Ask a Lawyer

By: Steven M. Williams

I recently agreed to purchase a home from an estate of a prior tenant. The executor agreed to the sale, and we began working on the paperwork to obtain a new title. A couple of days later, the executor called and said he found someone willing to pay more for the home and that he would sell it to this person. I have already ordered parts to rehabilitate the home. Is there a way I can force the executor to sell the home to me?

Theoretically, you have a breach of contract claim against the estate. Whether a court would order the sale to go through or simply award you damages is uncertain. If the latter, the damages that you would be able to assert would likely be limited to the value of the home minus the purchase price you agreed to pay. If you cannot return the parts you ordered or use them for another home, the cost of the parts may also be an element of damage. In either case, though, I suspect that the legal fees (which would not be recoverable) would far exceed any possible recovery you may
expect.

Can you provide guidance on handling residents who do not want to follow my rules and regulations? Is a non-renewal of the month-to-month lease a good way to proceed? What would be the best approach if I have to take them to court? I have only gone to court for non-payment of rent, which was very easy to prove. However, when I try to take pictures of the violations, residents object, stating that I am violating their privacy. They say they are the homeowners and pay taxes, so they do not have to follow our rules.

Regardless of home ownership, residents are required to comply with your rules and regulations (R&Rs). Your lease allows you to enact R&Rs, as does the Manufactured Home Community Rights Act (MHCRA). The fact that the residents own their homes does not give them the right to do whatever they want on your property. You have every right to enact reasonable restrictions that protect the health and safety of the people in the community and the value of the property.

Under PA law, you are also entitled to take photos, and even videos, of R&R violations. However, you must not record audio if you are videoing the defaults, as, under PA law, you are not allowed to record audio without a person’s consent. An argument can be made that if you are outside in a public place with a video camera, someone who communicates with you has consented to the audio taping. However, to be (maybe overly) cautious, I generally advise against recording audio in these situations.

For the residents who rent the homes and the lots from you, you can simply non-renew their leases and order them to vacate. If they refuse to vacate, you can file an eviction against them based on the expiration/termination of the lease. For the residents who own their homes, however, there is no such thing as a non-renewal. Under the MHCRA, these leases are, in essence, perpetual in nature and continue to renew indefinitely until the resident desires to leave or you terminate the lease based on a default (of the lease or the R&Rs).

In the case of a default of the R&Rs, you are required to provide, by certified mail, a notice of the violation and a demand for the resident to cure it. You must provide “reasonable” time for the resident to cure the lease default. If the resident cures the default but then commits another one within six months, you can file an eviction action within 60 days of the second violation. No second default notice is required. However, you do need to serve a notice to quit if your lease does not waive it. If the resident does not fix the lease default within a reasonable period, you can proceed with the eviction without providing another lease default notice (but you must first provide the notice to quit unless waived in the lease).

The hearing on an R&Rs violation is similar to a non-payment default. You are obligated to prove the violation. Photos are good proof, as is testimony from you, your staff, and other residents. However, it is sometimes hard to get other residents to testify because they do not want to become a target of the other resident. Judges are occasionally hesitant to evict based on an R&Rs violation. However, even hesitant judges will yield if the violation is serious or repeated.

I recently bought a community where all the leases are year to year. I want everyone to sign my month-to-month leases, but the residents refuse to sign. How can I get them to sign?

Unfortunately, when you bought the community, you did so subject to the terms of the current leases. As a result, you cannot force your residents to sign new leases during the current lease term. Thus, you are “stuck” with the current leases until their terms expire. At that time, you will be able to require your residents to sign your new leases. Keep in mind, though, that you will have to comply with the renewal notice provisions in the current leases to ensure that they do not renew automatically on the same terms. Also, the Manufactured Housing Community Rights Act (MHCRA) requires you to give your residents at least 60 days’ notice of the new lease. Thus, the notice you give will have to be the notice under the current leases or the under the MHCRA, whichever is longer.

I am starting a new community, and I intend to have oral leases with one-year terms that are not renewable. I’m from the “old school,” and I prefer to do business “on a handshake.” I was talking with a colleague who told me my lease terms must be month-to-month and in writing. Can you clarify this for me?

Your colleague is partially right. The MHCRA states, “Every lease for a manufactured home space shall be in writing and shall be for a duration term of one month, unless a longer period is mutually agreed upon by both the lessee and manufactured home community owner, and shall be renewable.” Consistent with the MHCRA, your leases must be in writing and renewable. However, if your residents agree to enter into a lease with a one-year term, that is fine. But you cannot force them to sign a one-year lease.

My tenants are threatening to report me to the Attorney General because my fee disclosure does not include everything that is required. I do not understand their complaint. My fee disclosure includes the rent and all other fees that they owe me or may owe. What am I missing?

Your fee disclosure does not appear to comply with the MHCRA as it is missing many items. You are required to list all fees and expenses on your disclosure that your residents will owe, or may owe, not only to you but also to others in connection with their occupancy. The MHCRA states:

All rent, fees, service charges and assessments payable to the community owner and utility charges for water, sewer, trash, Internet, cable, electricity and fuel charges payable to the owner and notice of any other utility charges for which the lessee may be responsible shall be fully disclosed in writing to a prospective manufactured home lessee prior to the manufactured home community owner or operator’s acceptance of any initial deposit, fee or rent and prior to execution of the manufactured home space lease. For current manufactured home residents, the manufactured home community owner or operator shall fully disclose all rent, fees, service charges and assessments payable to the community owner and utility charges for water, sewer, trash, cable, electricity and fuel charges payable to others in writing prior to the execution of a mandatory lease of at least one month in duration.

Thus, you must include on your disclosure such things as electricity, water, sewer, cable TV, internet, etc., that the residents may have to pay to others in connection with their residency in your community.