Disclaimer
All views and opinions expressed in this blog are mine alone.They may not reflect the views of AAMHO's Board of Directors or its members. No legal advise is given or intended. Always consult an attorney for your particular situation.
January 16, 2012
As we enter our 25th year of operations we have much to celebrate. Because of the foresight and dedication of those who preceded us, we have a bill of rights, “Arizona Mobile Home Parks Residential Landlord And Tenant Act”, Title 33, Chapter 11. Although not perfect, the act does give you protection from unjust acts against you by a landlord. The Act defines the Landlord’s responsibility as well as your responsibility as tenants. Without this Act we would we at the mercy of any unscrupulous landlord or managers.
This is not to imply that all Landlords and managers are unscrupulous. Most Owners and Managers want to do the best they can for their residents. It is a small minority that cause a world of problems. If you are an AAMHO member, you have an organization that will intervene on your behalf and will assist you in resolving your differences. For all others, it is the Landlord/Tenant Act and the fact that AAMHO is there to assist any member who has been wronged. The Owners are fully aware of AAMHO’s dedication to its members. If you are not a member, you should be.
ANNUAL MEETING:
Plans are now in progress for the Annual Meeting. We will be meeting at McGavin Ranch, Ellsworth Road, Mesa, Az. Meeting date is Feb. 25, 2012. Registration will open at 7:30 AM, meeting is scheduled for 9 - 12:30PM. Pre-registration fee is $5.00, $10.00 at the door. The meeting is open to all active members. There will be no lunch served this year.
The change in the meeting format is dictated by economics. The increased cost of meeting facilities coupled with the decline in budgeted revenue has made this change necessary. Basically, the only change in the meeting structure is no lunch and no guest speaker following lunch. There is much to be discussed and your presence will be welcome.
May 2, 2011
Governor Brewer has signed House Bill 2395 into law allowing access to the Relocation Fund if your park changes its status from age restricted to all age allowed. This legislation was a product of your officers listening to your concerns and a legislator who is a friend of our lifestyle. Representative Russell Jones of Yuma introduced this legislation on behalf of AAMHO and its thousands of members. Representative Jones appeared before committee members explaining the need for this change to the Landlord Tenant Act and guided the bill through the arduous process of being favorably acted on by the House and Senate.
Roxanne Sposato, Legislative Chair, Dana Paschke, Lobbyist, Ron Feinstein, and Bob Ness committee members attended every committee hearing prepared to give testimony on the need for such legislation. Also, our members contacted their respective Representatives & Senators throughout the process. Their efforts are to be commended.
Working with the Arizona Housing Association, (AHA), and the Manufactured Housing Communities Association, (MHCA), language was proposed and adopted that results in no cost to the State or the Landlord. The essentials of the legislation are:
1) Requires landlord of an age restricted mobile home community to notify the Director of DFBLS of a change in use to an all age community use at least 60 days before the change occurs.
2) Specifies that a tenant is eligible for payment from the Mobile Home Relocation Fund
if:
A) the tenant resides in a mobile or manufactured home that the tenant owns and that is located in an age restricted park; and
B) the landlord converts an age restricted community into an all age community in accordance with HOPA
“Housing for Older Persons Act”.
3) Requires written notification by the landlord to tenants of the applicable laws due to change in use.
4) Specifies the tenant is eligible for payment of relocation expenses from the Fund, provided the following occurs:
A) the tenant submits a relocation contract to the Director within 180 days after notification of the change in use
B) upon receiving notice of approval the tenant relocates the home within 45 days or has a written contract with contractor to move within a specific location anddate.
C) Director has 15 days to act. If no action by the Director, on 16th day approval is automatically granted. Upon approval relocation expense shall be paid to thetenant at or before the time of relocation as pro vided by rules adopted by the Director.
D) If the contract is approved, the tenant is eligible for $5,000 in compensable moving expenses for a single wide, or $10,000 for a multisection mobile home. Ifthe contract is not approved, the tenant has a right to request an administrative hearing before an administrative law judge.
5) The home must be moved to another age restricted mobile home community within one hundred miles.
6) The landlord is not responsible for making any payment into the Fund for any home moved pursuant to statute.
7) Becomes effective July 20, 2011
For actual provisions of the bill refer to the www.azsos.gov/legislative filings, search HB 2395
More legislative information is available at the Legislative News at this web site.
