| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to mobile home park lot tenancies; |
| 3 | amending s. 723.0381, F.S.; authorizing the court to refer |
| 4 | actions to binding arbitration; amending s. 723.061, F.S., |
| 5 | relating to grounds and proceedings for eviction; |
| 6 | providing for nonapplicability of certain provisions to |
| 7 | certain persons approved for payment by the Florida Mobile |
| 8 | Home Relocation Corporation; amending s. 723.071, F.S.; |
| 9 | requiring mobile home park owners receiving a bona fide |
| 10 | offer for purchase to notify the officers of the |
| 11 | homeowners' association; providing that a homeowners' |
| 12 | association purchasing a mobile home park may execute a |
| 13 | contract for only the park that it represents; authorizing |
| 14 | a time extension for home owners when a park owner changes |
| 15 | the terms and conditions of the offer to purchase the |
| 16 | park; revising requirements with respect to unsolicited |
| 17 | offers; providing the homeowners' association with the |
| 18 | right of first refusal to purchase the park in the event |
| 19 | of an unsolicited offer; encouraging mobile home owners to |
| 20 | organize as homeowners' associations to negotiate a right |
| 21 | of first refusal with a park owner; redefining the term |
| 22 | "offer" for such purposes; providing a limitation on an |
| 23 | exception relating to transfers by partnerships; amending |
| 24 | s. 723.083, F.S.; revising procedures providing for the |
| 25 | removal or relocation of mobile home owners; providing an |
| 26 | effective date. |
| 27 |
|
| 28 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 29 |
|
| 30 | Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 723.0381, Florida |
| 31 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 32 | 723.0381 Civil actions; arbitration.-- |
| 33 | (2) The court may refer the action to nonbinding |
| 34 | arbitration pursuant to s. 44.103 or, with the consent of both |
| 35 | parties, to binding arbitration pursuant to s. 44.104 and the |
| 36 | Florida Rules of Civil Procedure. The court shall order the |
| 37 | hearing to be held informally with presentation of testimony |
| 38 | kept to a minimum and matters presented to the arbitrators |
| 39 | primarily through the statements and arguments of counsel. The |
| 40 | court shall assess the parties equally to pay the compensation |
| 41 | awarded to the arbitrators if neither party requests a trial de |
| 42 | novo. If a party has filed for a trial de novo, the party shall |
| 43 | be assessed the arbitration costs, court costs, and other |
| 44 | reasonable costs of the opposing party, including attorney's |
| 45 | fees, investigation expenses, and expenses for expert or other |
| 46 | testimony or evidence incurred after the arbitration hearing if |
| 47 | the judgment upon the trial de novo is not more favorable than |
| 48 | the arbitration decision. If subsequent to arbitration a party |
| 49 | files for a trial de novo, the arbitration decision may be made |
| 50 | known to the judge only after he or she has entered his or her |
| 51 | order on the merits. |
| 52 | Section 2. Subsection (3) of section 723.061, Florida |
| 53 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 54 | 723.061 Eviction; grounds, proceedings.-- |
| 55 | (3) The provisions of s. 723.083 shall not be applicable |
| 56 | to any person whose application for funding pursuant to s. |
| 57 | 723.0612(1) or (7) is approved for payment by the Florida Mobile |
| 58 | Home Relocation Corporation park where the provisions of this |
| 59 | subsection apply. |
| 60 | Section 3. Subsections (1) through (3) and paragraph (d) |
| 61 | of subsection (4) of section 723.071, Florida Statutes, are |
| 62 | amended to read: |
| 63 | 723.071 Sale of mobile home parks.-- |
| 64 | (1)(a) If a mobile home park owner offers a mobile home |
| 65 | park for sale or receives a bona fide offer for purchase, she or |
| 66 | he shall notify the officers of the homeowners' association |
| 67 | created pursuant to ss. 723.075-723.079 of the offer, stating |
| 68 | the price and the terms and conditions of sale. |
| 69 | (b) The mobile home owners, by and through the association |
| 70 | defined in s. 723.075, shall have the right to purchase the |
| 71 | park, provided the home owners meet the price and terms and |
| 72 | conditions of the mobile home park owner by executing a contract |
| 73 | with the park owner within 45 days, unless agreed to otherwise, |
| 74 | from the date of mailing of the notice and provided they have |
