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HOUSE BILL NO. 230
IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION
BY REPRESENTATIVE GRAY
Introduced: 5/18/25
Referred: Labor and Commerce, Finance
A BILL
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED
"An Act relating to mobile home parks; and relating to limiting mobile home park rent 1
increases." 2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 3
* Section 1. AS 34.85.190 is amended to read: 4
Sec. 34.85.190. Definitions. In AS 34.85.010 - 34.85.195 [THIS CHAPTER], 5
unless the context requires otherwise, 6
(1) "affixation affidavit" means an affixation affidavit under 7
AS 34.85.060; 8
(2) "department" means the Department of Administration; 9
(3) "manufactured home" has the meaning given in AS 45.29.102; 10
(4) "permanently affixed" means when a manufactured home is 11
permanently affixed under AS 34.85.150; 12
(5) "severance affidavit" means a severance affidavit under 13
AS 34.85.120. 14
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* Sec. 2. AS 34.85.195 is amended to read: 1
Sec. 34.85.195. Short title. AS 34.85.010 - 34.85.195 [THIS CHAPTER] may 2
be cited as the Manufactured Home Property Act. 3
* Sec. 3. AS 34.85 is amended by adding new sections to read: 4
Article 2. Mobile Home Parks. 5
Sec. 34.85.200. Notice of proposed lease, sale, or transfer. (a) If a mobile 6
home park owner receives an offer for the sale, lease, or trans fer of the mobile home 7
park that the owner intends to accept, the owner shall, at least 90 days before making a 8
final unconditional acceptance of the offer, give notice by 9
(1) delivery to each mobile home in the mobile home park; and 10
(2) certified mail, with return receipt requested, to 11
(A) the owner of each mobile home in the mobile home park; 12
(B) the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation; and 13
(C) the office of the building inspector for the municipality in 14
which the mobile home park is located, if any. 15
(b) The notice required by this section must include 16
(1) a statement advising the reci pient of the intended sale, l ease, or 17
other transfer of the mobile home park; 18
(2) a statement of the mobile home owner's rights under AS 34. 85.200 19
- 34.85.290 and the deadlines for exercising those rights; 20
(3) the price, terms, and conditions of the offer, and a copy of the 21
proposed purchase agreement, if any; if a proposed sale include s more than one 22
mobile home park or a mobile hom e park and one or more other un related properties 23
in a single transaction, both the aggregate price and the price of the mobile home park 24
where the mobile home owner receiving the notice resides must be included. 25
(c) Within five days after receiving the notice required under this section, the 26
Alaska Housing Finance Corporation shall post the notice on its public Internet 27
website and make the notice available to any individual or organization upon request. 28
(d) A mobile home park owner may accept an offer for the sale, lease, or 29
transfer of the mobile home park before providing the notice re quired under this 30
section and the purchase opportunity required under AS 34.85.20 0 - 34.85.290 as long 31
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as the acceptance of the offer is contingent on providing the r equired notice and 1
purchase opportunity. 2
Sec. 34.85.210. Resident purchase opportunity. (a) Not later than the 90th 3
day after a mobile home park owner mails the notices required u nder AS 34.85.200, a 4
resident homeowner group may deliver in writing a proposed purc hase agreement for 5
the mobile home park to the owner. 6
(b) The proposed purchase agreem ent must include a statement t hat the 7
owners of more than 50 percent of mobile homes in the mobile ho me park that are 8
occupied by the homeowner or a family member of the homeowner support submitting 9
the proposed purchase agreement. A homeowner may express suppor t for the 10
proposed purchase agreement by signing a petition or other docu ment that states the 11
homeowner's support. 12
(c) A mobile home park owner s hall consider a resident homeown er group's 13
proposed purchase agreement and negotiate with the group in goo d faith to determine 14
whether a mutual agreement can b e reached to enable the group t o purchase the 15
mobile home park. The duty to neg otiate in good faith includes a duty to make the 16
same information available to a resident homeowner group that t he mobile home park 17
owner provides to another prospe ctive purchaser. If the mobile home park owner 18
rejects the resident homeowner g roup's proposed purchase agreem ent, the owner shall 19
provide a good faith reason in writing to the group within thre e days after the date of 20
the rejection. 21
(d) If a proposed purchase agreement matches the price and con tains 22
substantially the same terms and conditions as a competing offe r , t h e o w n e r s h a l l 23
allow the group to purchase the mobile home park at the price and under the terms and 24
conditions in the group's proposed purchase agreement. 25
(e) If the mobile home park owner does not receive a proposed purchase 26
