Case Name: VILLAGE PARK MOBILE HOME ASSOCIATION, INC., a Florida Corporation, Alice Mallanda, Kenneth Byers and Billie Byers, Appellants, v. STATE of Florida, DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS REGULATION, DIVISION OF FLORIDA LAND SALES, CONDOMINIUMS AND MOBILE HOMES, Appellees
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 1987-01-20
Citations: 506 So. 2d 426
Docket Number: No. BK-219
Parties: VILLAGE PARK MOBILE HOME ASSOCIATION, INC., a Florida Corporation, Alice Mallanda, Kenneth Byers and Billie Byers, Appellants, v. STATE of Florida, DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS REGULATION, DIVISION OF FLORIDA LAND SALES, CONDOMINIUMS AND MOBILE HOMES, Appellees.
Judges: JOANOS and THOMPSON, JJ„ concur.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 506
Pages: 426–434

Head Matter:
VILLAGE PARK MOBILE HOME ASSOCIATION, INC., a Florida Corporation, Alice Mallanda, Kenneth Byers and Billie Byers, Appellants, v. STATE of Florida, DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS REGULATION, DIVISION OF FLORIDA LAND SALES, CONDOMINIUMS AND MOBILE HOMES, Appellees.
No. BK-219.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.
Jan. 20, 1987.
On Motion for Rehearing May 8, 1987.
Nancy A. Trease, Fort Lauderdale, for appellants.
John C. Courtney, Deputy Gen. Counsel, and Robin H. Conner, Dept, of Business Regulation, for appellees.

Opinion:
NIMMONS, Judge.
This is an appeal from a final order of the Department of Business Regulation, Division of Land Sales, Condominiums and Mobile Homes ("Division"), denying appellants' "Petition to Initiate Formal Proceedings" pursuant to Section 120.57(1), Florida Statutes. We affirm.
Appellants are individual residents of the Village Park Mobile Home Estates and an association of residents of that mobile home park. They requested a hearing concerning the Division's approval of a prospectus submitted to the Division by the owner of the park in which appellants reside. Such submission is required under the Florida Mobile Home Act by Section 723.011(1), Florida Statutes (1984 Supp.), which states that the mobile home park owner must file with the Division a prospectus outlining the terms and conditions of park residence. The Division is required by Section 723.011(l)(b) to determine whether the prospectus is adequate to meet the requirements of the Florida Mobile Home Act (sometimes referred to herein as the "Act"). The Division is further required under this section to notify the park owner of its approval or the specific deficiencies precluding approval.
The Division approved the prospectus submitted by the park owner on September 9,1985 and notified the latter of its approval. Shortly thereafter, the appellants were given copies of the approved prospectus by the park owner. Appellants subsequently filed with the Division their Petition to Initiate Formal Proceedings.
In their Petition, appellants alleged that the Division should not have approved the proposed prospectus because, they contended, the terms of the proposed prospectus greatly increased the cost of residence at the park, substantially reduced services previously provided by the park owner, and greatly modified the terms under which appellants had previously resided in the park. Appellants further alleged that certain terms of the prospectus were unconscionable. Finally, appellants claimed that, as imposed upon mobile home owners already residing in the park, the proposed prospectus would be an unconstitutional impairment of the obligation of contract.
The Division's final order denying appellants' petition found that neither the Act nor the rules promulgated thereunder contemplated participation by the home owners in the prospectus review process, that the petition was defective insofar as it requested a formal proceeding pursuant to Section 120.57(1) while failing to set forth any disputed issues of material fact, that appellants had not demonstrated that their substantial interests had been determined by the agency in the prospectus review process, that appellants had no standing to participate in the prospectus review process, and that, since specific statutory remedies are provided with regard to rental increases or decreases in services when actually threatened, those remedies must be pursued in lieu of participation in the prospectus review process. In addition, the final order determined that as to appellants the Division's approval of the proposed prospectus submitted by the park owner did not constitute final agency action because, by agency rule, a determination regarding the adequacy of a proposed prospectus does not preclude the agency from pursuing violations of the Act via administrative enforcement proceedings.
