An Act To Issue Certificates of Title for Single-unit Mobile Homes
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 2061
Committee: Judiciary
Amends: 29-A MRSA §651, 29-A MRSA §652, 29-A MRSA §654, 29-A MRSA §667, 29-A MRSA §705

Legislative Document 
No. 2061 
H.P.1457 
House of Representatives, March 13,2006 
An Act To Issue Certificates of Title for Single-unit Mobile Homes 
Reported by Representative SIMPSON of Auburn for the Secretary of State pursuant to 
Resolve 2005, chapter 103. 
Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed under Joint Rule 
218. 
Printed on recycled paper 
--m~ 
1J?11!d£~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. I. 29-A MRSA §IOI, sub-§32-B is enacted to read: 
32-B. 
~ufact-y;r:ed housing. 
"Manufactured housing" means a 
structural unit or units designed to be used as a dwelling or 
dwellings and constructed in a manufacturing facility and then 
transported by the use of its own chassis or placement on an 
in~pendent chassis to a building 
siJ~~.. 
"Manufactured housing" 
includes 
any 
type 
of 
building 
that 
is 
constructed 
at 
a 
manufacturing facility and then transported to a building site 
where it is used for housing and that may be purchased, sold, 
offered for sale or broke red by a licensee in the interim. 
Three 
types of manufactured housing are included. 
They are: 
A. 
Units 
constructed 
after 
June 
15, 
1976 
that 
the 
manufacturer certifies are constructed in compliance with 
the code adopted by the United States Department of Housing 
and Urban Development and that are structures, transportgble 
in one or more sections that, in the traveling mode, are g; 
body feet or more in width and 40 body feet or more in 
length or, when erected on site, are llQ' or more square feet 
and are built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used 
as dwellings, with or without permanent foundat.ions, 
when 
connected to th:e reguired utilities, inel uding the plumbing, 
heating, air-conditioning an,d electrical systems within the 
units: 
except 
that 
"manufa'C'tu.;ed 
housing" 
includes 
any 
structure that meets all the requirements of this paragraph 
except the size requirements and with respect to which the 
manufacturer voluntarily files a certification required by 
the Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and 
Urban 
Development 
and 
complies 
with 
the 
standards 
established 
under 
the 
National 
Manufactured 
Housing 
Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974,42 United 
States Code, Section 5401 et seg.; 
B. 
State-certified modular homes, 
which are those units 
that 
the 
manufacturer 
certifies 
are 
constructed 
in 
compliance 
with 
the 
State's 
laws 
and 
rules 
governing 
manufactu.red housing, meaning structures, transportable in 
one 
or 
more 
sections, 
that 
are 
not 
constructed 
on 
a 
permanent chassis and are designed to be used as dwellings 
on 
foundations 
when 
connected 
to 
required 
utilities, 
including 
the 
plumbing, 
heating, 
air-conditioning 
or 
electrical systems within the units: and 
C. 
Units 
constructed prior to 
June 
15, 
1976 
that are 
structures, transportable in one or more sections, that are 
body feet or more in width and are 32 body feet or more in 
length and are built on a permanent chassis and designed to 
Page l-LR3171 (1) 
be used as dwellings, with or without permanent foundations, 
when 
connected to the required utilities, 
including the 
plumbing, 
heating, 
air-conditioning or electrical systems 
within the units. 
Sec. 2. 29-A MRSA §lOl, sub-§35, as enacted by PL 1993 I 
c. 
683, Pt. A, §2 and affected by Pt. B, §5, is amended to read: 
35. 
Mobile 
home. 
"Mobile 
home" 
lIIeaRs---a---s~f'l:le~l:lf'eT 
~FaRspeE~aBle-4n-~~-~~~~~&&r-~ha~. has the same meaning 
as 
"manufactured 
housing" 
as 
defined 
in 
subsection 
32-B, 
paragraphs A and C. 
