[HISTORY: Adopted by Town Meeting as indicated in article histories.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 5-8-2006 ATM, Art. 60]
The Town of Rockland, acting by and through its Town Meeting, finds
and declares that a serious public emergency exists in the Town of Rockland
with respect to the housing of a substantial number of the citizens of said
Town, which emergency has been created by excessive, abnormally high and unwarranted
rental increases imposed by some owners of mobile home parks located therein:
that unless mobile home park rents and eviction of tenants are regulated and
controlled, such emergency and the further inflationary pressures resulting
therefrom will produce serious threats to the public health, safety and general
welfare of the citizens of said Town, particularly the elderly; that such
emergency should be met by the Town of Rockland immediately and with due regard
for the rights and responsibilities of its citizens, and that this bylaw is
adopted under, and by accepting, the provisions of Chapter 346 of the Acts
of 1984.
This bylaw may be revoked by the Town in the same manner as it was accepted.
The following words or phrases as used in this bylaw shall have the
following meanings:
Shall mean the rent board established by § 288-4 hereof.
Shall mean any substantial rehabilitation, addition or improvement
which appreciably adds to the value of the property or prolongs its life,
or both, but not including ordinary repairs and maintenance.
Shall mean the room or group of rooms within a mobile home used or
intended for use by one family or household for living, sleeping, cooking
or eating.
Shall mean an owner of a mobile home which occupies a lot or space
in a mobile home park and who is a homeowner or resident, lessee, or other
person entitled under the terms of a rental agreement to the use and occupancy
of said mobile home park accommodation.
Shall mean any vehicle without motive power designed, constructed,
reconstructed or added to by means of accessories in a manner to permit the
use and occupancy thereof as a single dwelling unit, whether resting on wheels,
foundation structures or other support, but constructed so as to permit its
occasional movement over a street or highway, or any unit of manufactured
housing subject to the provisions of MGL. c. 140, § 32A et seq.
Shall mean any lot or tract of land upon which three or more mobile
homes occupied for single dwelling unit purposes are located, including any
buildings, structures, fixtures and equipment used in connection with mobile
homes, and which lot or tract is, or is required to be, licensed under MGL.
c. 140, § 32B.
Shall mean the lot or space in a mobile home park upon which is located
a mobile home not owned by the holder of the license of the park and used
and occupied as a non-family dwelling unit.
Shall mean services or facilities provided by a park owner or management
or required by law or by terms of a rental housing agreement to be provided
by a park owner or management to a homeowner or resident in connection with
the use and occupancy of any mobile home park accommodation, including, without
limitation: Snow plowing, sanding of roadways, landscaping, landscaping maintenance,
furniture, furnishings and equipment; repairs, decorating and maintenance;
provision of light, heat, hot water, cold water, telephone, kitchen, bath,
and laundry facilities and privileges; use of yard and other common areas;
janitor services, refuse removal, parking facilities, and any other benefit,
privileges, or facility connected with the use or occupancy of any mobile
home park accommodations; or any other said service that the rent control
board may allow under its rate case hearings. Housing services to a mobile
home park accommodation shall include a proportionate part of services provided
to common facilities of the mobile home park in which the home park accommodation
is contained.
Shall mean the reasonable and necessary repairs to a park owner or
management of providing housing services to a tenant, including, but not limited
to, maintenance, repair, management fee, real
estate broker's commission, to someone other than the park owner or management,
insurance, utilities not included within the rent but not including mortgage
interest and amortization nor an allowance for obsolescence or depreciation.
Shall mean the individual who holds a license granted pursuant to
MGL c. 140, § 32B, to conduct, control, manage or operate directly
or indirectly a mobile home park in any manner including, but not limited
to, a partnership, corporation, trust. For purposes of this article, the rights
and duties the park owner or management hereunder shall be the obligation
of any one who manages, controls, or customarily accepts rent on behalf of
the park owner or management.
Shall mean the consideration, including any bonus, benefit, gratuity,
or charge contingent or otherwise, demanded or received for, or in connection
with, the use or occupancy of a mobile home park accommodation or for housing
services or for the transfer of a lease of a mobile home park accommodation.
Shall mean an agreement, verbal, written, or implied, between a park
owner or management and a homeowner or resident for use and occupancy of a
mobile home park accommodation and for housing services.