The principal issue in this case is whether the appellants were entitled to participate in the prospectus review process. In denying appellants' petition for a Section 120.57 hearing, the Division concluded that the home owners were not so entitled. We agree with the Division's conclusion and accordingly hold that the Division did not err in denying appellants' petition.
An overview of the Florida Mobile Home Act is helpful to an understanding of the issues presented in this appeal. Of particular importance is an understanding of the functions of the prospectus in the legal relationship between park owner and home owner and the statutory role of the Division in the prospectus review process. Also noteworthy are the statutory mechanisms by which rental increases are proposed and effectuated, and the mechanisms by which services to the park are reduced.
Prior to the enactment of Chapter 723, tenancies between a mobile home park owner and mobile home owners were regulated to an extent by Part 3 of Chapter 83, Florida Statutes, known as the "Mobile Home Landlord and Tenant Act." That Act made no provision for any type of prospectus. It was only with the enactment in 1984 of the current Chapter 723 that a prospectus or offering circular was required to be provided to prospective lessees and to current lessees upon renewal of an existing leasehold. See Section 723.011, Florida Statutes.
The prospectus is fundamentally a disclosure document. As required by Section 723.012, the prospectus, as drafted by the park owner, must contain certain information and exhibits, including a description of the mobile home park property (Section 723.012(4)(c)), a description of the recreational and other common facilities to be used by the home owners (Section 723.-012(5)), the arrangements for management of the park and maintenance and operation of the park property (Section 723.012(6)), a description of all improvements which are required to be installed by the mobile home owner (Section 723.012(7)), a description of the manner in which utility and other services will be provided to the home owners (Section 723.012(8)), an explanation of the manner in which rents and other charges will be raised, including 90 days advance notice and disclosure of any rate increase or pass-through charges, and any other fees, costs or charges to which the home owner may be subjected (Section 723.-012(9)), and an explanation of the manner in which park rules or regulations will be set, changed or promulgated, including park regulations currently in effect (Section 723.012(10)).
The Act requires that the prospectus contain as exhibits any ground lease which may be in effect, covenants and restrictions affecting the park property, and a copy of the rental agreement which will be offered by the park owner in the rental of mobile home lots (Section 723.012(13)). As may be seen from the above statutory analysis, the purpose of the prospectus is to disclose to prospective lessees certain information regarding the future operation of a mobile home park.
Section 723.011 sets forth certain pertinent provisions relating to prospectuses, including the following:
723.011 Disclosure prior to rental of a mobile home lot; prospectus filing, approval.—
(1)(a) Every mobile home park owner of a park which contains 26 or more lots shall file a prospectus or offering circular with the division prior to entering into an enforceable rental agreement.
(b) The division shall determine whether the proposed prospectus or offering circular is adequate to meet the requirements of this chapter and shall notify the park owner by mail, within 45 days of receipt of the document, that the division has either approved the prospectus or offering circular or found specified deficiencies.
(c) The division shall prepare a form prospectus .
*
(2) The park owner shall furnish a copy of the prospectus or offering circular together with all the exhibits thereto to each prospective lessee. Delivery shall be made upon execution of a rental agreement or at the time of occupancy, whichever occurs first. However, the park owner is not required to furnish a copy of the prospectus or offering circular if the tenancy is a renewal of tenancy and the mobile home owner has previous ly received the prospectus or offering circular.
(3) With regard to a tenancy in existence on the effective date of this chapter, the prospectus or offering circular offered by the mobile home park owner shall contain the same terms and conditions as rental agreements offered to all other mobile home owners residing in the park on the effective date of this act, excepting only rent variations based upon lot location and size, and shall not require any mobile home owner to install any permanent improvements.
As may be seen from the above Section, a prospectus is given only to prospective lessees and to tenants upon renewal of an existing rental agreement. See also Rule 7D-31.01(13), Florida Administrative Code, for similar provisions. Therefore, the Act does not require that the prospectus be given to existing tenants except upon renewal of an existing rental agreement. Thus, tenancies in existence upon the effective date of the Act continue according to the terms and conditions set forth in the rental agreements; it is only upon renewal or the entering into of a new lease that the prospectus provisions of the Act are implicated.
