What's happening
This bill limits rent increases in manufactured home parks to the consumer price index unless approved for specific expenses, and establishes notice and arbitration procedures.
Why it matters
Protects manufactured home tenants from unpredictable rent hikes. by tying allowable rent increases to the consumer price index (CPI), ensuring that rent rises only with general cost-of-living increases unless specific, justifiable expenses are approved.
Establishes clear criteria for exceptions to rent caps. , limiting above-CPI increases to measurable changes such as capital improvements (with sunset provisions), tax increases, utility cost hikes, or other legitimate operating expenses—making it harder for park owners to raise rents arbitrarily.
Mandates increased transparency and tenant participation. by requiring advance written notice of proposed rent increases, disclosure of reasons, and shared meeting opportunities, giving tenants and homeowner associations a formal role and more information in the process.
Introduces enforceable rights and remedies. for tenants, including arbitration options for disputes and requirements for rent rollbacks plus interest if unauthorized increases occur, thereby empowering tenants and deterring unlawful rent practices.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Limit Rent Hikes in Trailer Parks
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to housing, construction and community development
- Referred to housing, construction and community development
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Cap Rent Hikes in Trailer Parks
In Assembly Committee · Housing · Sponsor Didi Barrett
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
6242
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 29, 2019
Introduced by Sen. METZGER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development
AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation to rent increases in manufactured home parks
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 233 of the real property law is amended by adding a new subdivision y to read as follows:
y. 1. (a) The owner of a manufactured home park may not raise a manufactured home tenant's lot rent above the consumer price index averaged over the most recently available preceding thirty-six month period, unless the proposed rent increase is approved by the division of housing and community renewal and directly related to operating, maintaining, or improving the manufactured home park for the following purposes:
(i) The completion and incurring of costs for any capital improvements or rehabilitation work in the manufactured home park, as distinguished from ordinary repair, replacement, or maintenance. Capital improvements shall include roadway improvements, plumbing and piping infrastructure, community structures, natural disaster recovery. All other maintenance shall be considered ordinary, and shall not be grounds for a rent increase. All rent increases resulting from capital improvements shall expire once the improvement is paid for;
(ii) Changes in property taxes or other taxes within the manufactured home park;
(iii) Changes in utility charges within the manufactured home park;
(iv) Changes in insurance costs and financing associated with the manufactured home park;
(v) Changes in reasonable operating and maintenance expenses relating to the manufactured home park including, but not limited to costs for:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10803-02-9
S. 6242 2
water service; sewer service; septic service; water disposal; trash collection; and employee expenses.
(b) (i) A manufactured home park owner shall not incorporate the cost of a civil penalty, criminal fine, or litigation-related costs for rentrelated proceedings into rent charged under any circumstance.
(ii) A manufactured home park owner shall not utilize the cost of capital improvements or rehabilitation work as justification for any future rental increase once such cost has been fully recovered by rental increases that were incorporated into a prior rental increase in excess of the consumer price index and where such prior rental increase was properly implemented pursuant to this subdivision.
(c) When a manufactured home tenant first moves onto a lot in a manufactured home park, the tenant shall be offered rent at a rate not exceeding the average rent for lots similar in size to such lot which are located within such manufactured home park.
2. (a) In addition to the notice required pursuant to paragraph three of subdivision g of this section, a manufactured home park owner shall give written notice to the home owners' association, if one exists, and the division of housing and community renewal at least ninety days prior to any increase in rent. The notice shall identify all affected manufactured home owners by lot number, name, group or phase. If the affected manufactured home owners are not identified by name, the manufactured home park owner shall make the names and addresses available to any affected manufactured home owner, the home owners' association, if one exists, and the division of housing and community renewal upon request.
(b) (i) If the proposed rent increase exceeds the consumer price index, the division of housing and community renewal shall schedule a final meeting between the parties at a mutually-convenient time and place to be held within thirty days from the mailing of the notice of the rent increase, to discuss the reasons for the increase. At the manufactured home park owner's election, the division of housing and community renewal shall also schedule one or more optional informal meetings prior to the final meeting. The manufactured home park owner proposing the rent increase shall recommend to the division of housing and community renewal a date, time and place of the final meeting and of any preceding informal meetings, and the division of housing and community renewal shall affirm such recommendation with the manufactured home park owner, if the division finds the date, time and place to be reasonable. At or before the final meeting the manufactured home park owner shall, in good faith, disclose in writing all of the material factors resulting in the decision to increase the rent.