agreement from a resident homeo wner group in accordance with th is section, the 27
mobile home park owner has no further duties under AS 34.85.200 - 34.85.290 with 28
respect to the proposed sale, lease, or transfer of the mobile home park. 29
(f) A mobile home park owner may not unreasonably refuse to en ter into or 30
unreasonably delay the execution of a purchase agreement with a resident homeowner 31
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group that proposes a purchase agreement that satisfies the req uirements of this 1
section and matches the price and contains substantially the same terms and conditions 2
of an offer for which the mobile home park owner is required to give notice under 3
AS 34.85.200. 4
Sec. 34.85.220. Requirements for offer. A m o b i l e h o m e p a r k o w n e r m a y 5
accept an offer for the sale, lease, or transfer of a mobile home park only if 6
(1) the price, terms, and conditions of the offer are universa l and 7
applicable to all potential buyers; and 8
(2) the offer does not contain provisions penalizing the mobil e home 9
park owner for entering into a purchase agreement with a resident homeowner group. 10
Sec. 34.85.230. Financing and closing. (a) A mobile home park owner may 11
not reject a proposed purchase ag reement solely because the agr eement includes a 12
financing contingency. 13
(b) If a resident homeowner group and the mobile home park own er enter into 14
a purchase agreement for the mobile home park, the group has 90 days from the date 15
of the agreement to arrange all necessary financing and a comme rcially reasonable 16
time to close on the sale. The parties to the agreement may all o w a r e s i d e n t 17
homeowner group a longer period to arrange financing. 18
(c) If the resident homeowner group fails to arrange all neces sary financing 19
within 90 days after the date of the purchase agreement, or a longer period as agreed to 20
by the parties, or fails to close on the sale in compliance wit h the agreement, the 21
mobile home park owner has no further duties under AS 34.85.200 - 34.85.290 with 22
respect to the proposed sale, lease, or transfer of the mobile home park. 23
(d) A mobile home park owner may not unreasonably delay the ex ecution of a 24
purchase agreement with or the closing of a sale to a resident homeowner group. 25
Sec. 34.85.240. Subsequent offer. If a mobile home park owner provides the 26
notice and purchase opportunity required under AS 34.85.200 - 3 4.85.290 for an offer 27
for the sale, lease, or transfer of the mobile home park, a pur chase agreement is not 28
reached between the owner and a resident homeowner group, and t he owner then 29
receives an offer at a different price or with different terms and conditions that the 30
owner intends to accept, the requirements of AS 34.85.200 - 34. 85.290 apply 31
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separately to that subsequent offer. 1
Sec. 34.85.250. Recording. (a) A mobile home park owner may record, in the 2
office of the recorder of the reco rding district in which the m obile home park is 3
located, an affidavit certifying that 4
(1) the mobile home park owner has complied with the requirements of 5
AS 34.85.200 - 34.85.290; the mobile home park owner shall incl ude with the 6
affidavit a copy of the notice sent to the owners of mobile hom es in the mobile home 7
park; or 8
(2) the sale, lease, or transfer of the mobile home park is ex empt under 9
AS 34.85.290. 10
(b) An affidavit filed by a mobile home park owner in accordan ce with this 11
section is presumptive evidence of compliance with the requirem ents of AS 34.85.200 12
- 34.85.290 for the purposes of good title in the hands of a bona fide purchaser. 13
(c) The failure of a mobile home park owner to file an affidav it in accordance 14
with this section is presumptive evidence of noncompliance with the requirements of 15
AS 34.85.200 - 34.85.290. 16
(d) A resident homeowner group that makes an offer to purchase the mobile 17
home park under AS 34.85.210 may record, in the office of the r ecorder of the 18
recording district in which the mobile home park is located, no tice that the resident 19
homeowner group has made an offer. 20
Sec. 34.85.260. Assignment. A resident homeowner group may assign its 21
rights under AS 34.85.200 - 34.85.290 to a municipality where t he mobile home park 22
is located, a nonprofit organizati on, or a state agency, includ ing a public corporation, 23
for the purpose of continuing the use of the property as a mobi le home park. The 24
municipality, nonprofit organization, or state agency must cons ent and have authority 25
to accept the assignment. The assignment may be contingent on f inancing and closing 26
in accordance with a purchase agreement. Upon assignment, the assignee is entitled to 27
exercise the rights granted to the resident homeowner group und er AS 34.85.200 - 28
34.85.290. 29
Sec. 34.85.270. Resident homeowner groups. (a) A resident homeowner 30
group that is formed after the issuance of notice as provided b y AS 34.85.200 is 31
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entitled to exercise the rights granted to resident homeowner g roups under 1