As set forth in Section 723.011, park owners, prior to entering into a new rental agreement or the renewal of an existing agreement, must file a proposed prospectus with the Division. The Division is charged with the responsibility of determining whether the proposed prospectus meets the requirements of Chapter 723, and the Division is statutorily required, within 45 days of receipt of the document, to either approve the prospectus or cite deficiencies. Further, the Act provides that the Division "shall notify the park owner by mail" of approval or rejection. Section 723.-011(l)(b); Rule 7D-30.03, Florida Administrative Code. However, failure of the Division to notify the park owner of any deficiencies in the prospectus does not relieve the park owner of its statutory duties and responsibilities under the Act. See Rule 7D-30.03, Florida Administrative Code.
As previously stated, the prospectus is to contain the procedure whereby future rental increases are to be proposed, challenged, and resolved. Section 723.012(9). This section, in conjunction with Rule 7D-31.01(6), Florida Administrative Code, requires that the prospectus disclose each type of charge to be paid by the home owner and a description of all factors which may result in an increase in those charges to the home owners. Section 723.037, Florida Statutes, which governs actual lot rental increase proposals, contains the 90-day advance notice requirement prior to any reduction in services, increase in rent, or change in rules and regulations. See also, Rule 32.-02, Florida Administrative Code (governing the Notice of Lot Rental Increase and providing that only those factors specifically identified in the prospectus may form the basis of a proposed rate increase). According to Section 723.037(2), once the written notice is given by the park owner, a committee or a home owners' association shall meet with the park owner to discuss the intended change and, according to subsection (3), within 15 days of the meeting, the home owners, if they decide to contest the change, shall request that the dispute be submitted to mediation pursuant to Section 723.038 if a majority of the home owners have stated, in writing, that the rental increase is unreasonable, the decrease in services was not accompanied by a corresponding decrease in rent, or the change in rules or regulations is unreasonable. According to the Act, if both parties subsequently agree, arbitration rather than mediation may be requested. Division rules regulating mediation and arbitration are contained in Chapters 7D-32 and 7D-33, Florida Administrative Code.
According to Section 723.037(5), no dispute regarding lot rental increases, reduction in services or utilities, or proposed changes in rules or regulations may be filed in the circuit court unless and until a request for mediation or arbitration has been submitted to the Division. Subsection (6) provides that if a party refuses to mediate or arbitrate, that party, upon proper request, shall not be entitled to attorneys' fees in any action related to the dispute. Finally, Section 723.038(2) provides that, unless otherwise agreed by the parties, mediation and arbitration is not binding and no resolution of the dispute shall be deemed final agency action.
Our reading of the Florida Mobile Home Act persuades us that the legislature contemplated exclusive participation in the prospectus review process by park owners.
Suwannee River Area Council of Boy Scouts of America v. State of Florida, Department of Community Affairs, 384 So.2d 1369 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980) is instructive. There, the agency determined that the legislature did not specify or intend that third persons, including the Boy Scout Council (an adjacent property owner), be given the right to participate as a party in a binding letter proceeding to determine whether a development was one of regional impact. This court upheld the agency's order precluding such participation. Similarly, appellants in the instant case can point to no provision of the Mobile Home Act which contemplates participation in the prospectus review process by home owners. Appellants, however, assert that, unlike the instant case, the Council in Suwannee River was given notice of the proceedings and had an opportunity to comment prior to the issuance of a binding letter by the agency. However, we would note that prospectus review by the Division is not binding, at least in that, notwithstanding approval of the prospectus, the park owner must still comply with the various statutory requirements of Chapter 723 and a park owner may place no provision in the prospectus which circumvents his duties and responsibilities under Chapter 723. And if an approved prospectus does contain such a provision, enforcement proceedings may be instituted as contemplated by Chapter 723.
Appellants have failed to establish that prospectus review by the Division affected their substantial interests. As stated in Agrico Chemical Company v. Department of Environmental Regulation, 406 So.2d 478 (Fla. 2nd DCA 1981):
[Bjefore one can be considered to have a substantial interest in the outcome of the proceeding he must show 1) that he will suffer injury in fact which is of sufficient immediacy to entitle him to a section 120.57 hearing, and 2) that his substantial injury is of a type or nature which the proceeding is designed to protect. The first aspect of the test deals with the degree of injury. The second deals with the nature of the injury.