Shall mean a homeowner or resident, lessee, sublessee, or other person,
entitled under the terms of a rental housing agreement to the use and occupancy
of any mobile home park accommodation.
A.
The Selectmen shall appoint a Rent Control Board consisting
of seven members. Two of said members shall be representatives of landlords;
two of said members shall be representatives of tenants; and three of said
members shall represent the public interest. The terms of office expire on
August 31, unless otherwise specified by the Selectmen or unless such appointment
is for an indefinite term. At their first regular meeting after the effective
date of this provision, the Selectmen shall appoint members to initial terms
as follows: one park owner representative and one public interest representative
shall be appointed to one-year terms; one park owner representative, one resident/homeowner
representative and one public interest representative shall be appointed to
two-year terms; and one resident/homeowner representative and one public interest
representative shall be appointed to three-year terms. As each such initial
term expires, subsequent appointments shall be made for terms of three years.
Any vacancy occurring in the Board shall be filled by the Selectmen for the
unexpired term. In the event a rent control board is established pursuant
to any other law, the Selectmen may appoint the rent control board established
under said law as the rent control board under this bylaw.
B.
Members of the rent control board shall receive no compensation
for their services, but shall be reimbursed by the Town for necessary expenses
incurred in the performance of their duties.
C.
The rent control board, hereinafter called the board,
shall be responsible for carrying out the provisions of this bylaw, and shall
hire, with the approval of the Selectmen, such personnel as are needed, shall
promulgate such policies, rules and regulations as will further the provisions
of this article and shall recommend to the Town for adoption such bylaws as
may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this bylaw.
D.
The board may make such studies and investigations, conduct
such hearings, and obtain such information as is deemed necessary in promulgating
any regulation, rule or order under this bylaw, or in administering and enforcing
this bylaw and regulations and orders promulgated hereunder. For the foregoing
purposes, a person may be summoned to attend and testify and to produce books
and papers in like manner as he may be summoned to attend as a witness before
a court. Any person who rents or offers for rent or acts a broker of agent
for the rental of any controlled mobile home park accommodation may be required
to furnish under oath any information required by the board and to produce
records and other documents and make reports. Such persons shall have the
right to be represented by counsel, and a transcript shall be taken of all
testimony and such person shall have the right to examine said transcript
at reasonable times and places. MGL c. 233, § 10 shall apply.
E.
The board shall have the power to issue orders and promulgate
regulations to effectuate the purposes of this bylaw.
F.
The board shall have the power to establish, amend and
charge filing fees subject to the approval of the Board of Selectmen.
A.
The maximum rent of a controlled mobile home park accommodation
shall be the rent charged on the effective date of this bylaw. If the accommodation
was not controlled at the time of the effective date of this bylaw, but subsequently
becomes a controlled mobile home park accommodation, the maximum rent of said
accommodation shall be the rent charged the occupant for the month six months
prior to the date on which said accommodation became a controlled accommodation,
or if unoccupied at that time, the maximum rent shall be the rent charged
therefor for the month closest to six months prior to the date on which said
accommodation became a controlled mobile home park accommodation. If the maximum
rent is not otherwise established, it shall be established by the board. Any
maximum rent may be subsequently adjusted under the provisions of section
six of this bylaw.
B.
The board shall require registration of all controlled
mobile home park accommodations on forms authorized or to be provided by said
board.
A.
The rent board shall make such individual or general
adjustments, either upward or downward, of the maximum rent for any controlled
mobile home park accommodation or any class thereof as may be necessary to
assure that rents are established at levels which yield to park owners a fair
net operating income for such units. For the purposes of this section, the
word "class" shall include all the controlled mobile home park accommodations
within the Town or any categories of such accommodations based on size, rent,
geographic area or other common characteristics, providing the board has by
regulation defined any such categories.
B.
The following factors, among other relevant factors,
which the board by regulation may define, shall be considered in determining
whether a controlled mobile home park accommodation yields a fair net operating
income:
(1)
Increases or decreases in property taxes;
(2)
Unavoidable increases or any decreases in operating and
maintenance expenses;
(3)
Capital improvements of the mobile home park as distinguished
from ordinary repair, replacement and maintenance;
(4)
Increases or decreases in space, services, equipment,
etc.;
(5)
Substantial deterioration of the mobile home park other
than as a result or ordinary wear and tear; and
(6)
Failure to perform ordinary repair, replacement and maintenance.
