| 1 | The Business Regulation Committee recommends the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Council/Committee Substitute |
| 4 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 5 | A bill to be entitled |
| 6 | An act relating to mobile homes; amending s. 723.037, |
| 7 | F.S.; providing intent, requirements, and restrictions |
| 8 | regarding information exchanged in meetings between park |
| 9 | owners and homeowners' committees and at mediation; |
| 10 | providing exceptions; amending s. 723.0611, F.S.; |
| 11 | designating the Florida Mobile Home Relocation Corporation |
| 12 | as an agency of the state and certain other persons as |
| 13 | officers, employees, or agents of the state for |
| 14 | application of sovereign immunity provisions; providing |
| 15 | rulemaking authority to administer provisions involving |
| 16 | the corporation; amending s. 723.0612, F.S.; providing |
| 17 | that mobile home owners are not eligible for compensation |
| 18 | in certain circumstances involving change in use of the |
| 19 | land comprising the mobile home park; providing |
| 20 | entitlement to attorney's fees and costs in certain |
| 21 | enforcement actions; providing an effective date. |
| 22 |
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| 23 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 24 |
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| 25 | Section 1. Subsections (4) and (5) of section 723.037, |
| 26 | Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
| 27 | 723.037 Lot rental increases; reduction in services or |
| 28 | utilities; change in rules and regulations; mediation.-- |
| 29 | (4)(a) A committee, not to exceed five in number, |
| 30 | designated by a majority of the affected mobile home owners or |
| 31 | by the board of directors of the homeowners' association, if |
| 32 | applicable, and the park owner shall meet, at a mutually |
| 33 | convenient time and place within 30 days after receipt by the |
| 34 | homeowners of the notice of change, to discuss the reasons for |
| 35 | the increase in lot rental amount, reduction in services or |
| 36 | utilities, or change in rules and regulations. |
| 37 | (b)1. At the meeting, the park owner or subdivision |
| 38 | developer shall in good faith disclose and explain all material |
| 39 | factors resulting in the decision to increase the lot rental |
| 40 | amount, reduce services or utilities, or change rules and |
| 41 | regulations, including how those factors justify the specific |
| 42 | change proposed. The park owner or subdivision developer may not |
| 43 | limit the discussion of the reasons for the change to |
| 44 | generalities only, such as, but not limited to, increases in |
| 45 | operational costs, changes in economic conditions, or rents |
| 46 | charged by comparable mobile home parks. For example, if the |
| 47 | reason for an increase in lot rental amount is an increase in |
| 48 | operational costs, the park owner must disclose the item or |
| 49 | items which have increased, the amount of the increase, any |
| 50 | similar item or items which have decreased, and the amount of |
| 51 | the decrease. If an increase is based upon the lot rental amount |
| 52 | charged by comparable mobile home parks, the park owner shall |
| 53 | disclose, and provide in writing to the committee at or before |
| 54 | the meeting, the name, address, lot rental amount, and any other |
| 55 | relevant factors relied upon by the park owner, such as |
| 56 | facilities, services, and amenities, concerning the comparable |
| 57 | mobile home parks. The information concerning comparable mobile |
| 58 | home parks to be exchanged by the parties is to encourage a |
| 59 | dialogue concerning the reasons used by the park owner for the |
| 60 | increase in lot rental amount and to encourage the home owners |
| 61 | to evaluate and discuss the reasons for those changes with the |
| 62 | park owner. The park owner shall prepare a written summary of |
| 63 | the material factors and retain a copy for 3 years. The park |
| 64 | owner shall provide the committee a copy of the summary at or |
| 65 | before the meeting. |
| 66 | 2. The park owner shall not limit the comparable mobile |
| 67 | home park disclosure to those mobile home parks that are owned |
| 68 | or operated by the same owner or operator as the subject park, |