Thank you,
Arthur Chick
March 20, 2011
The Appeals Court has taken the fear out of filing petitions. Recent action by the Arizona Court of Appeals has made awarding attorney fees to winning respondents in an ALJ Hearing impossi-ble. The case before the Court of Appeals was essentially set aside with the result being a deci-sion in favor of petitioners. Caution should be taken when considering a petition. You may think it has merit, but given the scrutiny of non involved party, it may not. AAMHO's Petition Committee has always encouraged petitioners to ask for assistance from the P.C. The Petition Committee works closely with our members in preparing their petitions for filing. The court should only be concerned with the violation of the Landlord Tenant Act and not personal gripes. Filing a petition is a time consuming process, but when properly prepared you at least have a chance of convincing a judge to rule in your favor. If you do lose, then a well documented peti-tion could be appealed to another court with a greater chance of winning then if were not proper-ly prepared.
As a reminder, Rule 31 (d) allows a petitioner to request a non legal person to assist in presenting or representing them before the Administrative Law Judge.
Thank you,
Arthur Chick, President
March 1, 2011
Our 24th Annual Meeting was very well attended by delegates from all corners of the state. Except for a couple of technical difficulties, which were fixed, the meeting ran as scheduled and finished on time, giving our long distant travelers an opportunity to get home safely.
As your elected President for the next two years I and your Board of Directors have many challenges to address. Our newly elected Membership Chairman, Patrick Nixon from District 5, will address the continuing downward slide of our membership. Given Patrick's abilities I am confident that he will aggressively identify the underlying problems facing us and with everybody's help turn the membership toward positive gains.
Our newly elected Legislative Director, Roxanne Sposato, District 3, is already hard at work. She and Dana Paschke, AAMHO's Lobbyist, already are working on blocking some legislation that will affect you and all other people who live our lifestyle. We need your help so check your email for our plea for help. For more information check out the Legislative bills that are being tracked under the News section in our web site.
Ralph Wilcox was re-elected 2nd Vice President. Ralph serves on the legislative committee and is our in house expert on Park Model issues. Ralph lives in a Park Model park and understands the need to get better legislation that offers more protection for this lifestyle.
Some of the issues that were discussed at the annual meeting include more educational seminars, programs defining your rights as tenants, encourage new retirees who are better known as the "Baby Boomers" to join us in living our lifestyle, take on those landlords who are charging tenants for tree trimming, build a legal fund to pursue this issue, and challenge landlords who are creating new fees for services that have been customarily included in our rent.
Talk about killing the golden goose who lays the golden egg. We and our counterparts in the manufactured home industry agree that what is good for the industry is good for all, but when you have landlords gouging their residents it makes you wonder if their clients are on the same page.
Thank you,
Arthur Chick, President
February 24, 2011
Our Annual Meeting is fast approaching. The event will be held at the Red Mountain Multi Purpose Center, 7550 East Adobe Rd, Mesa, Az 85207. The agenda is set. We have much to be concerned about and your input will be welcomed. If you have not made your reservation, do so now. Call Shawna at the office and she will register you.
You will hear from our Legislative Lobbyist, Dana Pachke. Dana will bring us up to date on what is currently working its way through the legislative process. Working with Rep. Russell Jones, Yuma, Dana and your legislative committee has introduced HB 2395. In the past, if a park changed from an "age restricted community" to an "all age community" the residents had no recourse but to accept that fact. If we are successful, this bill will allow affected park residents to request relocation funds to assist them in moving their unit to another "age restricted" park within a 100 mile radius. We love our children, but we did not move into an age restricted park to be with them 24/7/365.
HB 2558. I expect much discussion on the impact of this bill as it relates to the Landlord Tenant Act, Section 33-1431, Security Deposits. Rep. Jack Harper is the sponsor of this bill. In my opinion, this bill is not needed and will cause more hardship on our Senior Citizens living our lifestyle. Mr. Harper's bill will allow a landlord to demand a security deposit for utilities that the landlord is currently billing you, if he so chooses. The amount of this deposit is one-half of your monthly rent. This is in addition to the two months rental deposit that you have already given him. The bill does not provide that this deposit be held in escrow and pay 5% interest on the deposited money. It is in effect giving landlords an interest free loan, without any provisions that this money be safeguarded. The bill will allow the landlord to co-mingle your money with his personal/business funds.