(ii) The parties may agree in a writing signed by the manufactured home park owner and at least one affected manufactured home owner or the home owners' association to extend or continue any meetings required by this paragraph to a date specified in the writing and approved by the division of housing and community renewal as reasonable. Within two business days of signing an agreement to continue or extend meetings, the manufactured home park owner shall notify the division of housing and community renewal of such agreement by forwarding the signed agreement to the division.
(c) After the final meeting, any affected manufactured home owner who has not already accepted the proposed increase, or the home owners' association on behalf of one or more affected manufactured home owners who have not already accepted the proposed increase may, within thirty days from the conclusion of the final meeting, petition the division of housing and community renewal to appoint an arbitrator to conduct arbi-
S. 6242 3
tration subject to the provisions of article seventy-five of the civil practice law and rules.
3. A manufactured home park owner who raises a manufactured home owner's rent more than the annual average increase of the consumer price index for the preceding thirty-six month period without having obtained approval of the division of housing and community renewal shall be required to immediately reduce the rent to the amount in effect before the unauthorized increase and rebate the unauthorized rent collected to the manufactured home owners with interest.
4. Manufactured home park cooperatives shall be exempt from the provisions of this subdivision.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the real property law, in relation to rent increases in manufactured home parks
Purpose
To limit rent increases in manufactured home parks to the three year average of inflation plus acceptable allowances, and require the owners of manufactured home parks to justify such rent increases upon tenants request.
Summary of specific provisions
Section one adds a new subdivision (y) to section 233 of the Real Prop- erty Law establishing a program of rent justification as follows:
Read the full memo (700 words)
Subsection 1, paragraph (a) states that a manufactured home park owner cannot raise lot rent above the average Consumer Price Index from the preceding 36-month period, unless the increase is directly related to operating, maintaining, or improving the park for specific reasons and is approved by the Division of Housing and Community Renewal. The specific reasons for which rent can be increased above CPI are as follows: capital projects, changes in property taxes, changes in utility charges, changes in insurance costs and financing associated with the park, changes in operating expenses such as garbage collection, sewer service, septic service, and water service. Subsection 1, paragraph (b) states that (i) civil penalties, criminal fines, or the cost of any litigation into the rent and (ii) any increases for capital improvements must expire when the work has been paid for.
Subsection 1, paragraph (c) states that when a tenant first moves in to the park, they shall be offered a lot rent not exceeding the average rent for lots similar in size within the manufactured home park.
Subsection 2, paragraph (a) states that the park owner shall notify the tenants' homeowner association and DHCR of all tenants affected by rent increases.
Subsection 2, paragraph (b) states that if the rent increases is above the 3-year average of CPI, DHCR shall schedule a meeting between the park owner and the tenants to discuss the reasons for the increase.
Subsection 2, paragraph (c) states that if any party has not accepted the proposed rent increase after the meeting, they shall have 30 days to petition DHCR to appoint an arbitrator who can decide the matter pursu- ant to article 75 of the civil practice law and rules.
Subsection 3 states that a manufactured home park owner who raises rents above the 3-year average of CPI without DHCR approval shall be required to immediately reduce the rent to the previous level and rebate the unauthorized increase to the tenants with interest.
Subsection 4 states that manufactured home park cooperatives shall be exempt from the provisions of this subdivision.
Section 2 of the bill sets forth the effective date.
Justification
Manufactured Home tenants in New York State are currently faced with rising rents, extra fees, and landlord harassment. This legislation seeks to prevent these problems by providing state oversight and giving tenants access to arbitration to fight unfair rent increases.
Manufactured home owners are often low- to moderate-income, and many are senior citizens or on a fixed income. These constraints make rent increases particularly hard to absorb for many people. This legislation seeks to limit unnecessarily high rent increases, while still allowing for all necessary expenses and maintenance, as well as park improve- ments. This mechanism to oversee rent increases should be an effective check against burdensome rent hikes.
This legislation should also serve as a deterrent for predatory owner- ship practices. There is currently a nationwide trend of corporate, out-of-state real estate speculators purchasing manufactured home parks and changing the way business is done in order to extract more value from the park. Common tactics include large rent increases, additional fees, and reduction of services. This trend is beginning to appear in New York State, and this legislation is necessary to curtail its spread.
This legislation is premised on the idea that tenants should not be at the whim of arbitrary rent increases, and that New York has an interest in ensuring that manufactured home parks are owned and operated by local landlords, not out-of-state corporations. Changing policy to reflect these goals can make New York friendlier to all residents.
Legislative history
New bill
Fiscal implications
To be determined
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.