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aeveF~isiR~T--~~~--~~~-~:t=---pEellle~ieR--~--~~~--eF 
6eFviee9f-~~.£--a-~:t=-Gi&J:.-p1:1:FpeSeT-eK~ep-t.-~-t;.:t=-&&~.~t;.~&-e~ 
pFepeF~Yf-eF-as-pI:lB*ie-sehee*-~aei*i~iesT 
Sec.3. 29-A MRSA §651, sub-§6 is enacted to read: 
6. 
Manufactured hQusi~. 
Beginning January 1, 
2007, 
tl}~ 
Secretary of State shall issue certificates of title for new 
single-unit manufactured housing beginning with model year 2007. 
Beginning January 1, 2007, the Secretary of State shall issue a 
~~ficate of title 
f~sed manufactured housing that was 
previously issued a State of Maine certificate of title. 
Sec. 4. 29-A MRSA §652, sub-§9, as 
Pt. 
A, 
§2 
and affected by Pt. 
B, 
following enacted in its place: 
enacted by PL 1993, c. 683, 
§5, 
is repealed and the 
9. 
Manufactured housing. 
Manufactured housing that is: 
A. 
$old before January 1, 2007; 
B. 
Model year 2006 or older; 
C. A multisection structure; or 
D. 
Described in section 101, subsection 32-B, paragraph B. 
Sec.5. 29-A MRSA §654, sub-§5 is enacted to read: 
5. 
Manufactured housj.ng. 
The following provisions govern 
applications for a certificate of title for manufactured housing. 
A. 
An application for new single unit manufactured housing 
must be submitted to the Secretary of State by the retail 
seller. 
If the manufactured housing is purchased new out of 
state, the application must be submitted by the lienholder 
or the owner. 
The application must be accompanied by the 
manufacturer's certificate of origin. 
B. 
An application for used single-unit manufactured housing 
must be submitted by the retail seller. 
In the absence of a 
retail seller located in this State, the application must be 
submitted by the lienholder. 
In the absence of a retail 
seller and a lienholder, the application must be submitted 
by the owner. 
The application must be accompanied by the 
previous State of Maine certificate of title. 
Sec. 6. 29-A MRSA §667, sub-§7 is enacted to read: 
1. 
Ezemp~ion. 
Certificates 
of 
title 
issued 
for 
manufactured housing are exempt from this section. 
Sec. 7. 29-A MRSA §705, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2003, c. 295, 
§l, is further amended to read: 
3. 
Assumed release of lien. 
*se 
Except 
for 
liens 
on 
manufactured housing, the Secretary of State, at the Secretary of 
State's discretion, may assume that any lien with a lien date 
more than 66 months old has been satisfied as provided in this 
subsection. 
The Secretary of State shall provide notice to he 
lienholder 
by 
both 
regular 
mail 
and 
certified mail, 
return 
receipt requested, that the lien will be assumed to be satisfied 
unless the lienholder objects in writing within 30 days of either 
receipt of the notice, as evidenced by the return receipt, or 45 
days of mailing by the Secretary of State in the event the 
lienholder refuses delivery of the notice by certified mail. 
The 
notice must identify the vehicle by year, make, model and vehicle 
identification number and must include the date of the lien and 
the name of the owner as of the date of the lien. 
Sec. 8. Effective date. 
This Act takes effect January 1, 2007. 
SUMMARY 
This bill makes the following changes to the laws governing 
motor vehicles and certificates of title. 
1. 
It enacts a definition of "manufactured housing" similar 
to the one in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 10, section 9002, 
subsection 7. 
2. 
It changes the definition of "mobile home" to make it 
consistent with the definition of "manufactured housing." 
3. 
It requires the Secretary of State to issue certificates 
of title for certain single-unit manufactured housing. 
4. 
It makes clear that certain manufactured housing is 
exempt from the certificate of title laws. 
5. 
It states who is responsible for filing a certificate of 
title application with the Secretary of State. 
6. 
It exempts certificates of title issued for manufactured 
housing from the salvage laws. 
7. 
It makes clear that the Secretary of State cannot assume 
a lien is released after 66 months if the certificate of title is 
issued for manufactured housing. 
8. 
It provides an effective date of January 1, 2007.