§ 233. Manufactured home parks; duties, responsibilities. a. Wherever
used in this section:

1. The term "manufactured home tenant" means one who rents space in a
manufactured home park from a manufactured home park owner or operator
for the purpose of parking his manufactured home or one who rents a
manufactured home in a manufactured home park from a manufactured home
park owner or operator.

2. The term "manufactured home owner" means one who holds title to a
manufactured home.

3. The term "manufactured home park" means a contiguous parcel of
privately owned land which is used for the accommodation of three or
more manufactured homes occupied for year-round living.

4. The term "manufactured home" means a structure, transportable in
one or more sections, which in the traveling mode, is eight body feet or
more in width or forty body feet or more in length, or, when erected on
site, is three hundred twenty or more square feet, and which is built on
a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling with or
without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities,
and includes the plumbing, heating, air-conditioning, and electrical
systems contained therein; except that such term shall include a "mobile
home" as defined in paragraph five, and shall include a structure which
meets all the requirements of this subdivision except the size
requirements and with respect to which the manufacturer voluntarily
files a certification required by the secretary of housing and urban
development.

5. The term "mobile home" means a moveable or portable unit,
manufactured prior to January first, nineteen hundred seventy-six,
designed and constructed to be towed on its own chassis, comprised of
frame and wheels, connected to utilities, and designed and constructed
without a permanent foundation for year-round living. A unit may contain
parts that may be folded, collapsed or telescoped when being towed and
expanded later to provide additional cubic capacity as well as two or
more separately towable components designed to be joined into one
integral unit capable of being again separated into the components for
repeated towing. "Mobile home" shall mean units designed to be used
exclusively for residential purposes, excluding travel trailers.

6. The term "rent-to-own contract" shall mean any agreement between a
manufactured home park owner or operator and a manufactured home renter
which provides that after a specified term or other contingency the
manufactured home renter will take ownership of the rented home.

7. The term "rent-to-own payment" shall mean any payment or payments
made by a manufactured home renter pursuant to a rent-to-own contract
which are in addition to rental payments for the rented site and the
rented home.

b. A manufactured home park owner or operator may not evict a
manufactured home tenant other than for the following reasons:

2. The manufactured home tenant has defaulted in the payment of rent,
pursuant to the agreement under which the premises are held, and a
demand of the rent with at least thirty days notice in writing has been
served upon him as prescribed in section seven hundred thirty-five of
the real property actions and proceedings law. Upon the acceptance of
such delinquent rent together with allowable costs, an action instituted
for nonpayment of rent shall be terminated. Any person succeeding to the
manufactured home park owner or operator's interest in the premises may
proceed under this subdivision for rent due his predecessor in interest
if he has a right thereto.

3. The premises, or any part thereof, are used or occupied as a
bawdy-house, or house or place of assignation for lewd purposes or for
purposes of prostitution, or for any illegal trade or business.

4. The manufactured home tenant is in violation of some federal, state
or local law or ordinance which may be deemed detrimental to the safety
and welfare of the other persons residing in the manufactured home park.

5. The manufactured home tenant or anyone occupying the manufactured
home is in violation of any lease term or rule or regulation established
by the manufactured home park owner or operator pursuant to this
section, and has continued in violation for more than ten days after the
manufactured home park owner or operator has given written notice of
such violation to the manufactured home tenant setting forth the lease
term or rule or regulation violated and directing that the manufactured
home tenant correct or cease violation of such lease term or rule or
regulation within ten days from the receipt of said notice. Upon the
expiration of such period should the violation continue or should the
manufactured home tenant or anyone occupying the manufactured home be
deemed a persistent violator of the lease term or rules and regulations,
the park owner or operator may serve written notice upon the
manufactured home tenant directing that he vacate the premises within
thirty days of the receipt of said notice.

6. (i) The manufactured home park owner or operator proposes a change
in the use of the land comprising the manufactured home park, or a
portion thereof, on which the manufactured home is located, from
manufactured home lot rentals to some other use, provided the
manufactured home owner is given written notice of the proposed change
of use and the manufactured home owner's need to secure other
accommodations. Whenever a manufactured home park owner or operator
gives a notice of proposed change of use to any manufactured home owner,
the manufactured home park owner or operator shall, at the same time,
give notice of the proposed change of use to all other manufactured home
owners or tenants in the manufactured home park who will be required to
secure other accommodations as a result of such proposed change of use.
Eviction proceedings based on a change in use shall not be commenced
prior to two years from the service of notice of proposed change in use.
Such notice shall be served in the manner prescribed in section seven
hundred thirty-five of the real property actions and proceedings law or
by certified mail, return receipt requested.

(ii) Where a purchaser of a manufactured home park certified that such
purchaser did not intend to change the use of the land pursuant to
paragraph (b) of subdivision two of section two hundred thirty-three-a
of this article, no eviction proceedings based on a change of use shall
be commenced until the expiration of sixty months from the date of the
closing on the sale of the park.

