2023 New York Laws › RPP - Real Property › Article 7 - Landlord and Tenant › 233 - Manufactured Home Parks; Duties, Responsibilities.

§  233. Manufactured home parks; duties, responsibilities. a. Wherever
used in this section:
1. The term "manufactured home tenant" means one who rents space in  a
manufactured  home  park from a manufactured home park owner or operator
for the purpose of parking his manufactured home  or  one  who  rents  a
manufactured  home  in a manufactured home park from a manufactured home
park owner or operator.
2. The term "manufactured home owner" means one who holds title  to  a
manufactured home.
3.  The  term  "manufactured  home  park" means a contiguous parcel of
privately owned land which is used for the  accommodation  of  three  or
more manufactured homes occupied for year-round living.
4.  The  term  "manufactured home" means a structure, transportable in
one or more sections, which in the traveling mode, is eight body feet or
more in width or forty body feet or more in length, or, when erected  on
site, is three hundred twenty or more square feet, and which is built on
a  permanent  chassis  and  designed  to  be  used as a dwelling with or
without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities,
and includes the plumbing,  heating,  air-conditioning,  and  electrical
systems contained therein; except that such term shall include a "mobile
home"  as defined in paragraph five, and shall include a structure which
meets  all  the  requirements  of  this  subdivision  except  the   size
requirements  and  with  respect  to  which the manufacturer voluntarily
files a certification required by the secretary  of  housing  and  urban
development.
5.  The  term  "mobile  home"  means  a  moveable  or  portable  unit,
manufactured prior  to  January  first,  nineteen  hundred  seventy-six,
designed  and  constructed  to be towed on its own chassis, comprised of
frame and wheels, connected to utilities, and designed  and  constructed
without a permanent foundation for year-round living. A unit may contain
parts  that  may be folded, collapsed or telescoped when being towed and
expanded later to provide additional cubic capacity as well  as  two  or
more  separately  towable  components  designed  to  be  joined into one
integral unit capable of being again separated into the  components  for
repeated  towing.  "Mobile  home"  shall  mean units designed to be used
exclusively for residential purposes, excluding travel trailers.
6. The term "rent-to-own contract" shall mean any agreement between  a
manufactured  home park owner or operator and a manufactured home renter
which provides that after a specified  term  or  other  contingency  the
manufactured home renter will take ownership of the rented home.
7.  The  term "rent-to-own payment" shall mean any payment or payments
made by a manufactured home renter pursuant to  a  rent-to-own  contract
which  are  in  addition  to rental payments for the rented site and the
rented home.
b. A manufactured  home  park  owner  or  operator  may  not  evict  a
manufactured home tenant other than for the following reasons:
2.  The manufactured home tenant has defaulted in the payment of rent,
pursuant to the agreement under which  the  premises  are  held,  and  a
demand  of the rent with at least thirty days notice in writing has been
served upon him as prescribed in section seven  hundred  thirty-five  of
the  real  property  actions and proceedings law. Upon the acceptance of
such delinquent rent together with allowable costs, an action instituted
for nonpayment of rent shall be terminated. Any person succeeding to the
manufactured home park owner or operator's interest in the premises  may
proceed  under this subdivision for rent due his predecessor in interest
if he has a right thereto.
3. The premises, or any part  thereof,  are  used  or  occupied  as  a
bawdy-house,  or  house or place of assignation for lewd purposes or for
purposes of prostitution, or for any illegal trade or business.
4. The manufactured home tenant is in violation of some federal, state
or  local law or ordinance which may be deemed detrimental to the safety
and welfare of the other persons residing in the manufactured home park.
5. The manufactured home tenant or anyone occupying  the  manufactured
home is in violation of any lease term or rule or regulation established
by  the  manufactured  home  park  owner  or  operator  pursuant to this
section, and has continued in violation for more than ten days after the
manufactured home park owner or operator has  given  written  notice  of
such  violation  to the manufactured home tenant setting forth the lease
term or rule or regulation violated and directing that the  manufactured
home  tenant  correct  or  cease violation of such lease term or rule or
regulation within ten days from the receipt of  said  notice.  Upon  the
expiration  of  such  period should the violation continue or should the
manufactured home tenant or anyone occupying the  manufactured  home  be
deemed a persistent violator of the lease term or rules and regulations,
the   park   owner  or  operator  may  serve  written  notice  upon  the
manufactured home tenant directing that he vacate  the  premises  within
thirty days of the receipt of said notice.
6.  (i) The manufactured home park owner or operator proposes a change
in the use of the land comprising  the  manufactured  home  park,  or  a
portion  thereof,  on  which  the  manufactured  home  is  located, from
manufactured  home  lot  rentals  to  some  other  use,   provided   the
manufactured  home  owner is given written notice of the proposed change
of  use  and  the  manufactured  home  owner's  need  to  secure   other
accommodations.  Whenever  a  manufactured  home  park owner or operator
gives a notice of proposed change of use to any manufactured home owner,
the manufactured home park owner or operator shall, at  the  same  time,
give notice of the proposed change of use to all other manufactured home
owners  or tenants in the manufactured home park who will be required to
secure other accommodations as a result of such proposed change of  use.
Eviction  proceedings  based  on  a change in use shall not be commenced
prior to two years from the service of notice of proposed change in use.
Such notice shall be served in the manner prescribed  in  section  seven
hundred  thirty-five of the real property actions and proceedings law or
by certified mail, return receipt requested.
