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Prepared by the Arizona Association Manufactured Home Owners, Inc.

The purpose of this brochure is to provide general information on the Mobile Home Relocation Fund established by the State of Arizona. Any legal questions should be referred to an attorney.

Arizona's Mobile Home Relocation Fund

In 1987, the Arizona State Legislature enacted legislation which developed the Mobile Home Relocation Fund. This was originally developed to assist tenants of manufactured housing rental communities to move their homes if the community closed. Since then, two other purposes have been added: Rehabilitation of pre-HUD mobile homes (homes built prior to June 15, 1976) which are being moved (under certain circumstances) and moving expenses for tenants receiving rent increases over a certain amount. Each of these purposes will be discussed in more detail.

Monies deposited in the Relocation Fund come from three different sources:

  • Tenants of manufactured housing rental communities pay a specified amount into the Fund each year. This amount is specified on the tenant?s personal property tax statement for the manufactured home. Each tenant pays 50¢ per $100 of the taxable assessed valuation of their home into the Fund each year (at present, the taxable assessed valuation of the home is 10% of the Full Value of the home). When the Fund balance reaches $8 million, the assessment for the Fund is waived. If the Fund balance falls below $6 million, assessments are reinstated.
  • When a landlord closes a park, the landlord must pay the Fund $500 for each singlewide home and $800 for each multi-width which is moved from the park using monies from the Relocation Fund.
  • Interest from monies in the Fund are invested in the Fund.

Rehabilitation Expenses

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) enacted standards to which manufactured homes must be built which became effective as of June 15, 1976. Prior to that, there were no standards to which the homes must be built. Mobile homes built prior to June 15, 1976 are often referred to as ?pre-HUD? homes. A pre-HUD home being moved from one mobile home park in Arizona to another park within the state must meet certain rehabilitation criteria established by the Arizona Office of Manufactured Housing. These criteria include that the home have a smoke detector, egress windows in bedrooms, meet certain electrical wiring and gas criteria, and have protective walling around furnaces and water heaters. The costs of bringing a mobile home into compliance with the rehabilitation standards may be reimbursed to the owner from the Relocation Fund (up to a maximum of $1,000) if the following criteria are met:

  • The mobile home is moved from one mobile home park in this state to another.
  • The household income of the owner of the mobile home is at or below 100% of the current federal poverty level guidelines as published annually by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
  • The mobile home is not being relocated as the result of a judgment in a forcible detainer or special detainer action requiring the owner to vacate the mobile home park in which the home is located. In this section of the law, ?owner? means an individual whose primary residence has been the mobile home continuously for the 6-month period preceding an application for reimbursement or an individual who has purchased the home and who intends to reside in the home as the individual?s primary residence after the relocation.

MOVING DUE TO A RENT INCREASE

Monies from the Mobile Home Relocation Fund can be used to move a home by a tenant who receives a rent increase(s) over a one-year period which equal more than 10% plus the current annual change in the West -A U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) which is published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, this does not apply if the rent increase was disclosed in a written rental agreement which the tenant signed and, thus, agreed to pay. According to the Arizona Mobile Home Parks Residential Landlord & Tenant Act (the "Act"), a landlord must give all tenants at least90 days notice of a rent increase and, if the increase will make the tenants eligible for relocation funds, also give notice of the Fund. A tenant can then receive the actual moving expenses, up to a maximum of $5,000 for a single-wide home and $10,000 for a multi-width home, from the Fund to move the home. Moving expenses are paid for the home and all attachments (but not for appurtenances, such as storage sheds, which are not attached to the home). When a rent increase qualifying for relocation funds is received, the tenant must:

Notify the Arizona Office of Manufactured Housing as soon as possible that they are considering moving from the community. The phone number of the Office is 602-255-4072. The Office will send them forms to be completed to receive monies from the fund.

At least 30 days prior to the effective date of the rent increase, the tenant must have chosen where they will be moving to and have a signed contract with a manufactured home mover and installer for the move. Copies of this contract must be sent to the Office of Manufactured Housing and the current landlord at least 30 days prior to the effective date of the rental agreement. It is recommended that a tenant contact several installers for quotes on tearing down, moving and installing the home.

The tenant must move the home out of the current community no later than 45 days after the rent increase goes into effect. If the tenant is still in the community after the rent increase becomes effective, they can be required to pay the new rent increase for that time which they remain in the park. The tenant can move their home into another rental community or onto private land with monies from the Fund. However, if moving into another rental community, it is recommended that the tenant obtain a long-term lease (by law, tenants are entitled to at least four-year leases) in order to ensure the amount of rent increases in the future. There is no limitation to the number of times a tenant can obtain monies from the Fund for moving their home if they are eligible. When the Relocation Fund issues a check for moving expenses, the check is made payable to the tenant and the manufactured home installer.

CLOSURE OF A RENTAL COMMUNITY

According to the Act, if a landlord is going to close a community or part of a community and change the use (i.e., it will no longer be used for the rental of manufactured home spaces), the landlord must give all affected residents and the Arizona Office of Manufactured Housing at least 180 days written notice of the closure. The residents should immediately contact the Office of Manufactured Housing for the necessary paperwork and begin looking for locations to move to. AAMHO has assisted some of the communities being closed by arranging meetings between the residents, other communities with available spaces and manufactured housing installers. If you would like assistance, please contact our office.

After choosing a location to move to, each resident should then contact several installers and receive quotes on moving their homes. A copy of the signed contract for the move should then be sent to the Office of Manufactured Housing at least 30 days before the effective date of the park closure. The Director of the Department has 15 days to accept or reject the contract. No relief is provided in the Act for those residents who are not moved out of the community by the effective date of the closure. The Relocation Fund will pay the actual cost of tearing down, moving and setting up the home and attachments, up to a maximum of $5,000 for a single-wide home and $10,000 for a multi-width home. Homes can be moved to rental communities or privately-owned land. Again, if moving to another rental community, it is advised that you compare long-term rental agreements of various communities in order to ensure you will not have to move again in the near future.

MOVING DUE TO A RENT INCREASE

Redevelopment of a park is defined in the Act as a type of ?change in use?. In order to qualify as a redevelopment, a landlord must be upgrading at least 25% OR 25 of the spaces in a rental community. These spaces must be in groups of at least five contiguous spaces so that a landlord cannot just choose certain homes to eliminate from the community, and the spaces must remain vacant for at least 180 days after the effective date of the change in use for redevelopment given in the notices to the residents.

Under the redevelopment laws, a landlord must give all affected residents and the Office of Manufactured Housing at least 180 days notice of the redevelopment. The laws and limitations under the "Closure of a Rental Community" section of this brochure then apply, with one very important addition:

Under the Redevelopment of a Community laws, the tenant has the option of either moving the home and get the moving expenses (up to the maximum limits) from the Relocation Fund or abandoning the home and receiving 25% of the maximum allowable moving expenses from the Relocation Fund in cash. If the tenant should decide to abandon the home, clear title to the home must be signed over to the landlord. The tenant can then collect $1,250 for a single-wide home or $2,500 for a multi-width home from the Relocation Fund.

Tenants with older homes may find this a viable alternative. A tenant should carefully consider the value of a home if it is relocated versus the cash they are eligible to receive from the Relocation Fund and the cost of new housing before making a decision as to which route to follow under the Redevelopment law.