[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of
the Town of Belchertown as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 5-13-1985 ATM by Art. 17 as Ch. III, Art. 9 of
the 1985 Compendium of Bylaws]
This article shall be known and may be cited
as the "Mobile Home Park Rent Control Bylaw."
A.
MOBILE HOME
MOBILE HOME PARK
RENT BOARD and BOARD
RULES AND REGULATIONS
For the purposes of this article, the following terms,
phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meaning given
herein, unless the context in which they are used clearly requires
a different meaning:
A dwelling unit built on a chassis and containing complete
electrical, plumbing and sanitary facilities and designed to be installed
on a temporary or permanent foundation for permanent living quarters.
A park licensed by the Board of Health pursuant to MGL c.
140, § 32B.
The Mobile Home Park Rent Control Board as established herein.
Rules and regulations as promulgated by the Board.[1]
B.
"Shall" is mandatory; "may" is permissive.
There is hereby established a Mobile Home Park
Rent Control Board consisting of five members, none of whom shall
be a mobile home park owner or mobile home park tenant, appointed
by the Select Board. The members in the first instance shall be appointed
for terms of one, two, three, four and five years. Upon expiration
of a term of office, the subsequent term shall be for a period of
five years.
A.
The Board shall regulate rents and set minimum standards
for use or occupancy of mobile home park accommodations and evictions
of tenants therefrom; may require registration by owners of mobile
home parks; and may require information of said owners relating to
their parks under penalties of perjury.
B.
The Board may make rules and regulations, sue and
be sued, compel attendance of persons and the production of papers
and information and issue appropriate orders which shall be binding
on both the owner and tenant of such mobile home park accommodations.
A.
The Board may make individual or general adjustments,
either upward or downward, as may be necessary to assure that rents
for mobile home park accommodations are established on levels which
yield to owners a fair net operating income for such units.
B.
Fair net operating income shall be that income which
will yield a return, after all reasonable operating expenses, on the
fair market value of the property equal to the debt service rate generally
available from institutional first mortgage lenders or such other
rates of return as the Board, on the basis of evidence presented before
it, deems more appropriate to the circumstances of the case.
C.
Fair market value shall be assessed valuation of the
property or such other valuation as the Board, on the basis of evidence
presented before it, deems more appropriate to the circumstances of
the case.
D.
The Board may establish further standards and rules
consistent with the foregoing.
The Board may regulate evictions of tenants
at mobile home parks and may issue orders which shall be a defense
to an action of summary process for possession.
A.
The Board and its actions shall be subject to the
provisions of MGL c. 30A (Administrative Procedures Act) as if the
Board were an agency for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
B.
Pursuant to Chapter 238 of the Acts of 1983, the District
Court of Hampshire shall have original jurisdiction, concurrently
with the Superior Court, Hampshire Division, of all petitions for
review brought pursuant to MGL c. 30A, § 14.
C.
The Superior Court shall have jurisdiction to enforce
the provisions of this article and may restrain violations thereof.
Violations of this article or any order of the
Board shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 for any
one offense.
If any provision of this article shall be held
invalid, the validity of the remainder of this article shall not be
affected thereby.