(ii) Where a purchaser of a manufactured home park certified that such
purchaser did not intend to change the  use  of  the  land  pursuant  to
paragraph  (b)  of subdivision two of section two hundred thirty-three-a
of this article, no eviction proceedings based on a change of use  shall
be  commenced  until the expiration of sixty months from the date of the
closing on the sale of the park.
(iii) (A) The manufactured home park owner or operator  shall  provide
the  manufactured home owner a stipend of up to fifteen thousand dollars
per manufactured home owner, pursuant to a court order.  A  warrant  for
eviction  cannot  be  executed  until  the  stipend has been paid to the
manufactured home owner being evicted.
(B) The court shall calculate the stipend based upon consideration  of
the following factors:
(1) The cost of relocation of the manufactured home;
(2)  The  number  of manufactured homes in the same park that would be
receiving a stipend;
(3) The amount the real property is being purchased for;
(4) The value of the real property the manufactured  home  is  located
on;
(5)  The  value  of  the  development rights attached to real property
parcel the manufactured home is located on; and
(6) Any other factors the court determines are relevant in each case.
(C)  In  the  event the manufactured home owner is not removed and the
eviction proceeding is terminated  the  manufactured  home  owner  shall
return  the stipend to the park owner. The weight to be afforded to each
of the various factors is within the discretion of the trial court.
c. If the manufactured home park owner or operator does not  have  one
of  the  above grounds available, the manufactured home tenant may raise
the same by affirmative defense to an action for eviction.
d. The proceedings to evict shall be governed by  the  procedures  set
forth in article seven of the real property actions and proceedings law,
except  for  the  provisions of subdivision two of section seven hundred
forty-nine of the real property actions and proceedings law which  shall
be superseded by the provisions of this subdivision.
1.  The  officer  to  whom the warrant is directed and delivered shall
give at  least  ninety  days  notice,  in  writing  and  in  the  manner
prescribed in article seven of the real property actions and proceedings
law  for  the service of notice of petition, to the person or persons to
be evicted or dispossessed and shall execute  the  warrant  between  the
hours of sunrise and sunset.
2.  The  court  may  order that such warrant be directed and delivered
with only thirty days written notice to the  person  or  persons  to  be
evicted  or  dispossessed  if  the conditions upon which the eviction is
founded pose an imminent threat to the health, safety, or welfare of the
other manufactured home tenants in the manufactured home park.
3. The court shall order that such warrant be directed  and  delivered
with  thirty  days written notice to the person or persons to be evicted
or dispossessed if the condition upon which the eviction is  founded  is
that such person is in default in the payment of rent.
4.  Notwithstanding  the  provisions of paragraphs one and two of this
subdivision, nor of any other general, special or  local  law,  rule  or
regulation  to the contrary, the officer to whom the warrant is directed
and delivered shall give seventy-two hours written notice to the  person
or  persons  to  be  evicted  or dispossessed, if such person or persons
rents  a  manufactured  home  in  a  manufactured  home  park   from   a
manufactured  home park owner or operator and such officer shall execute
such warrant between the hours of sunrise and sunset.
e. Leases. 1. The manufactured home park owner or operator shall offer
every manufactured home tenant prior to occupancy,  the  opportunity  to
sign  a  lease  for  a minimum of one year, which offer shall be made in
writing. All lease offers, including initial and renewal  leases,  shall
include  a  rider regarding tenant rights. Such rider shall be in a form
approved or promulgated by the commissioner  of  housing  and  community
renewal  and  which  shall  be  made available to manufactured home park
owners and operators.
2. (i) On or before, as appropriate, (a) the first day of  October  of
each  calendar year with respect to a manufactured home owner who is not
currently a party to a written lease with a manufactured home park owner
or operator or (b) the ninetieth day next preceding the expiration  date
of  any  existing  written lease between a manufactured home owner and a
manufactured home park owner or operator,  the  manufactured  home  park
owner  or  operator  shall submit to each such manufactured home owner a
written offer to lease for a term of at least  twelve  months  from  the
commencement  date  thereof  unless  the manufactured home park owner or
operator has previously  furnished  the  manufactured  home  owner  with
written  notification  of a proposed change of use pursuant to paragraph
six of subdivision b of this section. Any such  offer  shall  include  a

copy  of  the  proposed  lease  containing  such  terms  and conditions,
including provisions for rent and other  charges,  as  the  manufactured
home  park  owner  shall  deem  appropriate;  provided  such  terms  and
conditions  are consistent with all rules and regulations promulgated by
the manufactured home park operator prior to the date of the  offer  and
are  not  otherwise  prohibited or limited by applicable law. Such offer
shall also contain a statement advising the manufactured home owner that
if he or she fails to execute and return the lease to  the  manufactured
home  park owner or operator within thirty days after submission of such
lease, the manufactured home owner shall be deemed to have declined  the
offer  of  a  lease  and  shall  not  have any right to a lease from the
manufactured home park owner or operator for the next succeeding  twelve
months.
