New Iowa law grants more mobile home park protections for residents

Residents who reside in Iowa’s cellular residence parks will obtain a barely longer discover of hire will increase or if their leases aren’t being renewed, underneath a legislation Gov. Kim Reynolds signed Tuesday.

The brand new legislation, which contains a number of different tweaks to Iowa’s cellular residence park legislation, comes after years of residents asking for extra protections from dramatic hire hikes that include little warning.

However the long-awaited laws falls far brief on key components these residents have requested for, similar to provisions that may restrict the frequency or quantity of hire will increase. 

The actual concern is non-public fairness is transferring in and gouging Iowans — and this does nothing to cease that,” mentioned Matt Chapman, a resident of Midwest Nation Estates in Waukee. At that park, hire has elevated from round $300 per thirty days to $525 because it was bought by the Utah-based Havenpark Capital in March 2019. Residents additionally pay for extra utilities than they did underneath earlier possession.

Havenpark officers have have mentioned they wanted to extend the hire to return nearer to the realm’s market fee. However, Chapman mentioned, the dimensions of the hire enhance reveals that residents stay susceptible and wish extra protections.

The Iowa Manufactured Housing Affiliation, which represents the state’s park house owners, has strongly opposed lots of residents’ important requests. It was the one group registered in favor of the legislation. Its management has mentioned the legislation is a suitable compromise that accommodates good adjustments for each landlords and tenants.

Republicans have mentioned the legislation, Home File 2562, is a small win for cellular residence house owners, one which helps repair inequities in Iowa’s legislation which have favored landlords in earlier years. 

However many Democrats accused Republicans of caving to park house owners and creating laws that sacrifices significant adjustments to win the house owners’ approval. 

Reynolds signed the laws Tuesday with out remark. 

Over the previous a number of years, a number of out-of-state funding corporations throughout the nation have bought cellular residence parks, at occasions dramatically growing hire costs and including new expenses similar to utility prices and repair charges. Iowa legislation has traditionally positioned no limitations on the quantity or frequency of hire will increase on the parks, so long as cellular residence park house owners give residents a minimum of 60 days’ discover.

►Extra: Iowa cellular residence park residents are preventing for expanded rights. Will state lawmakers present them aid?

Many residents have advised the Des Moines Register they felt trapped with little recourse for cover. Residents usually personal the house they reside in however hire the bottom beneath it. Because the properties might be costly or inconceivable to maneuver, residents threat dropping their residence if they’re evicted or want to depart.

Chapman and most of the state’s different cellular residence park residents have advocated for protections similar to necessities for yearlong leases, limitations on hire will increase and necessities for landlords to specify a “good trigger” earlier than not renewing a lease for one more time period.

Modifications underneath the brand new cellular residence legislation

The brand new legislation will lengthen the required discover interval for a hire enhance from 60 to 90 days, though it will not restrict the frequency or the quantity of will increase.

The legislation can even require landlords to provide cellular residence house owners a minimum of 90 days’ discover if they aren’t renewing their lease, additionally a rise of 30 days.

As well as, it can make a number of different changes, together with: 

• Giving cellular residence house owners 12 months of authorized safety in opposition to retaliation, the identical period of time condo renters have from landlords.
• Together with utilities within the definition of “hire” and making will increase topic to the identical notification interval. Nevertheless, no advance discover is required in conditions when landlords do not obtain 90 days’ discover of elevated value from utilities.
• Giving tenants authorized treatments if a park proprietor will not be offering important companies, similar to working water. 
• Requiring landlords to supply a basic cause for refusing to just accept a brand new tenant who has bought one other resident’s residence on the park. 
• Prohibiting landlords from requiring tenants to change their properties in a means that may make the constructions tougher to maneuver later. 

The parts of the legislation overlaying hire enhance notifications and failure to provide important companies will go into impact instantly. 

Extra:Kim Reynolds indicators invoice mandating most Iowa fuel stations promote gasoline with greater ethanol blends

Ian Richardson covers the Iowa Statehouse for the Des Moines Register. Attain him at irichardson@registermedia.com, at 515-284-8254, or on Twitter at @DMRIanR.