Manufactured Housing Tenant’s Bill of Rights Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.3333 | Sponsor: Rep. Axne, Cynthia (D-IA)
Policy area: Housing and Community Development

Summary:
Manufactured Housing Tenant's Bill of Rights Act of 2021
This bill requires manufactured housing communities and home parks to meet minimum consumer protections to be eligible for certain federally-backed loans for the construction, substantial rehabilitation, or purchase of these communities. Specifically, the Department of Housing and Urban Development is prohibited from insuring such a loan, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are prohibited from purchasing such a loan, unless a borrower provides specified tenant protections, including
The bill sets forth penalties for violations of these protections.
The bill also establishes the Manufactured Home Company Lending Standards Commission to propose additional consumer protection standards.

To ensure that federally backed financing for the construction, 
    rehabilitation, or purchase of manufactured home communities is 
  available only for communities whose owner has implemented minimum 
  consumer protections in the lease agreements with residents of all 
   manufactured home communities owned by such owner, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Manufactured Housing Tenant's Bill 
of Rights Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS FOR COVERED LOAN PROGRAMS.

    (a) Requirements.--No loan shall be eligible for insurance by the 
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development or purchase by an enterprise 
(as such term is defined in section 1303 of the Housing and Community 
Development Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4502)), as applicable, under a 
covered loan program (as such term is defined under section 4 of this 
Act) unless--
            (1) the borrower under the loan certifies to the Secretary 
        or the applicable enterprise that the borrower will include, in 
        any lease agreement for a pad site, or a pad site and 
        manufactured home, located in any manufactured home community 
        that the borrower or an affiliate of the borrower owns, the 
        minimum consumer protections specified in subsection (b) of 
        this section; and
            (2) the borrower complies with regulations, which shall be 
        issued by the Secretary or the Director, as applicable, that 
        require the borrower to submit documentation to the Secretary, 
        or to the applicable enterprise and Director that is 
        sufficient, as determined by the Secretary or Director, to 
        ensure that the borrower is complying with the certification 
        pursuant to paragraph (1), which shall include a copy of the 
        standard lease agreement used by the borrower that includes 
        such minimum protections.
    (b) Minimum Consumer Protections.--The minimum consumer protections 
specified in this subsection are as follows:
            (1) One-year lease terms that are renewable for additional 
        one-year terms unless there is good cause for non-renewal.
            (2) A right to receive written notice of any newly required 
        charges (including water and other utilities) or increase in 
        the rents for pad sites, or pad sites and manufactured homes, 
        located in the community, including a written justification of 
        the increase with information on increases in the costs of 
        operating, maintaining, or improving the community. Such notice 
        shall be provided to the tenant not less than 60 days before 
        the effective date of any newly required charge or increase in 
        the rents, except that--
                    (A) in the case of any increase exceeding 5 percent 
                of the previous monthly rent, an additional 30-days 
                notice must be provided for each additional 2.5-percent 
                increase in the rent.
                    (B) Such notice must also include identification of 
                the amount of, and a description of, any newly required 
                charges (including water and other utilities) that the 
                tenant is not currently responsible for but will be 
                responsible for upon the rent increase and, if 
                available, an estimate of the monthly amount of such 
                charges.
                    (C) Monthly rent.--For purposes of the calculation 
                in subparagraph (A), the amount of any increase in the 
                monthly rent for a dwelling unit shall be considered to 
                include any newly required charges described in 
                subparagraph (B), and any charges without an estimate 
                of the monthly amount shall be estimated at 5 percent 
                of the previous monthly rent.