(ii)  For  purposes  of  this  paragraph, the commencement date of any
lease offered by the manufactured home park owner  to  the  manufactured
home  owner  shall  be  the  ninetieth day after the date upon which the
manufactured home park owner shall  have  provided  the  offer  required
pursuant  to this paragraph; provided, however, that no such lease shall
be effective if, on such commencement date, the manufactured home  owner
is  in  default  of  more  than  one  month's  rent.  In  the  event the
manufactured home owner shall have failed to  execute  and  return  said
lease to the manufactured home park owner or operator within thirty days
after  it  is  submitted  to  the manufactured home owner as required by
subparagraph (i) of this paragraph the manufactured home owner shall  be
deemed to have declined to enter said lease.
3.  No  lease  provision  shall  be  inconsistent  with  any  rule  or
regulation in effect at the commencement of the lease.
4. If a manufactured home park owner or  operator  fails  to  offer  a
tenant  a  lease  as provided in this subdivision, the tenant shall have
all the rights of a leaseholder and may not be evicted  for  other  than
the  reasons  specified  in  paragraph  two, three, four, five or six of
subdivision (b) of this section.
5. All rent increases, including all fees, rents, charges, assessments
and utilities, shall be subject and  pursuant  to  section  two  hundred
thirty-three-b of this article.
f.  Rules  and  regulations.  1.  A  manufactured  home  park owner or
operator may promulgate rules and regulations governing  the  rental  or
occupancy of a manufactured home lot provided such rules and regulations
shall  not be unreasonable, arbitrary or capricious. A copy of all rules
and regulations shall be delivered by the manufactured home  park  owner
or operator to all manufactured home tenants at the same time such owner
or   operator  initially  offers  the  written  lease  provided  for  in
subdivision e of this section. A copy of the rules and regulations shall
be posted in  a  conspicuous  place  upon  the  manufactured  home  park
grounds.
2.   If  a  rule  or  regulation  is  not  applied  uniformly  to  all
manufactured home tenants of the manufactured home park there shall be a
rebuttable presumption that such rule  or  regulation  is  unreasonable,
arbitrary  and  capricious,  provided,  however,  that  an inconsistency
between a rule or regulation and a  lease  term  contained  in  a  lease
signed  before  the  date  the rule or regulation is effective shall not
raise a rebuttable presumption that such rule is unreasonable, arbitrary
or capricious.
3. Any rule or regulation which does not conform to  the  requirements
of  this section or which has not been supplied or posted as required by
paragraph one of this subdivision shall  be  unenforceable  and  may  be
raised  by the manufactured home tenant as an affirmative defense in any
action to evict on the basis of a violation of such rule or regulation.
4. No rules or regulations may be changed  by  the  manufactured  home
park  owner or operator without specifying the date of implementation of
said changed rules and regulations, which date shall be  no  fewer  than
thirty days after written notice to all tenants.
5. A mobile home park owner or operator may not prohibit the placement
of  a  for  sale  sign  on  any mobile home. A rule or regulation may be
promulgated limiting the maximum size of such sign;  provided,  that  it
does  not  prohibit signs the size of which do not exceed the smaller of
three  feet  by  two  feet  or  the  maximum  size  allowed  by  law  or
governmental regulation or ordinance, if any.
g.  1. No tenant shall be charged a fee for other than rent, utilities
and charges for facilities and services available  to  the  tenant.  All
fees,  charges  or  assessments  must  be reasonably related to services
actually rendered.
2. A manufactured home park owner or operator  shall  be  required  to
fully  disclose  in  writing  all  fees, charges, assessments, including
rental fees, rules and regulations  prior  to  entering  into  a  rental
agreement with a prospective tenant in the manufactured home park.
3.  No  fees,  charges, assessments or rental fees may be increased by
manufactured home park owner or operator without specifying the date  of
implementation  of  said fees, charges, assessments or rental fees which
date shall be no less than ninety  days  after  written  notice  to  all
manufactured  home tenants. Failure on the part of the manufactured home
park  owner  or  operator  to  fully  disclose  all  fees,  charges   or
assessments  shall  prevent the manufactured home park owner or operator
from collecting said fees, charges or assessments, and  refusal  by  the
manufactured  home  tenant  to  pay any undisclosed charges shall not be
used by the manufactured home park owner or  operator  as  a  cause  for
eviction in any court of law. Rent, utilities and charges for facilities
and services available to the tenant may not be increased unless a lease
has  been  offered  to  the  tenant as required by subdivision e of this
section.
4. (a) Whenever money shall be deposited or advanced on a contract  or
license agreement for the use or rental of premises and the manufactured
home, if rented, in a manufactured home park as security for performance
of  the  contract  or  agreement  or to be applied to payments upon such
contract or agreement  when  due,  such  money  with  interest  accruing
thereon,  if  any,  until repaid or so applied, shall continue to be the
money of the person making such deposit or advance and shall be a  trust
fund  in  the possession of the person with whom such deposit or advance
shall be made and shall not be mingled with other  funds  or  become  an
asset of the park owner, operator or his agent.
(b) Whenever the person receiving money so deposited or advanced shall
deposit  such  money  in  a  banking  organization,  such  person  shall
thereupon notify in writing each of the  persons  making  such  security
deposit  or  advance,  giving  the  name  and  address  of  the  banking
organization in which the deposit of security money  is  made,  and  the
amount  of  such deposit. Deposits in a banking organization pursuant to
the  provisions  of  this  subdivision  shall  be  made  in  a   banking
organization  having a place of business within the state. If the person
depositing such security money in a banking organization  shall  deposit
same in an interest bearing account, he shall be entitled to receive, as
administration  expenses, a sum equivalent to one percent per annum upon
the security money so deposited, which shall be in  lieu  of  all  other
administrative and custodial expenses. The balances of the interest paid
by  the banking organization shall be the money of the person making the
deposit or advance and shall either be held in trust by the person  with
whom  such deposit or advance shall be made, until repaid or applied for

the use or rental of the leased premises, or annually paid to the person
making the deposit of security money.