Furthermore, this bill is not necessary. The utility bill is part of your rent bill. If you do not pay your rent, you are subject to eviction. If you are evicted, you cannot move your home unless you pay all monies due the landlord. You will be given the opportunity to take the contents of the home with you, but not your home. The landlord using the laws of eviction and abandonment can and will gain title to your home. Once the landlord has gained possession of your home, he then can sell it or rent it, therefore recovering his lost rental and utility charges. Now tell me that this legislation is needed and I will tell you it is a ploy on the landowners part to gain thousands of dollars interest free and unrestricted funds. It may be needed in the apartment rentals but not in our case. We must stop this bill in the Senate.
A trend is developing through out the industry which I find disturbing. Landlords are picking up from the credit card, banking and airline industries on how to increase their revenues without increasing rents to the extent that the relocation fund kicks in. The most recent innovative charge is that the landlord has changed his rules so that if management delivers a deficiency notice to your household, you are liable for a $25.00 delivery charge. Ridiculous, of course it is, but legal, I don't know. That is a lawyer question. We need to challenge these tactics. If one landlord succeeds then it becomes a domino effect. Who will be next.
Trees and who is responsible for their maintenance will be fully discussed. After the annual meeting I will get back to you on this subject. Our legal fund appeal has been published. We need everybody's participation in this fund so that we can pursue this issue. The time has come to get a better clarification than we have received from the Hearing Judge. The decisions are now causing concern because of the one sidedness of the rulings coming out of the process. This is my opinion and it is based on my interpretation of the facts.
Other issues that we are addressing are our long range goals and how best to accomplish these objectives. Your Board of Directors are now holding monthly meetings, in addition to the regular monthly board meeting, specifically addressing the concerns. High on the list is communications, membership, service and the industry's affect of the new wave of retirees, ie; Baby Boomers. We will be giving these issues high priority and keep you informed as we make progress.
Thank you,
Arthur Chick, President
December 29, 2010
Welcome to AAMHO's new web site. Many hours of design and programming has been expended to make this site easy to use and informative. It is best said that this site is a work in progress and will change from time to time with other features being added as the need arises.
Our prime concern is to keep the site current and the information accurate. Your input and suggestions are welcomed. Contact the office or email us at info@aamho.org
Your Board of Directors extend their appreciation to CJ Whitlock who designed and implemented this site. Untold hours have been volunteered by CJ and his efforts are apparent. We are delighted with the outcome. Should anyone have questions about a web site he can be contacted at FishyDesigns.Main@gmail.com.
My first order of business is wishing all our members and non-members a healthy Happy New Year. This past year has been eventful. President Ron Feinstein resigned in October, passing the reins to me. Ron continues to be an active member participating on the Educational and Legislative committees. As your elected 1st V.P. it is an honor to volunteer my services as your President. The transition period is much welcomed and highly beneficial to our Association.
The Legislative Session was a great success for our members. Significant changes were made in the Long Term RV Rental Act. The dreaded Paragraph (F) eviction without cause was struck and now the owner must "have cause". This pertains to Park Models only. RV's are excluded. Another change was enacted; you now have the right to advertise and sell your own home or by any designative party. Utility bill administrative charges cannot exceed the cost of usage, or in the aggregate, not more than 10%. Representative Russ Jones from Yuma was a real friend to our Association Members.
Our Annual Convention will be held February 26, 2011 in Mesa. Details are available elsewhere in this web site. I am looking forward to your attendance. This is a must go to meeting. Meet other members from all over the state and share your common concerns. No one is more important than our members and all the volunteers who work tirelessly to protect of our lifestyle.
Thank you,
Arthur Chick, President
November 26, 2010
I and the Board of Directors would like to offer our heartfelt thanks to Ron Feinstein for his outstanding service during the past five years. Ron will continue to serveAAMHO on the Legislative Committee and the Educational Committee. He will be available to assist the President and the Board during this transition. During my term as 1st V.P., Ron kept me and the Board informed of all matters concerning the Association. As a result there should be no discernable change in AAMHO direction.
It is my intention to seek the office of President at the next annual convention. I am proud of the people of AAMHO and what the Association represents. I am happy to serve you and wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Thank you,
Arthur Chick, President