| 69 | except in certain circumstances, which include, but are not |
| 70 | limited to: |
| 71 | a. That the market area for comparable mobile home parks |
| 72 | includes mobile home parks owned or operated by the same entity |
| 73 | that have similar facilities, services, and amenities; |
| 74 | b. That the subject mobile home park has unique attributes |
| 75 | that are shared with similar mobile home parks; |
| 76 | c. That the mobile home park is located in a geographic or |
| 77 | market area that contains few comparable mobile home parks; or |
| 78 | d. That there are similar considerations or factors that |
| 79 | would be considered in such a market analysis by a competent |
| 80 | professional and would be considered in determining the |
| 81 | valuation of the market rent. |
| 82 | (c) If the committee disagrees with a park owner's lot |
| 83 | rental amount increase based upon comparable mobile home parks, |
| 84 | the committee shall disclose to the park owner the name, |
| 85 | address, lot rental amount, and any other relevant factors |
| 86 | relied upon by the committee, such as facilities, services, and |
| 87 | amenities, concerning the comparable mobile home parks. The |
| 88 | committee shall provide to the park owner the disclosure, in |
| 89 | writing, within 15 days after the meeting with the park owner, |
| 90 | together with a request for a second meeting. The park owner |
| 91 | shall meet with the committee at a mutually convenient time and |
| 92 | place within 30 days after receipt by the park owner of the |
| 93 | request from the committee to discuss the disclosure provided by |
| 94 | the committee. At the second meeting, the park owner may take |
| 95 | into account the information on comparable parks provided by the |
| 96 | committee, may supplement the information provided to the |
| 97 | committee at the first meeting, and may modify his or her |
| 98 | position, but the park owner may not change the information |
| 99 | provided to the committee at the first meeting. |
| 100 | (d) The committee and the park owner may mutually agree, |
| 101 | in writing, to extend or continue any meetings required by this |
| 102 | section. |
| 103 | (e) Either party may prepare and use additional |
| 104 | information to support its position during or subsequent to the |
| 105 | meetings required by this section. |
| 106 |
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| 107 | This subsection is not intended to be enforced by civil or |
| 108 | administrative action. Rather, the meetings and discussions are |
| 109 | intended to be in the nature of settlement discussions prior to |
| 110 | the parties proceeding to mediation of any dispute. |
| 111 | (5)(a) Within 30 days after the date of the last scheduled |
| 112 | meeting described in subsection (4), the homeowners may petition |
| 113 | the division to initiate mediation of the dispute pursuant to s. |
| 114 | 723.038 if a majority of the affected homeowners have |
| 115 | designated, in writing, that: |
| 116 | 1. The rental increase is unreasonable; |
| 117 | 2. The rental increase has made the lot rental amount |
| 118 | unreasonable; |
| 119 | 3. The decrease in services or utilities is not |
| 120 | accompanied by a corresponding decrease in rent or is otherwise |
| 121 | unreasonable; or |
| 122 | 4. The change in the rules and regulations is |
| 123 | unreasonable. |
| 124 | (b) A park owner, within the same time period, may also |
| 125 | petition the division to initiate mediation of the dispute. |
| 126 | (c) When a dispute involves a rental increase for |
| 127 | different home owners and there are different rates or different |
| 128 | rental terms for those home owners, all such rent increases in a |
| 129 | calendar year for one mobile home park may be considered in one |
| 130 | mediation proceeding. |
| 131 | (d) At mediation, the park owner and the homeowners |
| 132 | committee may supplement the information provided to each other |
| 133 | at the meetings described in subsection (4) and may modify their |
| 134 | position, but they may not change the information provided to |
| 135 | each other at the first and second meetings. |
| 136 |
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| 137 | The purpose of this subsection is to encourage discussion and |
| 138 | evaluation by the parties of the comparable mobile home parks in |