            (3) A 5-day grace period for rent payments.
            (4) A right to cure defaults on rent payments.
            (5) A right for a tenant to sell a manufactured home owned 
        by the tenant without having to first relocate it out of the 
        community.
            (6) A right for a tenant to sell a manufactured home owned 
        by the tenant in place within a reasonable time period, but not 
        shorter than 45 days, after eviction by the manufactured 
        housing community owner.
            (7) A right for a tenant who owns a manufactured home--
                    (A) to sublease or assign the pad site lease for 
                the unexpired term to a new buyer of the tenant's 
                manufactured home unless the prospective tenant fails 
                to meet the community's reasonable and uniformly 
                applied application criteria; and
                    (B) in such a case of denial, a right to written 
                notice provided by the owner of the community informing 
                the tenant of the denial and the prospective tenant of 
                the denial and the specific reason or reasons for 
                denial.
            (8) A right for a tenant who owns a manufactured home to 
        post ``For Sale'' signs.
            (9) A right to receive 60-day advance written notice of the 
        planned sale or closure of the manufactured housing community.
            (10)(A) A right against termination of tenancy except in 
        cases in which a tenant engages in a material noncompliance 
        with the rental agreement, a tenant commits a material 
        violation of the manufactured home community reasonable rules 
        or regulations, or the community has a material, legitimate, 
        and uniformly applied business reason for termination that was 
        included in the lease agreement as grounds for termination.
            (B) In such a case of termination, a right to written 
        notice provided by the owner of the community informing the 
        tenant of the termination and the specific reason or reasons 
        for termination.
Nothing in this subsection may be construed to annul, alter, or affect 
any State or local law providing greater protections to tenants of 
manufactured home communities than the protections afforded under this 
subsection.
    (c) Pricing Incentives.--Any covered pricing incentive offered for 
loans issued after the date of the enactment of this Act shall reward 
implementation of resident protections that are more protective than 
those specified in subsection (b). Any covered pricing incentive that 
does not comply with this requirement may not be offered for any loan 
issued after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (d) Publication.--The Secretary and Director shall make the list of 
properties covered by the protections in subsection (b) publicly 
available on a single website. Properties which are covered as of the 
date of enactment by the Federal National Mortgage Association's Tenant 
Site Lease Protections or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation's 
MHC Tenant Protections shall also be made publicly available, and shall 
include an explanation of the differences between those protections and 
the minimum consumer protections in subsection (b).
    (e) Penalties.--The Secretary and Director shall prohibit the 
borrower or an affiliate of the borrower from securing future federally 
backed financing or other housing-related Federal assistance for at 
least 3 years, and shall also determine appropriate penalties for any 
borrower who fails to include the consumer protections in subsection 
(b) in any lease agreement, or fails to comply with a lease agreement 
including the protections in subsection (b). Such penalties shall be in 
addition to minimum payments to the injured tenant(s) as follows:
            (1) For a violation of paragraph (1) or (10), 6 months of 
        the current monthly rent.
            (2) For a violation of paragraph (2), any increased rent 
        must be paid back to the tenant with interest, plus 25 percent.
            (3) For a violation of paragraph (3), any penalties or late 
        fees must be paid back to the tenant with interest, plus 25 
        percent.
            (4) For a violation of paragraph (4), (5), or (6), the 
        greater of the sale price of the manufactured home if the 
        borrower or an affiliate sells it within 12 months of the 
        violation or 12 months of the prior monthly rent.
            (5) For a violation of paragraph (7) or (8), the total 
        remaining monthly rent owed on the tenant's lease.
            (6) For a violation of paragraph (9), the greater of 12 
        months rent, or 20 percent of the sale price of the community 
        divided by the number of tenants in the manufactured housing 
        community.

