The legislature finds that:
It is the policy of this state to encourage affordable housing ownership, including manufactured/mobile home community living.
Manufactured/mobile home communities provide a significant source of homeownership opportunities for Washington residents. However, the increasing closure and conversion of manufactured/mobile home communities to other uses, combined with increasing manufactured/mobile home lot rents, low vacancy rates in existing manufactured/mobile home communities, and the extremely high cost of moving homes when manufactured/mobile home communities close increasingly make manufactured/mobile home community living insecure for manufactured/mobile home tenants.
Many tenants who reside in manufactured/mobile home communities are part of low-income households and senior citizens and are, therefore, those residents most in need of reasonable security in the siting of their manufactured/mobile homes because such tenants experience adverse impacts on their health, safety, and welfare when forced to move due to closure, change of use, or discontinuance of manufactured/mobile home communities.
It is the intent of the legislature to encourage and facilitate the preservation of existing manufactured/mobile home communities in the event of voluntary sales of manufactured/mobile home communities and, to the extent necessary and possible, involve manufactured/mobile home community tenants or an eligible organization, such as a nonprofit organization, housing authority, community land trust, resident nonprofit cooperative, or local government, in the preservation of manufactured/mobile home communities.
This section modifies existing section 59.20.300. Here is the modified chapter for context.
A landlord must provide a written notice of sale of a manufactured/mobile home community by certified mail or personal delivery to:
Each tenant of the manufactured/mobile home community;
The officers of any known qualified tenant organization;
The office of mobile/manufactured home relocation assistance;
The local government within whose jurisdiction all or part of the manufactured/mobile home community exists;
The housing authority within whose jurisdiction all or part of the manufactured/mobile home community exists; and
The Washington state housing finance commission.
A notice of sale must include:
A statement that the landlord intends to sell or lease the manufactured/mobile home community or the property on which it sits; and
The contact information of the landlord or landlord's agent who is responsible for communicating with the qualified tenant organization**, tenants,** or eligible organization regarding the sale of the property.
This section adds a new section to an existing chapter 59.20. Here is the modified chapter for context.
Except as provided in subsection (5) of this section, a landlord must provide a written notice of opportunity to purchase a manufactured/mobile home community by certified mail or personal delivery to each tenant and to the department of commerce and the housing finance commission within 14 days after the date on which any advertisement, listing, or public notice is first made that the manufactured/mobile home community, or property on which it sits, is for sale or lease.
The notice of opportunity to purchase required under this section is in addition to the notice of sale required pursuant to RCW 59.20.300.
Notice by certified mail postmarked within the requisite number of days is deemed to comply with the requirements of this section.
A notice of opportunity to purchase must include:
A statement that the landlord intends to sell or lease the manufactured/mobile home community or the property on which it sits;
A statement that:
Qualified tenant organizations and eligible organizations have 45 days from the date on which the notice of opportunity to purchase was personally delivered or postmarked to provide the landlord with notice of intent to consider purchasing or leasing the manufactured/mobile home park, during which time the landlord shall not make a final acceptance of an offer to purchase or lease the park; and
If such notice of intent is provided to the landlord within 45 days, the landlord shall not make a final unconditional acceptance of an offer to purchase or lease the park from a person or entity other than a qualified tenant organization or eligible organization for an additional 90 days;
A signed affidavit that discloses the advertised or listed selling price; and
The contact information for the landlord or landlord's agent who is responsible for communicating with the tenants, qualified tenant organization, or eligible organization regarding an opportunity to make an offer for the sale of the property.
A notice of opportunity to purchase is not required with respect to a sale, transfer, conveyance, or lease of the manufactured/mobile home community or the property on which it sits if the transaction is:
Due to foreclosure;
Incidental to financing the park;
Pursuant to eminent domain;
Pursuant to a tax sale;
Between joint tenants or tenants in common;
Among the partners or shareholders who own the manufactured/mobile home community; or
To a member of the owner's family or to a trust for the sole benefit of members of the owner's family.
This section adds a new section to an existing chapter 59.20. Here is the modified chapter for context.
If, within 45 days after the date on which a notice of opportunity to purchase was personally delivered or postmarked, the landlord receives notice from a qualified tenant organization or eligible organization expressing an intent to consider purchasing or leasing the manufactured/mobile home community, the landlord shall not make a final unconditional acceptance of an offer to purchase or lease the park from a person or entity other than a qualified tenant organization or eligible organization for an additional 90 days.
If no qualified tenant organization or eligible organization provides notice expressing an intent to consider the purchase or lease within 45 days after the date on which a notice of opportunity to purchase was personally delivered or postmarked, the landlord is not subject to the restrictions of subsection (1) of this section.
This section modifies existing section 59.20.305. Here is the modified chapter for context.
A landlord intending to sell or lease a manufactured/mobile home community or the property on which it sits is required to negotiate in good faith with qualified tenant organizations and eligible organizations. Any qualified tenant organization or eligible organization that submits a notice of intent to purchase or lease a manufactured/mobile home community or the property on which it sits pursuant to section 5 of this act is required to negotiate in good faith with the landlord intending to sell or lease the manufactured/mobile home community or property on which it sits.
This section adds a new section to an existing chapter 59.20. Here is the modified chapter for context.
The department of commerce must maintain a registry of all eligible organizations that submit to the department of commerce a written request to receive notices of opportunity to purchase or lease manufactured/mobile home communities pursuant to section 5 of this act. The department of commerce must provide registered eligible organizations with notices of opportunity to purchase once it receives such a notice pursuant to section 4(1) of this act. The registry must include the following information:
The name and mailing address of the eligible organization; and
A statement that the eligible organization wishes to purchase or lease a manufactured/mobile home community.
The department of commerce must provide a copy of the registry required to be maintained under this section to any person upon request.
This section adds a new section to an existing chapter 59.20. Here is the modified chapter for context.
A landlord who sells or transfers a manufactured/mobile home community and willfully fails to comply with section 4 or 5 of this act or RCW 59.20.305 is liable to the state of Washington for a civil penalty in the amount of $10,000. This penalty is the exclusive remedy for a violation of section 4 or 5 of this act or RCW 59.20.305.
The attorney general may bring a civil action in superior court in the name of the state against a landlord under this section.
If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.