(c) Whenever the money so deposited or advanced is for the rental of a
manufactured  home park lot on property on which are located six or more
manufactured home park lots, the  person  receiving  such  money  shall,
subject  to  the  provisions  of this section, deposit it in an interest
bearing account in a banking organization within the state which account
shall earn interest at a rate which shall be the prevailing rate  earned
by other such deposits made with the banking organizations in such area.
(d) In the event that a lease terminates other than at the time that a
banking  organization  in  such area regularly pays interest, the person
depositing such security money shall pay over to his  manufactured  home
tenant  such interest as he is able to collect at the date of such lease
termination.
(e) Any provision of such a contract or agreement whereby a person who
so deposits or advances money waives any provision of  this  subdivision
is void.
h. No manufactured home park owner shall:
1.  Require  a  manufactured home tenant therein to purchase from said
manufactured home park owner or operator skirting or equipment for tying
down  manufactured  homes,  or  any  other   equipment.   However,   the
manufactured  home  park  owner  or  operator  may  determine by rule or
regulation the style or quality of such equipment to be purchased by the
manufactured home tenant  from  the  vendor  of  the  manufactured  home
tenant's choosing, providing such equipment is readily available.
2.  Charge  any  manufactured  home  tenant  who chooses to install an
electric or gas appliance in his manufactured  home  an  additional  fee
solely  on  the  basis  of such installation unless such installation is
performed by the manufactured home park owner or operator at the request
of the manufactured home tenant, nor shall the  manufactured  home  park
owner  or  operator restrict the installation, service or maintenance of
any such appliance, restrict the ingress or egress of repairers to enter
the manufactured home park for the purpose of installation,  service  or
maintenance  of  any  such  appliance,  or  restrict  the  making of any
interior improvement in such manufactured  home,  so  long  as  such  an
installation  or  improvement  is in compliance with applicable building
codes and other provisions of law and  further  provided  that  adequate
utilities are available for such installation or improvement.
3. Require, by contract, rule, regulation or otherwise, a manufactured
home  dweller  to  purchase from the manufactured home park owner or any
person acting directly or  indirectly  on  behalf  of  the  park  owner,
commodities  or  services  incidental to placement or rental within such
park; nor shall the park owner restrict access to the manufactured  home
park  to  any person employed, retained or requested by the manufactured
home  dweller  to  provide  such  commodity  or  service,   unless   the
manufactured  home  park  owner  establishes  that  such  requirement or
restriction is necessary to protect the property of such park owner from
substantial harm or impairment.
4. Require a manufactured home owner  or  a  prospective  manufactured
home   owner   to  purchase  his  or  her  manufactured  home  from  the
manufactured home park owner or operator, or from any person or  persons
designated  by  the  manufactured  home  park owner or operator. Nothing
herein shall be construed to prevent a manufactured home park  owner  or
operator  from  requiring that any new manufactured home to be installed
in his  or  her  manufactured  home  park  comply  with  the  rules  and
regulations  of  said  manufactured home park or conform to the physical
facilities then existing for installation of a manufactured home in said
manufactured home park.
i. 1. No manufactured home park  owner  or  operator  shall  deny  any
manufactured  home tenant the right to sell his manufactured home within
the manufactured home park provided the manufactured home  tenant  shall
give  to  the  manufactured  home  park  owner  or operator twenty days'
written   notice  of  his  intention  to  sell,  provided  that  if  the
manufactured home owner is deceased no such  notice  shall  be  required
from  the  administrator  or  executor  of  the home owner's estate, and
provided further that no manufactured home park owner or operator  shall
restrict access to the manufactured home park to any potential purchaser
or representatives of any seller unless the manufactured home park owner
establishes  that  such restriction is necessary to protect the property
of such park owner or operator from substantial harm or  impairment.  No
manufactured  home park owner or operator shall require the manufactured
home owner or subsequent purchaser to remove the manufactured home  from
the  manufactured home park solely on the basis of the sale thereof. The
manufactured home park owner  or  operator  may  reserve  the  right  to
approve  the  purchaser of said manufactured home as a manufactured home
tenant for the remainder of the seller's or deceased tenant's  term  but
such  permission  may  not be unreasonably withheld. If the manufactured
home park owner or operator unreasonably  withholds  his  permission  or
unreasonably  restricts  access  to  the  manufactured  home  park,  the
manufactured home tenant or the executor or administrator of a  deceased
tenant's  estate may recover the costs of the proceedings and attorneys'
fees if it is found that the manufactured home park  owner  or  operator
acted in bad faith by withholding permission or restricting access.
2.  The  manufactured  home  park  owner or operator shall not exact a
commission or fee with respect to  the  price  realized  by  the  seller
unless  the  manufactured home park owner or operator has acted as agent
for the manufactured home owner  in  the  sale  pursuant  to  a  written
contract.
3. If the ownership or management rejects a purchaser as a prospective
tenant,  the  selling  tenant must be informed in writing of the reasons
therefor.
j. The owner or operator of a  manufactured  home  park  may  enter  a
manufactured home owner's manufactured home without the prior consent of
the  occupant  only  in  case  of  emergency. The owner or operator of a
manufactured  home  park  may  enter  a   manufactured   home   tenant's
manufactured home during reasonable hours on reasonable notice.
k.  The  owner  or  operator  shall  provide  reasonable  notice where
practicable to all manufactured home tenants who would  be  affected  by
any  planned  disruption  of  necessary  services  caused  by the owner,
operator or his agent.
l. The park owner shall designate an agent on the premises or in close
proximity to the manufactured home park to insure  the  availability  of
emergency  response  actions  in  matters  affecting the health, safety,
well-being and welfare of manufactured home tenants  in  the  park.  The
designated agent's name, address and telephone number shall be posted in
a  conspicuous location in the park, given in writing to each tenant and
registered with appropriate county law enforcement and health  officials
and local fire officials.
m.  Warranty  of habitability, maintenance, disruption of services. In
every written or oral lease  or  rental  agreement  entered  into  by  a
manufactured  home  tenant, the manufactured home park owner or operator
shall be deemed to covenant and warrant that the premises so  leased  or
rented  and  the manufactured home if rented, including rental through a
rent-to-own contract, and all areas  used  in  connection  therewith  in
common  with  other manufactured home tenants or residents including all
roads within the manufactured home park are fit for human habitation and

for the uses reasonably intended by the parties and that  the  occupants
of  such  premises  and  such  manufactured homes if rented shall not be
subjected to any conditions  which  would  be  dangerous,  hazardous  or
detrimental to their life, health or safety. When any such condition has
been  caused by the misconduct of the manufactured home tenant or lessee
or persons under his direction or control, it  shall  not  constitute  a
breach  of  such covenants and warranties. The rights and obligations of
the manufactured home park owner or operator and the  manufactured  home
tenant  shall  be  governed  by  the  provisions of this subdivision and
subdivisions two and three of section two hundred thirty-five-b of  this
article.
n. 1. No manufactured home park owner or operator shall serve a notice
to  quit  upon  any  manufactured  home tenant or commence any action to
recover real property or summary proceeding  to  recover  possession  of
real property in retaliation for:
(a)  A  good  faith  complaint,  by  or  in behalf of the tenant, to a
governmental  authority  of  the  manufactured  home  park  owner's   or
operator's  alleged  violation  of any health or safety law, regulation,
code, or ordinance, or any law or regulation which has as its  objective
the regulation of premises used for dwelling purposes; or
(b)  Actions  taken in good faith, by or in behalf of the manufactured
home tenant, to secure or enforce any rights under the lease  or  rental
agreement,  under subdivision m of this section and subdivisions two and
three of section two hundred thirty-five-b of this article, or under any
other local law, law of the state of New York, or  of  its  governmental
subdivisions,  or  of  the  United States which has as its objective the
regulation of premises used for dwelling purposes; or
(c) The manufactured home tenant's participation in the activities  of
a tenant's organization.
2.  No  manufactured  home  park owner or operator shall substantially
alter the terms of the tenancy in retaliation for any actions set  forth
in subparagraphs (a), (b), and (c) of paragraph one of this subdivision.
Substantial alteration shall include, but is not limited to, the refusal
to  continue  a  tenancy  of  the  manufactured  home  tenant  or,  upon
expiration of the manufactured home owner's lease, to renew the lease or
offer a new lease; provided, however,  that  a  manufactured  home  park
owner  or operator shall not be required under this subdivision to offer
a manufactured home owner a new lease or a  lease  renewal  for  a  term
greater than one year.
3.  This  subdivision  shall apply to all manufactured home parks with
four or more manufactured homes. However, its provisions  shall  not  be
given  effect  in any case in which it is established that the condition
from which the complaint or action arose was caused by the  manufactured
home  tenant, a member of the manufactured home tenant's household, or a
guest of the manufactured home tenant. Nor shall  it  apply  in  a  case
where  a  tenancy  was  terminated pursuant to the terms of a lease as a
result of a bona fide transfer of ownership. The rights and  obligations
of  the  manufactured  home  park owner or operator and the manufactured
home tenant shall be governed by the provisions of this subdivision  and
subdivisions  three, four and five of section two hundred twenty-three-b
of this article.
o. Whenever a lease shall  provide  that  in  any  action  or  summary
proceeding  the  manufactured  home  park  owner or operator may recover
attorney's fees and/or expenses awarded  by  a  court,  there  shall  be
implied  in such lease a covenant by the manufactured home park owner or
operator, to pay to the tenant the  reasonable  attorney's  fees  and/or
expenses  incurred  by  the  tenant to the same extent as is provided in
section two hundred thirty-four of  this  article  which  section  shall

apply  in  its  entirety. A manufactured home park owner or operator may
not demand that a tenant pays attorneys' fees unless such fees have been
awarded pursuant to a court order.
p.  Any  manufactured  home  park  owner or operator who has agreed to
provide hot or cold water, heat, light, power, or any other  service  or
facility  to any occupant of the manufactured home park who willfully or
intentionally without just cause fails  to  furnish  such  water,  heat,
light,  power,  or other service or facility, or who interferes with the
quiet enjoyment of the leased premises, is guilty of a violation.
q. Upon receipt of rent, fees, charges or other  assessments,  in  the
form  of  cash  or  any  instrument other than the personal check of the
tenant, it shall be the duty of the  manufactured  home  park  owner  or
operator  to  provide  the  payor  with a written receipt containing the
following:
1. the date;
2. the amount;
3. the identity of the premises and the period for which paid;
4. the signature and title of the person receiving rent.
r. Limitation on late charges. A late charge on any rental payment  by
a  manufactured home owner which has become due and remains unpaid shall
not exceed and shall be enforced to the extent of three percent of  such
delinquent  payment;  provided, however, that no charge shall be imposed
on any rental payment by a manufactured home owner received  within  ten
days  after  the due date. In the absence of a specific provision in the
lease or the manufactured home park's rules  and  regulations,  no  late
charge  on any delinquent rental payment shall be assessed or collected.
Late  charges  may  not  be  compounded  and  shall  not  be  considered
additional rent.
s.  It  shall  be  a  violation  for  a  manufactured home park owner,
operator or his agent to restrict occupancy of a  manufactured  home  or
manufactured  home park lot intended for residential purposes by express
lease terms or otherwise, to a manufactured home tenant or tenants or to
such tenants and immediate family. Any such restriction in  a  lease  or
rental  agreement  entered into or renewed before or after the effective
date of this  subdivision  shall  be  unenforceable  as  against  public
policy.  The rights and obligations of a manufactured home park owner or
operator and the manufactured home  tenant  shall  be  governed  by  the
provisions  of this subdivision and subdivisions one, three, four, five,
six, seven, eight and nine of section two hundred thirty-five-f of  this
article.
t.  1.  Unless  a greater right to assign is conferred by the lease, a
manufactured home tenant may not assign his lease  without  the  written
consent  of  the manufactured home park owner or operator, which consent
may  be  unconditionally  withheld  without  cause  provided  that   the
manufactured  home park owner or operator shall release the manufactured
home tenant from the lease upon request of the mobile home  tenant  upon
thirty  days  notice  if  the  manufactured  home park owner or operator
unreasonably withholds consent which release shall be the sole remedy of
the tenant. If the owner reasonably withholds consent, there shall be no
assignment and the manufactured home tenant shall not be  released  from
the lease.
2. (a) A manufactured home tenant renting space or a manufactured home
in  a  manufactured  home  park  with  four  or  more manufactured homes
pursuant to an existing  lease  shall  have  a  right  to  sublease  his
premises  subject to the written consent of the park owner in advance of
the subletting. Such consent shall not be unreasonably withheld.
(b) The manufactured home tenant shall inform  the  manufactured  home
park  owner or operator of his intent to sublease by mailing a notice of

such intent by certified mail, return receipt  requested.  Such  request
shall  be  accompanied by the following information: (i) the term of the
sublease, (ii) the name of the proposed sublessee,  (iii)  the  business
and  permanent home address of the proposed sublessee, (iv) the tenant's
reason for subletting, (v) the tenant's address  for  the  term  of  the
sublease,  (vi) the written consent of any co-tenant or guarantor of the
lease, and (vii) a copy of the proposed sublease, to which a copy of the
manufactured  home  tenant's  lease  shall  be  attached  if  available,
acknowledged  by  the manufactured home tenant and proposed subtenant as
being a true copy of such sublease.
(c)  Within  ten  days  after  the  mailing  of  such   request,   the
manufactured  home  park owner or operator may ask the manufactured home
tenant for additional information as will enable the  manufactured  home
park  owner  or operator to determine if rejection of such request shall
be unreasonable. Any such request for additional information  shall  not
be  unduly  burdensome.  Within  thirty  days  after  the mailing of the
request for consent, or of the additional information  reasonably  asked
for by the manufactured home park owner or operator, whichever is later,
the  manufactured home park owner or operator shall send a notice to the
manufactured home tenant of his consent or, if he does not consent,  his
reasons  therefor.  Manufactured home park owner's or operator's failure
to send such a notice shall be deemed to be a consent  to  the  proposed
subletting.  If  the  manufactured home park owner or operator consents,
the premises may be sublet in  accordance  with  the  request,  but  the
manufactured  home  tenant  thereunder, shall nevertheless remain liable
for the performance of manufactured home tenant's obligations under said
lease. If the  manufactured  home  park  owner  or  operator  reasonably
withholds  consent,  there  shall  be no subletting and the manufactured
home tenant shall not be released from the lease.  If  the  manufactured
home   park  owner  or  operator  unreasonably  withholds  consent,  the
manufactured home tenant may sublet in accordance with the  request  and
may  recover  the  costs  of  the proceeding and attorneys fees if it is
found that the manufactured home park owner or  operator  acted  in  bad
faith  by  withholding  consent.  The  rights  and  obligations  of  the
manufactured home park owner  or  operator  and  the  manufactured  home
tenant  shall  be  governed  by  the  provisions of this subdivision and
subdivisions three, five, six, seven and eight of  section  two  hundred
twenty-six-b of this article.
u.  In  the  event  of  a  breach by a manufactured home park owner or
operator of any of the requirements of this  section,  the  manufactured
home  tenant  may  commence an action for damages actually incurred as a
result of such breach, or in an action or summary  proceeding  commenced
by  such  manufactured home park owner or operator, may counterclaim for
damages occasioned by such breach.
v. 1. On and after April  first,  nineteen  hundred  eighty-nine,  the
commissioner  of  housing and community renewal shall have the power and
duty to enforce and  ensure  compliance  with  the  provisions  of  this
section.  However,  the commissioner shall not have the power or duty to
enforce manufactured home park rules and regulations  established  under
subdivision f of this section.