(iii) (A) The manufactured home park owner or operator shall provide
the manufactured home owner a stipend of up to fifteen thousand dollars
per manufactured home owner, pursuant to a court order. A warrant for
eviction cannot be executed until the stipend has been paid to the
manufactured home owner being evicted.

(B) The court shall calculate the stipend based upon consideration of
the following factors:

(1) The cost of relocation of the manufactured home;

(2) The number of manufactured homes in the same park that would be
receiving a stipend;

(3) The amount the real property is being purchased for;

(4) The value of the real property the manufactured home is located
on;

(5) The value of the development rights attached to real property
parcel the manufactured home is located on; and

(6) Any other factors the court determines are relevant in each case.

(C) In the event the manufactured home owner is not removed and the
eviction proceeding is terminated the manufactured home owner shall
return the stipend to the park owner. The weight to be afforded to each
of the various factors is within the discretion of the trial court.

c. If the manufactured home park owner or operator does not have one
of the above grounds available, the manufactured home tenant may raise
the same by affirmative defense to an action for eviction.

d. The proceedings to evict shall be governed by the procedures set
forth in article seven of the real property actions and proceedings law,
except for the provisions of subdivision two of section seven hundred
forty-nine of the real property actions and proceedings law which shall
be superseded by the provisions of this subdivision.

1. The officer to whom the warrant is directed and delivered shall
give at least ninety days notice, in writing and in the manner
prescribed in article seven of the real property actions and proceedings
law for the service of notice of petition, to the person or persons to
be evicted or dispossessed and shall execute the warrant between the
hours of sunrise and sunset.

2. The court may order that such warrant be directed and delivered
with only thirty days written notice to the person or persons to be
evicted or dispossessed if the conditions upon which the eviction is
founded pose an imminent threat to the health, safety, or welfare of the
other manufactured home tenants in the manufactured home park.

3. The court shall order that such warrant be directed and delivered
with thirty days written notice to the person or persons to be evicted
or dispossessed if the condition upon which the eviction is founded is
that such person is in default in the payment of rent.

4. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs one and two of this
subdivision, nor of any other general, special or local law, rule or
regulation to the contrary, the officer to whom the warrant is directed
and delivered shall give seventy-two hours written notice to the person
or persons to be evicted or dispossessed, if such person or persons
rents a manufactured home in a manufactured home park from a
manufactured home park owner or operator and such officer shall execute
such warrant between the hours of sunrise and sunset.

e. Leases. 1. The manufactured home park owner or operator shall offer
every manufactured home tenant prior to occupancy, the opportunity to
sign a lease for a minimum of one year, which offer shall be made in
writing. All lease offers, including initial and renewal leases, shall
include a rider regarding tenant rights. Such rider shall be in a form
approved or promulgated by the commissioner of housing and community
renewal and which shall be made available to manufactured home park
owners and operators.

2. (i) On or before, as appropriate, (a) the first day of October of
each calendar year with respect to a manufactured home owner who is not
currently a party to a written lease with a manufactured home park owner
or operator or (b) the ninetieth day next preceding the expiration date
of any existing written lease between a manufactured home owner and a
manufactured home park owner or operator, the manufactured home park
owner or operator shall submit to each such manufactured home owner a
written offer to lease for a term of at least twelve months from the
commencement date thereof unless the manufactured home park owner or
operator has previously furnished the manufactured home owner with
written notification of a proposed change of use pursuant to paragraph
six of subdivision b of this section. Any such offer shall include a
copy of the proposed lease containing such terms and conditions,
including provisions for rent and other charges, as the manufactured
home park owner shall deem appropriate; provided such terms and
conditions are consistent with all rules and regulations promulgated by
the manufactured home park operator prior to the date of the offer and
are not otherwise prohibited or limited by applicable law. Such offer
shall also contain a statement advising the manufactured home owner that
if he or she fails to execute and return the lease to the manufactured
home park owner or operator within thirty days after submission of such
lease, the manufactured home owner shall be deemed to have declined the
offer of a lease and shall not have any right to a lease from the
manufactured home park owner or operator for the next succeeding twelve
months.

(ii) For purposes of this paragraph, the commencement date of any
lease offered by the manufactured home park owner to the manufactured
home owner shall be the ninetieth day after the date upon which the
manufactured home park owner shall have provided the offer required
pursuant to this paragraph; provided, however, that no such lease shall
be effective if, on such commencement date, the manufactured home owner
is in default of more than one month's rent. In the event the
manufactured home owner shall have failed to execute and return said
lease to the manufactured home park owner or operator within thirty days
after it is submitted to the manufactured home owner as required by
subparagraph (i) of this paragraph the manufactured home owner shall be
deemed to have declined to enter said lease.