Id. at 482. Appellants assert that their substantial interests were affected by the Division's approval of the prospectus. They say that the approval of the prospectus immediately made the park less attractive to potential purchasers of their mobile homes and thereby affected the value and marketability of their homes. Appellants also allege that certain provisions of the prospectus may have a chilling effect upon the residents' resolution of any grievances against the park owner inasmuch as the homeowners may be required to pay certain expenses incurred by the park owner in such actions.
Such allegations are insufficient to meet the requirement for standing under Agrico. First, appellants have not demonstrated any immediate injury in fact. Appellants' concerns are speculative. In regard to the first allegation of injury, the record gives no indication that any homes have been offered for sale, have been sold, or that home owners have been unable to sell their homes due to the provisions contained in the prospectus. In regard to the second allegation of injury, appellants have not shown that the approval of the prospectus will prevent them from enforcing their rights under the Florida Mobile Home Act. They merely suggest that certain provisions of the prospectus may have a chilling effect upon their rights.
Appellants also fail to show that their injury is of a type which the proceeding is designed to protect. Participation in the review of a prospectus would do nothing to prevent injury. In the event that appellants suffer injury in the future, ample recourse is provided through the several remedial provisions of the Act which are designed to protect homeowners aggrieved by violations of Chapter 723. The Act provides for: (1) the enforcement of rights or duties under certain sections of the Act by civil action after the party has exhausted its administrative remedies, if any (Section 723.004(4)); (2) powers and duties of the Division including investigatory powers and the duty to institute enforcement proceedings in its own name (Section 723.006); (3) the obligation of good faith and fair dealings in rental agreements (Section 723.-021); (4) regulations as to the mobile home lot rental agreement (Section 723.031); (5) provisions for unconscionable lot rental agreements (Section 723.033); (6) mediation or arbitration provisions concerning lot rental increases, reduction in services or utilities, or changes in rules or regulations (Section 723.037); and (7) dispute settlements (Section 723.038).
Secondly, the prospectus approval by the Division does not constitute final agency action as to the appellants. Notwithstanding prospectus approval, park owners must still comply with the various provisions of the Act. Under the statute, the Division may make investigations into allegations of noncompliance with the Act, and rental increases or reduction of services remain subject to Section 723.037, Florida Statutes. No action by the Division in regard to prospectus approval is binding on the appellants and thus, as to the appellants, no finality has been demonstrated such as to warrant a Section 120.57 hearing.
Nevertheless, appellants maintain they are entitled to standing to participate in the prospectus review process because the Division's interpretation of the Florida Mobile Home Act would result in an unconstitutional impairment of contract. Appellants argue that the prospectus submitted to the Division by the park owner was in contradiction to the appellants' previous understanding with the park owner on a number of material terms. Specifically, they contend, in the prospectus the park owner was attempting to renege on certain commitments concerning facilities to be provided at the park. The prospectus reflected an intent by the park owner to charge residents separately for charges previously included in their rent, and to increase the lot rental at the park based upon variables so far-ranging as to be meaningless. According to appellants, by the alteration of the terms of existing agreements, the prospectus impermissibly affects the substantial rights of mobile homeowners already residing in the park.
We disagree. To the extent that the terms and conditions of the prospectus may, if enforced, be violative of existing contractual rights of park residents, the fact that the Division may have approved the park owner's new prospectus does not eliminate the residents' legal rights to seek redress for such violations. The proper forum for such redress, however, is not the Division's prospectus review apparatus.
AFFIRMED.
JOANOS and THOMPSON, JJ" concur.
. Chapter 723, Florida Statutes (1984 Supp.). Unless otherwise indicated, references in this opinion to pertinent sections of Chapter 723 shall be to the 1984 Supplement of Florida Statutes.
. Chapter 84-80, Laws of Florida.
. Those park owners not required to provide a prospectus must provide certain disclosure information as required by Section 723.013.