C.
For the purpose of adjusting rents under the provisions
of this section, the rent board may promulgate a schedule of standard rental
increases or decreases for improvement or deterioration in specific services
and facilities.
D.
The rent board may refuse to grant a rent increase under
this section, if it determines that the affected mobile home park does not
comply with the state sanitary code and any applicable municipal codes, ordinances
of bylaws, and if it determines that such lack of compliance is due to the
failure of the park owner to provide normal and adequate repair and maintenance.
The rent board may refuse to grant a rent decrease under this section, if
it determines that a tenant is more than 60 days in arrears in payment of
rent unless such arrearage is due to a withholding or abatement of rent under
the provisions of MGL c. 239, § 8A.
A.
The board shall consider an adjustment of rent for controlled
mobile home park accommodations upon receipt of a petition for adjustment
filed by the park owner or resident(s)/homeowner(s) of such accommodation(s)
or upon its own initiative. The board shall notify the park owner, if the
petition was filed by the tenant/homeowner, or the resident/homeowner, if
the petition was filed by the park owner, of the receipt of such petition
and of the right of either party to request a hearing. If a hearing is requested
by either party, or if the action is undertaken on the initiative of the board,
the hearing shall be conducted before at least one member of the board prior
to the decision by the board to grant or refuse a rental adjustment. Notice
of the time and place of the hearing shall be furnished to all parties. The
board may consolidate petitions relating to controlled accommodations in the
same park, and all such petitions may be considered in a single hearing.
B.
On its own initiative, the board may make a general adjustment,
by percentage, of the rental levels for any class of controlled mobile home
park accommodations within the Town. Prior to making such adjustment, a public
hearing shall be held before at least a majority of the board. Notice that
an adjustment is under consideration, a description of the class of accommodations
which would be affected by the adjustment, and the time and place of said
public hearing shall be published three times in at least one newspaper having
a general circulation within the Town.
C.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section,
the board may, without holding a hearing, refuse to adjust a rent level for
any controlled mobile home park accommodations if a hearing has been held
with regard to the rental level of such accommodations within 12 months.
D.
Hearings required hereunder shall be conducted in accordance
with the provisions of MGL c. 30A, § 11.
The provisions of MGL c. 30A shall be applicable to the rent board,
established under section four, as if said rent board were an agency of the
commonwealth, including those provisions giving agencies the power to issue,
vacate, modify and enforce subpoenas as well as those provisions relating
to judicial review of an agency order.
A.
No person shall bring any action to recover possession
of a controlled mobile home park accommodation unless:
(1)
The homeowner or resident has failed to pay the rent
to which the park owner or management is entitled;
(2)
The homeowner or resident is in substantial violation
of an enforceable rule of the mobile home park;
(3)
The homeowner or resident is in substantial violation
of a law or ordinance which protects the health or safety of other mobile
home park residents;
(4)
There is a discontinuance in good faith, as defined by
MGL c. 140, § 32A et seq. and the regulations of the Attorney General
promulgated thereunder, by the park owner or management, of the use of part
or all of the land owned and licensed as a mobile home park subject to any
existing contractual rights between the park owner or management and the homeowner
or resident located in the mobile home park. No such discontinuance shall
be valid for any mobile home sold by the licensee and for which a mobile home
site was made available at the time of the sale, by the licensee, for a period
of five years from the date of the sale;
(5)
The homeowner or resident is committing or permitting
to exist a nuisance in or is causing substantial damage to, the mobile home
park accommodation, or is creating a substantial interference with the comfort,
safety, or enjoyment of the park owner or management or other occupants of
the same or any adjacent accommodation;
(6)
The homeowner or resident is convicted of using or permitting
a controlled mobile home park accommodation to be used for any illegal purpose;
(7)
The homeowner or resident has refused the park owner
or management reasonable access to the accommodation for the purpose of making
necessary repairs or improvements required by the law of the United States,
the Commonwealth, or any political subdivision thereof, or for the purpose
of inspection as permitted or required by the lease or by law, or for the
purpose of showing the accommodation to any prospective purchaser or mortgagee;
(8)
The homeowner or resident holding at the end of a lease
term is a subtenant not approved by the park owner or management;
(9)
The park owner seeks to recover possession for any other
just cause provided that his purpose is not in conflict with the provisions
and purpose of this article or any other law or regulation.