| 139 | the competitive market area. The requirements of this subsection |
| 140 | are not intended to be enforced by civil or administrative |
| 141 | action. Rather, the meetings and discussions are intended to be |
| 142 | in the nature of settlement discussions prior to the parties |
| 143 | proceeding to litigation of any dispute. |
| 144 | Section 2. Paragraph (c) of subsection (2) and paragraph |
| 145 | (a) of subsection (3) of section 723.0611, Florida Statutes, are |
| 146 | amended to read: |
| 147 | 723.0611 Florida Mobile Home Relocation Corporation.-- |
| 148 | (2) |
| 149 | (c) The corporation shall, for purposes of s. 768.28, be |
| 150 | considered an agency of the state. Agents or employees of the |
| 151 | corporation, members of the board of directors of the |
| 152 | corporation, or representatives of the Division of Florida Land |
| 153 | Sales, Condominiums, and Mobile Homes shall be considered |
| 154 | officers, employees, or agents of the state, and actions against |
| 155 | them and the corporation shall be governed by s. 768.28. There |
| 156 | shall be no liability on the part of, and no cause of action of |
| 157 | any nature shall arise against, agents or employees of the |
| 158 | corporation, members of the board of directors of the |
| 159 | corporation, or representatives of the Division of Florida Land |
| 160 | Sales, Condominiums, and Mobile Homes for any act or omission of |
| 161 | the board of directors in the performance of their powers and |
| 162 | duties under this section, unless such act or omission by such |
| 163 | person is in intentional disregard of the rights of the |
| 164 | claimant. |
| 165 | (3) The board of directors shall: |
| 166 | (a) Adopt a plan of operation and articles, bylaws, and |
| 167 | operating rules pursuant to the provisions of ss. 120.536 and |
| 168 | 120.54 to administer the provisions of this section and ss. |
| 169 | 723.06115, 723.06116, and 723.0612. |
| 170 | Section 3. Subsection (7) of section 723.0612, Florida |
| 171 | Statutes, is amended, and section (11) is added to said section, |
| 172 | to read: |
| 173 | 723.0612 Change in use; relocation expenses; payments by |
| 174 | park owner.-- |
| 175 | (7) In lieu of collecting payment from the Florida Mobile |
| 176 | Home Relocation Corporation as set forth in subsection (1), a |
| 177 | mobile home owner may abandon the mobile home in the mobile home |
| 178 | park and collect $1,375 for a single section and $2,750 for a |
| 179 | multisection from the corporation as long as the mobile home |
| 180 | owner delivers to the park owner the current title to the mobile |
| 181 | home duly endorsed by the owner of record and valid releases of |
| 182 | all liens shown on the title. If a mobile home owner chooses |
| 183 | this option, the park owner shall make payment to the |
| 184 | corporation in an amount equal to the amount the mobile home |
| 185 | owner is entitled to under this subsection. The mobile home |
| 186 | owner's application for funds under this subsection shall |
| 187 | require the submission of a document signed by the park owner |
| 188 | stating that the home has been abandoned under this subsection |
| 189 | and that the park owner agrees to make payment to the |
| 190 | corporation in the amount provided to the home owner under this |
| 191 | subsection. However, in the event that the required documents |
| 192 | are not submitted with the application, the corporation may |
| 193 | consider the facts and circumstances surrounding the abandonment |
| 194 | of the home to determine whether the mobile home owner is |
| 195 | entitled to payment pursuant to this subsection. The mobile home |
| 196 | owner is not entitled to any compensation under this subsection |
| 197 | if there is a pending eviction action for nonpayment of lot |
| 198 | rental amount pursuant to s. 723.061(1)(a) which was filed |
| 199 | against him or her prior to the mailing date of the notice of |
| 200 | change in the use of the mobile home park given pursuant to s. |
| 201 | 723.061(1)(d). |
| 202 | (11) In an action to enforce the provisions of this |
| 203 | section and ss. 723.0611, 723.06115, and 723.06116, the |
| 204 | prevailing party is entitled to reasonable attorney's fees and |
| 205 | costs. |
| 206 | Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |