Code of Vermont Rules › Agency 11 - AGENCY OF COMMERCE AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT › Sub-Agency 020 - DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC, HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT › Chapter 003 - HOUSING DIVISION RULES PART II: MEDIATION AND LEGAL SERVICES PAYMENTS AND CONSUMER PRICE INDEX FOR LOT RENT DISPUTES › Section 11 020 003 - HOUSING DIVISION RULES PART II: MEDIATION AND LEGAL SERVICES PAYMENTS AND CONSUMER PRICE INDEX FOR LOT RENT DISPUTES

Current through June, 2024
Rule No.1 Authority
These rules are issued pursuant to authority vested in the
				Department of Housing and Community Development by
				10 V.S.A. §
											6252(a) for payment of the
				reasonable fees for professional mediation services as established by rules,
				and § 6253(g) for payment for legal representation for mobile park
				leaseholders who pursue an action in Superior Court.
These rules also establish the procedure for determining the
				consumer price index and notifying mobile home park owners of the percentage
				that is one percent more than the index. This is the threshold that is used to
				determine whether the leaseholders in a park have the right to request
				mediation of the proposed increase.
Rule
			 No.2 Definitions
The definitions set forth in this Section 2 shall apply to the
				rules of the Housing Division, Part II, Mediation and Legal Services Payments
				& Consumer Price Index for Lot Rent Disputes.
2.1 "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of
			 the Department of Housing and Community Development of the Agency of Commerce
			 and Community Development for the State of Vermont.
2.2 "Consumer Price Index" means the United
			 States Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers, Housing Component,
			 published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in the periodical "Monthly
			 Labor Review and Handbook of Labor Statistics," as established annually by the
			 Department.
2.3 "Department" means
			 the Department of Housing and Community Development of the Agency of Commerce
			 and Community Development for the State of Vermont.
2.4 "Lawyer" means a person licensed to
			 practice law in the courts of the State of Vermont, and may include a
			 professional organization of lawyers such as a partnership, professional
			 corporation or non-profit corporation.
2.5 "Leaseholder" means a resident lawfully
			 occupying a mobile home owned by the park owner or the owner of a mobile home
			 sited on a mobile home lot in a mobile home park regardless of whether the
			 leaseholder has actual possession of a written lease.
2.6 "Mobile home park" means any parcel or
			 contiguous lots of land under common ownership or control on which are sited,
			 or which is designed, laid out or adapted to accommodate, more than two mobile
			 homes. A parcel or contiguous lots owned by agricultural employers providing up
			 to four mobile homes for use by full time workers or employees, and a parcel or
			 contiguous lots used solely on a seasonal basis for vacation or recreational
			 mobile homes shall not be considered a mobile home park.
2.7 "Mobile home park owner" or "park owner"
			 means one or more owners, operators, officers, managing agents or other persons
			 with practical authority to establish rules, policies, or other requirements
			 mobile home park.
2.8 "Professional
			 mediator" means a person who has completed a minimum of 40 hours of mediation
			 training from a recognized mediation school or training program and has 30
			 hours of mediation experience, and who has completed training provided by the
			 Department or otherwise has demonstrated proficiency in regard to Vermont's
			 mobile home park laws.
2.9
			 "Reasonable legal fees" means fees determined by the Commissioner to be
			 reasonable after consultation with the Vermont Attorney General's Office and
			 other Vermont state government programs that hire outside attorneys.
2.10 "Reasonable mediation fees" means fees
			 determined by the Commissioner to be reasonable after consultation with Vermont
			 state government and court programs that compensate mediators.