Senate Bill No. 86-Committee on Commerce and Labor
(On Behalf of the Division of Manufactured Housing
of the Department of Business and Industry)
January 30, 1997
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Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor
SUMMARY--Expands circumstances under which landlord of mobile home park may give discount in rent. (BDR 10-443)
FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No.
Effect on the State or on Industrial Insurance: No.
EXPLANATION - Matter in italics is new; matter in brackets [ ] is material to be omitted.
AN ACT relating to mobile home parks; expanding the circumstances under which a landlord may provide a discount against the rent owed by a tenant; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
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Section 1 Chapter 118B of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto a new section to read as follows:
A landlord or his agent or employee may give to a tenant a discount against the amount of rent otherwise due if the tenant:
1. Is handicapped;
2. Is 62 years of age or older;
3. Makes his rental payment on or before the date on which it is due; or
4. Is experiencing a financial hardship, including, without limitation:
(a) Living on a reduced income or a limited income; or
(b) A hardship caused by an illness, a disability or the death of a spouse.
Sec. 2 NRS 118B.150 is hereby amended to read as follows:
118B.150 The landlord or his agent or employee shall not:
1. Increase rent or additional charges unless:
(a) [The] Except as otherwise provided in section 1 of this act, the rental increase is the same for mobile homes of the same size or lots of the same size or of a similar location or classification within the park, [except that a discount may be selectively given to persons who are handicapped or who are 62 years of age or older,] and any increase in additional charges for special services is the same amount for each tenant using the special service; and
(b) Written notice advising a tenant of the increase is received by the tenant 90 days in advance of the first payment to be increased and written notice of the increase is given to prospective tenants before commencement of their tenancy.
2. Require a tenant to pay for an improvement to the common area of a mobile home park unless the landlord is required to make the improvement pursuant to an ordinance of a local government.
3. Require a tenant to pay for a capital improvement to the mobile home park unless the tenant has notice of the requirement at the time he enters into the rental agreement. A tenant may not be required to pay for a capital improvement after the tenant enters into the rental agreement unless the tenant consents to it in writing or is given 60 days' notice of the requirement in writing. The landlord may not establish such a requirement unless a meeting of the tenants is held to discuss the proposal and the landlord provides each tenant with notice of the proposal and the date, time and place of the meeting not less than 60 days before the meeting. The notice must include a copy of the proposal. A notice in a periodic publication of the park does not constitute notice for the purposes of this subsection.
4. Require a tenant to pay his rent by check or money order.
5. Require a tenant who pays his rent in cash to apply any change to which he is entitled to the next periodic payment that is due. The landlord or his agent or employee shall have an adequate amount of money available to provide change to such a tenant.
6. Prohibit or require fees or deposits for any meetings held in the park's community or recreational facility by the tenants or occupants of any mobile home or recreational vehicle in the park to discuss the park's affairs, or any political or social meeting sponsored by a tenant, if the meetings are held at reasonable hours and when the facility is not otherwise in use, or prohibit the distribution of notices of those meetings.
7. Interrupt, with the intent to terminate occupancy, any utility service furnished the tenant except for nonpayment of utility charges when due. Any landlord who violates this subsection is liable to the tenant for actual damages.
8. Prohibit a tenant from having guests, but he may require the tenant to register the guest within 48 hours after his arrival, Sundays and holidays excluded, and if the park is a secured park, a guest may be required to register upon entering and leaving.
9. Charge a fee for a guest who does not stay with the tenant for more than a total of 60 days in a calendar year. The tenant of a mobile home lot who is living alone may allow one other person to live in his home without paying any additional charge or fee. No agreement between a tenant and his guest alters or varies the terms of the rental contract between the tenant and the landlord and the guest is subject to the rules and regulations of the landlord.
10. Prohibit a tenant from erecting a fence along the perimeter of the tenant's lot if the fence complies with any standards for fences established by the landlord, including limitations established for the height of fences, the materials used for fences and the manner in which fences are to be constructed.
11. Prohibit any tenant from soliciting membership in any association which is formed by the tenants who live in the park. As used in this subsection, "solicit" means to make an oral or written request for membership or the payment of dues or to distribute, circulate or post a notice for payment of those dues.
12. Prohibit a public officer or candidate for public office from walking through the park to talk with the tenants.