The Florida Senate

320.822  Definitions.--In construing ss. 320.822-320.862, unless the context otherwise requires, the following words or phrases have the following meanings:

(1)  "Buyer" means a person who purchases at retail from a dealer or manufacturer a mobile home or recreational vehicle for his or her own use as a residence, or other related use.

(2)  "Code" means the appropriate standards found in:

(a)  The Federal Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards for single-family mobile homes, promulgated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development;

(b)  The Uniform Standards Code approved by the American National Standards Institute, ANSI A-119.2 for recreational vehicles and ANSI A-119.5 for park trailers or the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development standard for park trailers certified as meeting that standard; or

(c)  The Mobile Home Repair and Remodeling Code and Used Recreational Vehicle Code.

(3)  "Construction" means the minimum requirements for materials, products, equipment, and workmanship needed to assure that the mobile home or recreational vehicle will provide structural strength and rigidity; protection against corrosion, decay, and other similar destructive forces; resistance to the elements; and durability and economy of maintenance.

(4)  "Institute" means the United States of America Standards Institute.

(5)  "Length," for purposes of transportation only, means the distance from the extreme front of the mobile home or recreational vehicle, to the extreme rear, including the drawbar and coupling mechanism, but not including expandable features that do not project from the body during transportation.

(6)  "Length of a mobile home" means the distance from the exterior of the front wall (nearest to the drawbar and coupling mechanism) to the exterior of the rear wall (at the opposite end of the home) where such walls enclose living or other interior space and such distance includes expandable rooms but not bay windows, porches, drawbars, couplings, hitches, wall and roof extensions, or other attachments.

(7)  "Licensee" means any person licensed or required to be licensed under s. 320.8225.

(8)  "Mobile home dealer" means any person engaged in the business of buying, selling, or dealing in mobile homes or offering or displaying mobile homes for sale. Any person who buys, sells, or deals in one or more mobile homes in any 12-month period or who offers or displays for sale one or more mobile homes in any 12-month period shall be prima facie presumed to be engaged in the business of a mobile home dealer. The terms "selling" and "sale" include lease-purchase transactions. The term "mobile home dealer" does not include a bank, credit union, or finance company that acquires mobile homes as an incident to its regular business, does not include a mobile home rental or leasing company that sells mobile homes to mobile home dealers licensed under s. 320.77, and does not include persons who are selling their own mobile homes.

(9)  "Recreational vehicle dealer" means any person engaged in the business of buying, selling, or dealing in recreational vehicles or offering or displaying recreational vehicles for sale. The term "dealer" includes a recreational vehicle broker. Any person who buys, sells, deals in, or offers or displays for sale, or who acts as the agent for the sale of, one or more recreational vehicles in any 12-month period shall be prima facie presumed to be a dealer. The terms "selling" and "sale" include lease-purchase transactions. The term "dealer" does not include banks, credit unions, and finance companies that acquire recreational vehicles as an incident to their regular business and does not include mobile home rental and leasing companies that sell recreational vehicles to dealers licensed under s. 320.771.

(10)  "Mobile home manufacturer" means any person, resident or nonresident, who, as a trade or commerce, manufactures or assembles mobile homes.

(11)  "Recreational vehicle manufacturer" means any person, resident or nonresident, who, as a trade or commerce, manufactures or assembles recreational vehicles or van-type vehicles in such manner that they then qualify as recreational vehicles, for sale in this state.

(12)  "Responsible party" means a manufacturer, dealer, or supplier.

(13)  "Seal" or "label" means a device issued by the department certifying that a mobile home or recreational vehicle meets the appropriate code, which device is to be displayed on the exterior of the mobile home or recreational vehicle.

(14)  "Setup" means the operations performed at the occupancy site which render a mobile home or park trailer fit for habitation. Such operations include, but are not limited to, transporting, positioning, blocking, leveling, supporting, tying down, connecting utility systems, making minor adjustments, or assembling multiple or expandable units.

(15)  "Substantial defect" means:

(a)  Any substantial deficiency or defect in materials or workmanship occurring to a mobile home or recreational vehicle which has been reasonably maintained and cared for in normal use.

(b)  Any structural element, utility system, or component of the mobile home or recreational vehicle, which fails to comply with the code.

(16)  "Supplier" means the original producer of completed components, including refrigerators, stoves, hot water heaters, dishwashers, cabinets, air conditioners, heating units, and similar components, which are furnished to a manufacturer or dealer for installation in the mobile home or recreational vehicle prior to sale to a buyer.

(17)  "Width of a mobile home" means the distance from the exterior of one side wall to the exterior of the opposite side wall where such walls enclose living or other interior space and such distance includes expandable rooms but not bay windows, porches, wall and roof extensions, or other attachments.

(18)  "Body size" of a park trailer, travel trailer, or fifth-wheel trailer means the distance from the exterior side or end to the opposite exterior side or end of the body. Such distance includes expandable rooms, bay windows, wall and roof extensions, or other extrusions in the travel mode. The following exceptions apply:

(a)  Travel trailers shall not exceed 320 square feet. All square footage measurements are of the exterior when in setup mode, including bay windows.

(b)  Park trailers constructed to ANSI A-119.5 shall not exceed 400 square feet. Park trailers constructed to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development standard shall not exceed 500 square feet. All square footage measurements are of the exterior when in setup mode and do not include bay windows.

(c)  Fifth-wheel trailers may not exceed 400 square feet. All square footage measurements are of the exterior when in setup mode, including bay windows.

History.--s. 3, ch. 67-350; ss. 24, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 96, ch. 71-377; s. 2, ch. 74-169; s. 3, ch. 75-203; s. 1, ch. 76-195; s. 1, ch. 77-174; s. 33, ch. 77-357; s. 2, ch. 78-221; s. 2, ch. 81-318; s. 2, ch. 84-182; ss. 7, 9, ch. 85-343; s. 8, ch. 87-225; ss. 4, 19, 20, ch. 88-147; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 42, ch. 94-306; s. 918, ch. 95-148; s. 21, ch. 95-333.