2.  On  or  before  January  first, nineteen hundred eighty-nine, each
manufactured home park owner  or  operator  shall  file  a  registration
statement  with  the  commissioner  and  shall thereafter file an annual
registration statement on or before January  first  of  each  succeeding
year.   The   commissioner,  by  regulation,  shall  provide  that  such
registration statement shall include  only  the  names  of  all  persons
owning  an  interest  in the park, the names of all tenants of the park,
all services provided by the park owner to the tenants and a copy of all

current manufactured home park rules and regulations. The  reporting  of
such information to the commissioner of taxation and finance pursuant to
subparagraph  (B)  of  paragraph  six of subsection (eee) of section six
hundred  six  of the tax law shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements
of this  paragraph.  That  the  commissioner  may  not  be  the  primary
recipient  of  such  registration  statement  shall  not be construed to
limit, alter or diminish the ability or responsibility of  the  division
of  housing  and  community  renewal  in  regards to enforcement of this
section or any other  applicable  laws.  The  commissioner  may  request
additional  or  corrected  information  to be filed by each manufactured
home park owner or operator as he or she deems necessary  to  carry  out
proper oversight of such manufactured home parks. The commissioner shall
annually  make  publicly  available  on its website a report of the data
collected pursuant to this subdivision or subparagraph (B) of  paragraph
six  of  subsection (eee) of section six hundred six of the tax law, not
including any personally identifiable information.
3. Whenever there shall be a violation of this section, an application
may be made by the commissioner of housing and community renewal in  the
name of the people of the state of New York to a court or justice having
jurisdiction  by  a  special proceeding to issue an injunction, and upon
notice to the defendant of not  less  than  five  days,  to  enjoin  and
restrain  the  continuance  of such violation; and if it shall appear to
the satisfaction of the court or justice  that  the  defendant  has,  in
fact,  violated  this section, an injunction may be issued by such court
or justice, enjoining and restraining any  further  violation  and  with
respect  to  this  subdivision,  directing  the filing of a registration
statement. In any such proceeding, the court may make allowances to  the
commissioner of housing and community renewal of a sum not exceeding two
thousand   dollars  against  each  defendant,  and  direct  restitution.
Whenever the court shall determine that a violation of this section  has
occurred,  the  court  may  impose  a civil penalty of not more than one
thousand five hundred dollars for each violation. Such penalty shall  be
deposited in the manufactured home cooperative fund, created pursuant to
section  fifty-nine-h  of the private housing finance law. In connection
with any such proposed application,  the  commissioner  of  housing  and
community  renewal  is authorized to take proof and make a determination
of the relevant facts and to issue  subpoenas  in  accordance  with  the
civil  practice  law and rules. The provisions of this subdivision shall
not impair the rights granted under subdivision u of this section.
w. Real property tax payments. 1.  A  manufactured  home  park  owner,
operator  or the agent of such owner or operator shall reduce the annual
rent paid by a manufactured home tenant for use of the land  upon  which
such  manufactured home sits in an amount equal to the total of the real
property taxes actually paid by such manufactured home tenant  for  such
manufactured   home   plus  the  amount  by  which  the  taxes  on  such
manufactured home were reduced as a result of the partial real  property
tax  exemption  granted  to  the  manufactured  home  tenant pursuant to
article four of the real property tax law,  provided  such  manufactured
home tenant:
(a)  owns a manufactured home which is separately assessed, subject to
the provisions of paragraph two of this subdivision;
(b) is entitled to and actually receives a partial real  property  tax
exemption pursuant to article four of the real property tax law; and
(c) pays the real property taxes due on such home.
3. A manufactured home park owner or operator providing a reduction in
rent  as  required  by  paragraph one of this subdivision may retain, in
consideration for record keeping expenses, two percent of the amount  of
such reduction.
3-a.  Any  reduction required to be provided pursuant to paragraph one
of this subdivision shall be provided as follows:
(a)  a  reduction  in  monthly rent (prorating the reduction in twelve
parts) shall take effect upon the first monthly rental payment due sixty
days after the last date for the payment of real property taxes with  no
penalty  or  interest  for  lateness  and  shall be extended to the next
eleven monthly payments thereafter; or
(b) with the consent of the manufactured home park owner, operator, or
agent of such owner or operator, a reduction in rent may  be  offset  in
the  entire  amount  of  such reduction against the first monthly rental
payment due sixty days after the last  date  for  the  payment  of  real
property taxes with no penalty or interest for lateness, and the balance
thereof,  if  any, may be offset against the monthly rental payments for
succeeding months, until exhausted; or
(c) at the election of the manufactured home park owner, operator,  or
agent  of  such owner or operator, the total amount of such reduction in
rent may be paid to the tenant no later than sixty days after  the  last
date  for the payment of real property taxes with no penalty or interest
for lateness.
4. The failure of a manufactured home park owner or operator to comply
with the provisions of this subdivision shall be a violation  punishable
by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars for each violation.
x.  1.  Rent  and  other  fees,  charges  and  assessments  may not be
increased by a manufactured home park owner or operator more  than  once
in any year.
