Senate Bill No. 637
(By Senator Snyder)
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[Introduced February 23, 2004; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §37-15-3 of the code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to factory-built homes; statutorily
required written rental and occupancy agreement; and
modification of the written requirements to permit a landlord
to amend a rental agreement if the amendments do not conflict
with the statute.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §37-15-3 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 15. HOUSE TRAILERS, MOBILE HOMES, MANUFACTURED HOMES AND
MODULAR HOMES.
§37-15-3. Written agreement required.
(a) The rental and occupancy of a factory-built home site
shall be governed by a written agreement which shall be dated and
signed by all parties thereto prior to commencement of tenancy. A copy of the signed and dated written agreement and a copy of this
article shall be given by the landlord to the tenant within seven
days after the tenant signs the written agreement which shall
contain the following language:
(1) Termination.--
Either party may terminate a rental agreement which is for a
term of thirty days or more by giving written notice to the other
party at least thirty days prior to the termination date:
Provided, That the rental agreement may specify a period of notice
in excess of thirty days. A landlord may not cause the eviction of
a tenant by willfully interrupting gas, electricity, water or any
other essential service, or by removal of the factory-built home
from the factory-built home site, or by any other self-help
measure.
(2) A rental agreement may be terminated by the landlord for
the following reasons:
(i) Failure to comply with the terms of the rental agreement;
(ii)) Condemnation of the community; or
(iii) Change of use of the community: Provided, That all
requirements imposed by this chapter are complied with.
(3) The landlord shall set forth in a notice of termination
the reason relied upon for the termination with specific facts to
permit determination of the date, place, witnesses and
circumstances concerning that reason.
(4) Nonrenewal.-- Either party to a rental agreement may
nonrenew the rental agreement by giving written notice to the other
party at least ninety days prior to the end of the term of the
rental agreement: Provided, however, The rental agreement may
specify a period of notice in excess of ninety days.
(b) The written agreement, in addition to the provisions
otherwise required by law to be included, shall contain:
(1) The terms of the tenancy and the rent therefor;
(2) The rules and regulations of the factory-built home rental
community. A copy of the text of the rules and regulations
attached as an exhibit satisfies this requirement;
(3) The language of the provisions of this article. A copy of
the text of this article attached as an exhibit satisfies this
requirement;
(4) A description of the physical improvements and maintenance
to be provided by the tenant and the landlord during the tenancy;
and
(5) A provision listing those services which will be provided
at the time the rental agreement is executed and will continue to
be offered for the term of tenancy and the fees, if any, to be
charged for those services.
(c) The written agreement may not contain:
(1) Any provisions contrary to the provisions of this article
and shall not contain a provision prohibiting the tenant who owns his or her factory-built home from selling his or her factory-built
home;
(2) Any provision that requires the tenant to pay any
recurring charges except fixed rent, utility charges or reasonable
incidental charges for services or facilities supplied by the
landlord; or
(3) Any provision by which the tenant waives his or her rights
under the provisions of this article.
(d) When any person possesses a security interest in the
factory-built home, the written agreement or rental application
shall contain the name and address of any secured parties. The
written agreement shall require the tenant to notify the landlord
within ten days of any new security interest, change of existing
security interest, or settlement or release of the security
interest.
(e) When a factory-built home owner sells a factory-built
home, the new owner shall enter into a written agreement if the
factory-built home continues to occupy the site: Provided,
That
the new owner meets the standards and restrictions contained in the
prior rental agreement.
(f) Nothing in this section may be construed to limit the
rights of the landlord to amend the rental agreement provided that
the amendments are not in conflict with this article.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow the landlord of a
factory-built home to alter his written rental and occupancy
agreement as long as the alteration is not in conflict with the
requirements of the statute that requires the agreement.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
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