B.
A park owner or management seeking to recover possession of a mobile home park accommodation shall apply to the board for a certificate of eviction. Upon receipt of such an application, the board shall send a copy of the application to the homeowner or resident of the mobile home park accommodation together with a notification of all rights and procedures available under this section. If the board finds that the facts attested to in the park owner's or management's petition are valid and in compliance with Subsection A above, the certificate of eviction shall be issued.
C.
A park owner or management who seeks to recover possession
of a mobile home park accommodation without a certificate of eviction shall
be deemed to have violated this article.
D.
The provisions of this section shall be construed as
additional restrictions on the right to recover possession of a mobile home
park accommodation. No provision of this section shall entitle any person
to recover possession of such a mobile home park accommodation.
E.
The board may issue orders which shall be a defense to
an action of summary process for possession and such orders shall be reviewable
as herein provided.
A.
The Hingham District Court shall have original jurisdiction,
concurrently with the Superior Court and the Southeast Division of the Housing
Court, of all petitions for review brought pursuant to MGL c. 30A, § 14.
B.
The Superior Court and Housing Court shall have jurisdiction
in equity to enforce the provisions of this bylaw, and any amendments or additions
thereto, and may restrain by injunction violations thereof.
A.
Any person who demands, accepts, receives or retains
any payment of rent in excess of the maximum lawful rent, in violation of
the provisions of this bylaw or any regulation or order hereunder promulgated,
shall be liable as hereinafter provided to the person from whom such payment
is demanded, accepted, received or retained, or to the Town of Rockland for
reasonable attorney's fees and costs as determined by the court, plus liquidated
damages in the amount of $100, or not more than three times the amount by
which the payment or payments demanded, accepted, received or retained, exceed
the maximum rent which could be lawfully demanded, accepted, received or retained,
whichever is the greater; provided that if the defendant proves that the violation
was neither willful nor the result of failure to take practicable precautions
against the occurrence of the violation, the amount of such liquidated damages
shall be the amount of the overcharge or overcharges.
B.
If the person from whom such payment is demanded, accepted, received or retained in violation of the provisions of this bylaw or any rule or regulation hereunder promulgated fails, after being on notice thereof, to bring an action under this section within 60 days from the date of the occurrence of the violation, the board may either settle the claim arising out of the violation or bring such action. Settlement by the board shall thereafter bar any other person from bringing action for the violation or violations with regard to which a settlement has been reached. If the board settles said claim, it shall be entitled to retain the costs it incurred in the settlement thereof, and the person against whom the violation was committed shall be entitled to the remainder. If the board brings action under the provisions of this section, it shall be entitled to receive attorney's fees and costs under the provisions of paragraph (a) and the person against whom the violation was committed shall be awarded liquidated damages under said Subsection A.
C.
A judgment for damages or on the merits in any action
under this section shall be a bar to any recovery under this section in any
other action against the same defendant on account of any violation with respect
to the same person prior to the institution of the action in which such judgment
was rendered. Action to recover liquidated damages under the provisions of
this section shall not be brought later than one-year after the date of the
violation. A single action for damages under the provisions of this section
may include all violations of the provisions of this section committed by
the same defendant against the same person.
D.
The above remedies are in addition to, not replacement
of, any other remedies provided under applicable law.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person to demand, accept,
receive or retain any rent for the use or occupancy of any controlled mobile
home park accommodation in excess of the maximum rent prescribed therefore
under the provisions of this bylaw or any order or regulation hereunder promulgated,
or otherwise to do or omit to do any action in violation of the provisions
of this bylaw or any order or regulation hereunder promulgated.
B.
Whoever knowingly makes any false statement in any testimony
before the board or otherwise knowingly supplies the board with any false
information shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 for each offense,
with each false statement and each piece of false information constituting
a separate offense. Whoever willfully violates any provision of this bylaw
or any rule or regulation promulgated hereunder shall be punished by a fine
of not more than $1,000 for each offense, and each day that violation continues
shall constitute a separate offense.
If any provision on this bylaw or the application of such provision
to any person of circumstances shall be held invalid, the validity of the
remainder of this bylaw and the application of such provision to other persons
or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