SEC. 3. MANUFACTURED HOME COMPANY LENDING STANDARDS COMMISSION.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established a commission to be known 
as the Manufactured Home Company Lending Standards Commission (in this 
section referred to as the ``Commission'').
    (b) Duties.--
            (1) Proposed standards.--Not later than the expiration of 
        the 12-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of 
        this Act, the Commission shall submit to the Congress, the 
        Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and the Director of 
        the Federal Housing Finance Agency a report that sets forth 
        proposed consumer protection standards for the covered loan 
        programs that--
                    (A) are in addition to and provide greater 
                protection than the requirements under section 2(b); 
                and
                    (B) could be used as a basis for establishing 
                covered pricing incentives under the covered loan 
                programs that comply with section 2(c).
            (2) Standard for determinations.--Any determination by the 
        Commission to approve a consumer protection in the proposed 
        standards required under paragraph (1) shall be made by a vote 
        of a simple majority of the members of the Commission.
    (c) Membership.--
            (1) Number and appointment.--The Commission shall be 
        composed of 14 members, as follows:
                    (A) The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 
                (or the Secretary's designee).
                    (B) The Director of the Federal Housing Finance 
                Agency (or the Director's designee).
                    (C) Three each shall be appointed by the Speaker of 
                the House of Representatives, the minority leader of 
                the House of Representatives, the majority leader of 
                the Senate, and the minority leader of the Senate. Of 
                the three members appointed by each such officer--
                            (i) one shall be employed at the time of 
                        appointment as a professor or academic 
                        researcher with demonstrated background in 
                        housing and consumer protection issues, 
                        especially as they relate to manufactured 
                        housing;
                            (ii) one shall be a current or former 
                        member of Congress; and
                            (iii) one shall be a current resident and 
                        tenant at a manufactured housing community.
            (2) Chairperson and co-chairperson.--
                    (A) Chairperson.--The chairperson of the Commission 
                shall be designated by the President from among the 
                members of the Commission.
                    (B) Co-chairperson.--The co-chairperson shall be 
                selected as follows:
                            (i) Designation by speaker of the house.--
                        If, on the date of appointment, the Speaker of 
                        the House is of a different political party 
                        than the President, the Speaker of the House 
                        shall designate the co-chairperson from among 
                        the members of the Commission.
                            (ii) Designation by minority leader of the 
                        house.--If, on the date of appointment, the 
                        Speaker of the House is of the same political 
                        party as the President, the minority leader of 
                        the House shall designate the co-chairperson 
                        from among the members of the Commission.
            (3) Timing of appointments.--Appointments to the Commission 
        shall be made not later than 45 days after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act.
            (4) Terms; vacancies.--Each member shall be appointed for 
        the life of the Commission. Any vacancy in the Commission shall 
        not affect its powers and shall be filled within 45 days of the 
        vacancy in the manner in which the original appointment was 
        made.
            (5) Hearings.--In carrying out its duties under this 
        section, the Commission is authorized to hold such hearings and 
        take testimony with respect to matters to which it has a 
        responsibility under this section. The chairperson, or any 
        member authorized by the chairperson, may administer oaths or 
        affirmations to witnesses appearing before the Commission.
            (6) Prohibition of compensation.--Members of the Commission 
        shall serve without pay.
    (d) Operation and Powers.--
            (1) Meetings.--The Commission shall meet not later than 30 
        days after the date upon which a majority of its members have 
        been appointed and at such times thereafter as the chairperson 
        or co-chairperson shall determine. Detailed minutes of each 
        meeting of the Commission, except for any closed session, shall 
        be kept and shall include a record of the persons present and a 
        complete and accurate description of matters discussed.
            (2) Rules of procedure.--The chairperson and co-chairperson 
        shall, with the approval of a majority of the members of the 
        Commission, establish written rules of procedure for the 
        Commission, which shall include a quorum requirement to conduct 
        the business of the Commission.
            (3) Hearings.--The Commission shall hold no fewer than 2 
        hearings on matters to carry out its duties under subsection 
        (b). The Commission may take testimony and receive evidence as 
        the Commission considers appropriate. Timely public notice of 
        each hearing, including the time, place, and agenda of the 
        meeting, shall be provided by any means determined by the 
        Commission to provide for wide publicity. Timely notice of each 
        regular meeting shall be published in the Federal Register. 
        Interested persons shall be permitted to submit written 
        statements regarding the matters on the agenda of such 
        hearings.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act, the following definitions shall apply:
            (1) Affiliate.--Except as provided by the Secretary of 
        Housing and Urban Development or the Director of the Federal 
        Housing Finance Agency, as applicable, the term ``affiliate'' 
        means, with respect to a borrower referred to in section 2(a), 
        any entity that controls, is controlled by, or is under common 
        control with, the borrower.
            (2) Covered loan program.--The term ``covered loan 
        program'' means any of the following programs:
                    (A) The program under section 207 of the National 
                Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1713) for insurance of loans for 
                financing for the construction or substantial 
                rehabilitation of manufactured home parks.
                    (B) The program of the Federal National Mortgage 
                Association for multifamily loans for manufactured 
                housing communities.
                    (C) The program of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage 
                Corporation for loans for manufactured housing 
                communities.
            (3) Covered pricing incentive.--The term ``covered pricing 
        incentive'' means any pricing discount available to borrowers 
        under any of the covered loan programs that rewards the 
        borrower's implementation of one or more specific resident 
        protections and is designed to ensure that the benefits of a 
        covered loan program are provided at a lower cost for 
        manufactured home communities based on the extent to which 
        residents of a manufactured home community are better protected 
        from predatory rent increases and management practices.
            (4) Director.--The term ``Director'' refers to the Director 
        of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
            (5) Manufactured home.--The term ``manufactured home'' has 
        the meaning given such term in section 603(6) of the National 
        Manufactured Housing Construction Safety and Standards Act of 
        1976, except that such term shall include any structure 
        described in such section without regard to whether such 
        structure complies with any standards under such Act and 
        without regard to the date of the manufacture of such 
        structure.
            (6) Manufactured home community.--The term ``manufactured 
        home community'' means any community, court, or park equipped 
        to accommodate manufactured homes for which pad sites or pad 
        sites and the manufactured homes, or both, are leased to 
        residents to be used primarily for residential purposes, 
        including any manufactured housing community as such term is 
        used for purposes of a program referred to in subparagraph (B) 
        or (C) of paragraph (2).

SEC. 5. FUNDING.

    No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this Act. Any expenses required to carry out this Act shall be funded 
using amounts otherwise available to the Department of Housing and 
Urban Development or to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

SEC. 6. TERMINATION.

    The Commission shall terminate upon the submission of the report 
required under section 3(b).
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