal property, services and facilities to be
provided by the landlord;
(e) All security deposits, fees and installation charges
imposed by the landlord;
(f) Improvements that the tenant may or must make to the rental
space, including plant materials and landscaping;
(g) Provisions for dealing with improvements to the rental
space at the termination of the tenancy;
(h) Any conditions the landlord applies in approving a
purchaser of a manufactured dwelling or floating home as a tenant
in the event the tenant elects to sell the home. Those conditions
shall be in conformance with state and federal law and may
include, but are not limited to, conditions as to pets, number of
occupants and screening or admission criteria;
(i) That the tenant shall not sell the tenant's manufactured
dwelling or floating home to a person who intends to leave the
manufactured dwelling or floating home on the rental space until
the landlord has accepted the person as a tenant;
(j) The term of the tenancy;
(k) The process by which the rental agreement or rules and
regulations may be changed, which shall identify that the rules
and regulations may be changed with 60 days' notice unless 51
percent of the tenants file an objection within 30 days; and
(L) The process by which notices shall be given by either
landlord or tenant.
(6) Every landlord who rents a space for a manufactured
dwelling or floating home shall provide rules and regulations
concerning the tenant's use and occupancy of the premises. A
violation of the rules and regulations may be cause for
termination of a rental agreement. However, this subsection does
not create a presumption that all rules and regulations are
identical for all tenants at all times. A rule or regulation
shall be enforceable against the tenant only if:
(a) The rule or regulation:
(A) Promotes the convenience, safety or welfare of the tenants;
(B) Preserves the landlord's property from abusive use; or
(C) Makes a fair distribution of services and facilities held
out for the general use of the tenants.
(b) The rule or regulation:
(A) Is reasonably related to the purpose for which it is
adopted and is reasonably applied;
(B) Is sufficiently explicit in its prohibition, direction or
limitation of the tenant's conduct to fairly inform the tenant of
what the tenant shall or shall not do to comply; and
(C) Is not for the purpose of evading the obligations of the
landlord.
(7)(a) A landlord who rents a space for a manufactured dwelling
or floating home may adopt a rule or regulation regarding
occupancy guidelines. If adopted, an occupancy guideline in a
facility shall be based on reasonable factors and shall not be
more restrictive than limiting occupancy to two people per
bedroom.
(b) As used in this subsection:
(A) 'Reasonable factors' may include but are not limited to:
(i) The size of the dwelling.
(ii) The size of the rented space.
(iii) Any discriminatory impact for reasons identified in ORS
659.033.
(iv) Limitations placed on utility services governed by a
permit for water or sewage disposal.
(B) 'Bedroom' means a room that is intended to be used
primarily for sleeping purposes and does not include bathrooms,
toilet compartments, closets, halls, storage or utility space and
similar areas.
(8)(a) If a written rental agreement so provides, a landlord
may require a tenant to pay to the landlord a utility or service
charge that { - has been - } { + is + } billed { - by a
utility or service provider - } to the landlord for utility or
service provided directly to { + or for the benefit of + } the
tenant's dwelling unit or to { + or for the benefit of + } a
common area available to the tenant as part of the tenancy. A
utility or service charge that { - shall be - } { + is + }
assessed to a tenant for a common area must be described in the
written rental agreement separately and distinctly from
{ - such a - } { + the utility or service + } charge for the
tenant's dwelling unit. A landlord { - shall - } { + may + }
not increase the utility or service charge to the tenant by
adding any costs of the landlord, such as { + + }a handling or
administrative charge, { - other than - } { + unless + }
those costs { + are actually + } billed to the landlord { - by
the provider for utilities or services - } { + and are directly
related to the utilities or services provided to or for the
benefit of the tenant + } as provided by this subsection.
(b) A utility or service charge { - shall not be considered
to be - } { + is not + } rent or a fee. Nonpayment of a utility
or service charge { - shall not constitute - } { + is not + }
grounds for termination of a rental agreement for nonpayment of
rent pursuant to ORS 90.400 (2), but { - shall constitute - }
{ + is + } grounds for termination of a rental agreement for
cause pursuant to ORS 90.630.
(c) As used in this section, 'utility or service' has the
meaning given that term in ORS 90.315 (1).
(9) Intentional and deliberate failure of the landlord to
comply with subsections (1) to (3) of this section shall be cause
for suit or action to remedy the violation or to recover actual
damages. The prevailing party is entitled to reasonable attorney
fees and court costs.
(10) A receipt signed by the potential tenant or tenants for
documents required to be delivered by the landlord pursuant to
subsections (1) to (3) of this section shall be a defense for the
landlord in an action against the landlord for nondelivery of the
documents.
(11) A suit or action arising under subsection (9) of this
section must be commenced within one year after the discovery or
identification of the alleged violation.
(12) Every landlord who publishes a directory of tenants and
tenant services must include a one-page summary regarding any
tenants' association, which shall be provided to the landlord by
the tenants' association.
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