| 75 | complied with ss. 723.075-723.079. To exercise its right to |
| 76 | purchase the park, the homeowners' association shall be required |
| 77 | to execute a contract for only the mobile home park that the |
| 78 | homeowners' association represents. If a contract between the |
| 79 | park owner and the association is not executed within such 45- |
| 80 | day period, then, unless the park owner thereafter elects to |
| 81 | offer the park at a price lower than the price specified in her |
| 82 | or his notice to the officers of the homeowners' association or |
| 83 | to change the terms and conditions of the offer, the park owner |
| 84 | has no further obligations under this subsection, and her or his |
| 85 | only obligation shall be as set forth in subsection (2). |
| 86 | (c) If the park owner thereafter elects to offer the park |
| 87 | at a price lower than the price specified in her or his notice |
| 88 | to the home owners or to change the terms and conditions of the |
| 89 | offer, the home owners, by and through the association, will |
| 90 | have an additional 10 days to meet the price and terms and |
| 91 | conditions of the park owner by executing a contract. |
| 92 | (2) If a mobile home park owner receives a bona fide offer |
| 93 | to purchase the park that she or he intends to consider or make |
| 94 | a counteroffer to, the mobile home park owner must first comply |
| 95 | with subsection (1) park owner's only obligation shall be to |
| 96 | notify the officers of the homeowners' association that she or |
| 97 | he has received an offer and disclose the price and material |
| 98 | terms and conditions upon which she or he would consider selling |
| 99 | the park and consider any offer made by the home owners, |
| 100 | provided the home owners have complied with ss. 723.075-723.079. |
| 101 | The park owner shall be under no obligation to sell to the home |
| 102 | owners or to interrupt or delay other negotiations and shall be |
| 103 | free at any time to execute a contract for the sale of the park |
| 104 | to a party or parties other than the home owners or the |
| 105 | association. Within 45 days after the date the mobile home park |
| 106 | owner mails notification of a bona fide offer for purchase, the |
| 107 | homeowners' association must be given the right of first refusal |
| 108 | to meet the price and terms and conditions required to execute a |
| 109 | contract with identical price and terms and conditions made in |
| 110 | the unsolicited offer for the mobile home park. The Legislature |
| 111 | encourages mobile home owners to organize as homeowners' |
| 112 | associations pursuant to s. 723.075 for the purpose of |
| 113 | negotiating a right of first refusal with a park owner. |
| 114 | (3) As used in this section, the term: |
| 115 | (a) As used in subsections (1) and (2), the term "Notify" |
| 116 | means the placing of a notice in the United States mail |
| 117 | addressed to the officers of the homeowners' association. Each |
| 118 | such notice shall be deemed to have been given upon the deposit |
| 119 | of the notice in the United States mail. |
| 120 | (b) As used in subsection (1), the term "Offer" means any |
| 121 | solicitation by the park owner to the general public or any |
| 122 | unsolicited offer to purchase the mobile home park. |
| 123 | (4) This section does not apply to: |
| 124 | (d) Any transfer by a partnership to any of its partners. |
| 125 | However, this exception may not be used to avoid sale to the |
| 126 | homeowners' association. |
| 127 | Section 4. Section 723.083, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 128 | to read: |
| 129 | 723.083 Governmental action affecting removal of mobile |
| 130 | home owners.--No agency of municipal, local, county, or state |
| 131 | government shall approve any application for rezoning, or take |
| 132 | any other official action, which would result in the removal or |
| 133 | relocation of mobile home owners residing in a mobile home park |
| 134 | without first determining that affordable, adequate mobile home |
| 135 | parks or other suitable facilities exist for the relocation of |
| 136 | the mobile home owners. An adequate mobile home park or other |
| 137 | suitable facility selected for the relocation of the mobile home |
| 138 | owners must be affordable based on the income of very-low- |
| 139 | income, low-income, or moderate-income persons, as defined in s. |
| 140 | 420.0004, and must be situated within the same county. |
| 141 | Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006. |