RENTAL MOBILE HOME INSPECTION H.B. 4801 (H-4):
COMMITTEE SUMMARY
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House Bill 4801 (Substitute H-4 as passed by the House)
Sponsor: Representative Bob Constan
House Committee: Intergovernmental and Regional Affairs
Senate Committee: Local, Urban and State Affairs
Date Completed: 12-1-09
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Mobile Home Commission Act to authorize a local government to conduct safety inspections of rental mobile homes.
Specifically, a local government could inspect mobile homes for safety within a mobile home park or a seasonal mobile home park, or a mobile home located outside a mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park, if the mobile home were being rented to a tenant by the mobile home's owner. The local government could propose a means to determine which mobile homes located within its jurisdiction were being rented to tenants by the owner, including imposition of a registration or a licensing requirement for renting mobile homes to tenants. A local government could inspect mobile homes rented to tenants for safety. If a local government inspected rental mobile homes for safety, the period between inspections could not be longer than three years. Inspections for safety could not require enforcement of any mobile home construction standards that were greater than those applicable to the mobile home under manufactured housing rules, R 125.1101 to R 125.2009 of the Michigan Administrative Code.
("Inspection for safety" would mean an inspection of a rental mobile home that is limited to ensuring the proper functioning or protection of the furnace, water heater, electrical wiring, proper sanitation and plumbing, ventilation, heating equipment, and structural integrity.)
The authorization to inspect rental mobile homes would apply notwithstanding anything in Section 17 that could be to the contrary. (That section requires the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) or its authorized representative to conduct a physical inspection of mobile home parks and seasonal mobile home parks in accordance with DEQ standards. If a park is approved, the DEQ must issue a license. Except for the purposes of issuing or renewing a license, a local government may not make an inspection unless it has reason to believe that the Act, the Mobile Home Code, or rules promulgated under the Act were violated.)
Under the Act, a local government that proposes a standard related to mobile home parks or seasonal mobile home parks, or related to mobile homes located within a mobile home park or a seasonal mobile home park, that is higher than the standard provided in the Act or the Mobile Home Code, or that proposes a standard related to the business, sales, and service practices of mobile home dealers, or the business of mobile home installers and repairers, that is higher than the standard provided in the Act or the Code, must file the proposed standard with the Mobile Home Code Commission. The Commission may
promulgate rules to establish the criteria and procedure for implementation of higher standards by a local government. Under the bill, this would apply except as provided above.
MCL 125.2307 Legislative Analyst: Julie Cassidy
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would minimally increase local revenue and expenditures. Expanding inspection responsibilities would increase expenditures. The increased costs would be offset by fees, such as licensing fees or inspection fees, assessed on mobile home units.
Fiscal Analyst: David Zin
Analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent. hb4801/0910