AS 34.85.200 - 34.85.290, including the right to a purchase opp ortunity under 2
AS 34.85.210. 3
(b) A resident homeowner group may allow a resident owner of a home in the 4
mobile home park to become a member of the group, even if the h ome is not a mobile 5
home. 6
(c) A resident homeowner group may designate an agent to act on its behalf. 7
Sec. 34.85.280. Enforcement. ( a ) A m o b i l e h o m e p a r k o w n e r w h o s e l l s , 8
leases, or transfers a mobile home park and fails to comply wit h the requirements of 9
AS 34.85.200 - 34.85.290 is liable to the resident homeowner gr oup for the mobile 10
home park in the amount of $100,000 or 20 percent of the total sale price, whichever 11
is greater. 12
(b) A violation of AS 34.85.200 - 34.85.290 is an unfair trade practice under 13
AS 45.50.471. 14
(c) The attorney general and, if the mobile home park is locat ed in a 15
municipality, the municipality, may bring an action in the supe rior court to enforce 16
AS 34.85.200 - 34.85.290. 17
(d) A resident homeowner group may bring an action in the supe rior court to 18
enforce AS 34.85.200 - 34.85.290. If a resident homeowner group prevails in an action 19
under this section, the court shall award full reasonable attor ney fees and costs to the 20
group. 21
(e) A mobile home park owner's lack of knowledge of the requir ements of 22
AS 34.85.200 - 34.85.290 is not a defense to an action brought under this section. 23
Sec. 34.85.290. Exemptions. (a) Except as provided by (c) of this section, 24
AS 34.85.200 - 34.85.290 do not apply to a 25
(1) sale, lease, or transfer to a family member of a mobile ho me park 26
owner or to a trust of which a f amily member of the mobile home park owner is a 27
beneficiary; 28
(2) transfer by gift, devise, or operations of law; 29
(3) sale, lease, or transfer 30
(A) by a partnership or limited liability company to a partner or 31
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member of the partnership or limited liability company; 1
(B) between joint tenants or tenants in common; or 2
(C) by a business entity to a subsidiary or affiliate of the entity; 3
(4) lease of a lot or space within the mobile home park to an individual 4
who will live in a mobile home on the lot or space; 5
(5) conveyance of an interest in the mobile home park that is incidental 6
to the financing of the mobile home park; or 7
(6) sale or transfer by eminent domain. 8
(b) The exemptions under this section do not transfer to a lat er resale, lease, or 9
transfer of a mobile home park. A later resale, lease, or trans fer must independently 10
meet the criteria for an exemption under this section. 11
(c) The exemptions under this section do not apply to a transa ction that is 12
made in bad faith, that is not made for a legitimate business or familial purpose, or that 13
is made for the primary purpose of avoiding the provisions of A S 34.85.200 - 14
34.85.290. 15
Article 3. Rent Increase Limit. 16
Sec. 34.85.300. Mobile home park lease and rent increase limit. ( a ) A 17
mobile home park operator may not increase the amount charged t o lease or rent a lot 18
or space in the mobile home park by more than five percent each year. 19
(b) A violation of this section is an unfair trade practice under AS 45.50.471. 20
(c) A person harmed by a viola tion of this section may bring a n action in the 21
superior court. 22
Article 4. General Provisions. 23
Sec. 34.85.990. Definitions. In this chapter, 24
(1) "family member" means a spouse, child, parent, or grandparent of a 25
mobile home owner or mobile hom e park owner, related by blood, adoption, or 26
marriage, or a descendent of one of those individuals; 27
(2) "mobile home" 28
(A) means a structure that is transportable in one or more 29
sections, is built on a permanent chassis, and is designed to b e used as a 30
dwelling with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the 31
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required utilities, along with the plumbing, heating, air-condi tioning, and 1
electrical systems contained in the structure, and 2
(i) in the traveling mode, is eight body feet or more in 3
width or 40 body feet or more in length, or, when erected on site, is 320 4
or more square feet; 5
(ii) with respect to which the manufacturer voluntarily 6
files a certification required by the United States Secretary o f Housing 7
and Urban Development and complie s with the standards establish ed 8
under 42 U.S.C.; or 9
(iii) was manufactured before June 15, 1976; 10
(B) does not include a self-propelled vehicle; 11
(3) "mobile home park" means real property on which two or more lots 12
or spaces for mobile homes are offered for lease or rent; 13
(4) "resident homeowner group " means a corporation, cooperativ e, 14
organization, group, or associati on, formal or informal, that c onsists of mobile home 15
owners in a mobile home park and that is governed by and open t o all mobile home 16
owners in the mobile home park. 17
* Sec. 4. AS 45.50.471(b) is amended by adding new paragraphs to read: 18
(58) violating AS 34.85.200 - 34.85.290 (mobile home park purc hase 19
opportunity); 20
(59) violating AS 34.85.300 (mobile home park lease and rent i ncrease 21
limit). 22