2.   Notwithstanding   the   provisions   of  paragraph  one  of  this
subdivision,  if  a  fee,  charge,  or  assessment  in  effect  at   the
commencement  of a lease or tenancy is for goods or services provided by
a party unrelated to and not controlled by the  manufactured  home  park
owner  or  operator,  the  manufactured home park owner or operator may,
upon the notice required in this section, provide for the pass-along  to
the  manufactured  home  tenant  of any increases in such fee, charge or
assessment.
3. Any agreement modifying  any  of  the  rights  set  forth  in  this
subdivision shall be void as contrary to public policy.
y.  1.  No  manufactured  home  park  owner or operator shall offer or
execute a rent-to-own contract unless the  manufactured  park  owner  or
operator  possesses documentation of ownership of the manufactured home,
including a certificate  of  title  to  the  home,  if  the  home  is  a
manufactured  home subject to being titled pursuant to article forty-six
of the vehicle and traffic law, or for mobile homes not subject to being
titled pursuant to such law, such other documentation, which may include
a bill of sale, or deed, sufficient to establish ownership.
2. Every rent-to-own contract shall be in writing  and  clearly  state
all terms, including but not limited to: a description of the home to be
leased,  including  the  name of the manufacturer, the serial number and
the year of manufacture; the site number upon which the home is  located
in  the manufactured home park; an itemized statement of any payments to
be made during the term of the contract, including the initial lot rent,
the rental amount for the  home,  and  the  amount  of  the  rent-to-own
payments;  the  term of the agreement; the number of payments, itemized,
required to be made over the term of the agreement; any lien or security
interest encumbering the manufactured or mobile home, if applicable; and
the amount of any  additional  fees  to  be  paid  during  the  term.  A
rent-to-own contract shall not require a manufactured home tenant to pay
any  additional  fees  for transfer of ownership at the end of the lease
period. A rent-to-own contract shall provide that where the  rent-to-own
tenant  pays  all rent-to-own payments and other fees established in the

contract during the lease term, title transferred  at  the  end  of  the
lease term shall be free of superior interests, liens or encumbrances.
3.  Valuations  used  to  determine  the  fair  market  value  of  the
manufactured home at the time the rent-to-own contract is entered  into,
shall  be  based  on  the information provided by an independent system,
entity, publication or publications that provide  valuation  information
for  manufactured  homes  adjusted,  as  appropriate,  by reasonable and
identifiable regional  market  data,  such  as  location,  park-specific
amenities, trends and comparable sales.
4.   Every   rent-to-own   contract   shall  clearly  state  that  the
manufactured home tenant is occupying a rented home, until ownership  is
transferred,  and  that  the  manufactured  home park owner and operator
shall be responsible for compliance with the warranty  of  habitability,
including but not limited to all major repairs and capital improvements.
5.  With the execution of every rent-to-own contract, the manufactured
home park owner or operator shall offer the manufactured home  tenant  a
lease  for  the  site  on  which  the  home  is  located  as provided in
subdivision f of this section, and,  if  the  term  of  the  rent-to-own
contract  is longer than the term of the initial site lease, shall offer
renewal leases on the  same  terms  as  provided  to  manufactured  home
tenants  within  the  park  pursuant  to  subdivision e of this section,
provided that such renewal lease may not include a rent increase greater
than that imposed on similarly situated manufactured home  tenants  that
own their home within the park.
6.  The  manufactured  home  park owner or operator shall provide each
manufactured home tenant who is a party to  a  rent-to-own  contract  an
itemized   accounting   listing   all  payments  made  pursuant  to  the
rent-to-own contract. Such accounting shall be  provided  no  less  than
once each year, beginning one year from the execution of the rent-to-own
contract.  Upon  request by a manufactured home tenant, the manufactured
home park owner or operator shall provide such an accounting within  ten
days of such request.
7.  Any  successor to ownership of the manufactured home park shall be
bound by the terms of a rent-to-own  contract  entered  into  after  the
effective date of this subdivision.
8.  If  a  manufactured  home  tenant's  tenancy  is terminated by the
manufactured  home  park  owner  or  operator  during  the  term  of   a
rent-to-own  contract,  all rent-to-own payments made during the term of
the contract shall be refunded to the manufactured  home  tenant;  if  a
manufactured  home park owner or operator fails to refund such payments,
in an eviction proceeding, the court may  award  the  manufactured  home
renter  damages in the amount of the rent-to-own payments which have not
been refunded.
9. It is a violation of this section  for  a  manufactured  home  park
owner or operator to make any material misrepresentation, either written
or  oral,  regarding  any  of the terms of a rent-to-own contract, or to
obtain, or attempt to obtain, a waiver from any manufactured home renter
of any protection or right provided under this subdivision.
10. (i) If a manufactured home park owner  or  operator  violates  the
provisions  of this subdivision or wrongfully evicts a manufactured home
tenant who is a party to a  rent-to-own  contract,  a  court  may  award
damages   including   treble   the  economic  damages  suffered  by  the
manufactured home tenant, which may include  all  rent-to-own  payments.
The  court  may  also  provide for reasonable attorney fees and costs of
litigation, and other equitable relief.
(ii) Failure of the manufactured home park owner or operator to comply
with  this  section  shall  give  the  manufactured  home   renter   the
unconditional  right  to  cancel  the  rent-to-own  contract and receive

immediate refund of all payments and deposits made on account of  or  in
contemplation of the lease with the rent-to-own contract.
11.  The provisions of this section apply to rent-to-own contracts and
tenants with rent-to-own contracts.