3. No lease provision shall be inconsistent with any rule or
regulation in effect at the commencement of the lease.

4. If a manufactured home park owner or operator fails to offer a
tenant a lease as provided in this subdivision, the tenant shall have
all the rights of a leaseholder and may not be evicted for other than
the reasons specified in paragraph two, three, four, five or six of
subdivision (b) of this section.

5. All rent increases, including all fees, rents, charges, assessments
and utilities, shall be subject and pursuant to section two hundred
thirty-three-b of this article.

f. Rules and regulations. 1. A manufactured home park owner or
operator may promulgate rules and regulations governing the rental or
occupancy of a manufactured home lot provided such rules and regulations
shall not be unreasonable, arbitrary or capricious. A copy of all rules
and regulations shall be delivered by the manufactured home park owner
or operator to all manufactured home tenants at the same time such owner
or operator initially offers the written lease provided for in
subdivision e of this section. A copy of the rules and regulations shall
be posted in a conspicuous place upon the manufactured home park
grounds.

2. If a rule or regulation is not applied uniformly to all
manufactured home tenants of the manufactured home park there shall be a
rebuttable presumption that such rule or regulation is unreasonable,
arbitrary and capricious, provided, however, that an inconsistency
between a rule or regulation and a lease term contained in a lease
signed before the date the rule or regulation is effective shall not
raise a rebuttable presumption that such rule is unreasonable, arbitrary
or capricious.

3. Any rule or regulation which does not conform to the requirements
of this section or which has not been supplied or posted as required by
paragraph one of this subdivision shall be unenforceable and may be
raised by the manufactured home tenant as an affirmative defense in any
action to evict on the basis of a violation of such rule or regulation.

4. No rules or regulations may be changed by the manufactured home
park owner or operator without specifying the date of implementation of
said changed rules and regulations, which date shall be no fewer than
thirty days after written notice to all tenants.

5. A mobile home park owner or operator may not prohibit the placement
of a for sale sign on any mobile home. A rule or regulation may be
promulgated limiting the maximum size of such sign; provided, that it
does not prohibit signs the size of which do not exceed the smaller of
three feet by two feet or the maximum size allowed by law or
governmental regulation or ordinance, if any.

g. 1. No tenant shall be charged a fee for other than rent, utilities
and charges for facilities and services available to the tenant. All
fees, charges or assessments must be reasonably related to services
actually rendered.

2. A manufactured home park owner or operator shall be required to
fully disclose in writing all fees, charges, assessments, including
rental fees, rules and regulations prior to entering into a rental
agreement with a prospective tenant in the manufactured home park.

3. No fees, charges, assessments or rental fees may be increased by
manufactured home park owner or operator without specifying the date of
implementation of said fees, charges, assessments or rental fees which
date shall be no less than ninety days after written notice to all
manufactured home tenants. Failure on the part of the manufactured home
park owner or operator to fully disclose all fees, charges or
assessments shall prevent the manufactured home park owner or operator
from collecting said fees, charges or assessments, and refusal by the
manufactured home tenant to pay any undisclosed charges shall not be
used by the manufactured home park owner or operator as a cause for
eviction in any court of law. Rent, utilities and charges for facilities
and services available to the tenant may not be increased unless a lease
has been offered to the tenant as required by subdivision e of this
section.

4. (a) Whenever money shall be deposited or advanced on a contract or
license agreement for the use or rental of premises and the manufactured
home, if rented, in a manufactured home park as security for performance
of the contract or agreement or to be applied to payments upon such
contract or agreement when due, such money with interest accruing
thereon, if any, until repaid or so applied, shall continue to be the
money of the person making such deposit or advance and shall be a trust
fund in the possession of the person with whom such deposit or advance
shall be made and shall not be mingled with other funds or become an
asset of the park owner, operator or his agent.

(b) Whenever the person receiving money so deposited or advanced shall
deposit such money in a banking organization, such person shall
thereupon notify in writing each of the persons making such security
deposit or advance, giving the name and address of the banking
organization in which the deposit of security money is made, and the
amount of such deposit. Deposits in a banking organization pursuant to
the provisions of this subdivision shall be made in a banking
organization having a place of business within the state. If the person
depositing such security money in a banking organization shall deposit
same in an interest bearing account, he shall be entitled to receive, as
administration expenses, a sum equivalent to one percent per annum upon
the security money so deposited, which shall be in lieu of all other
administrative and custodial expenses. The balances of the interest paid
by the banking organization shall be the money of the person making the
deposit or advance and shall either be held in trust by the person with
whom such deposit or advance shall be made, until repaid or applied for
the use or rental of the leased premises, or annually paid to the person
making the deposit of security money.

(c) Whenever the money so deposited or advanced is for the rental of a
manufactured home park lot on property on which are located six or more
manufactured home park lots, the person receiving such money shall,
subject to the provisions of this section, deposit it in an interest
bearing account in a banking organization within the state which account
shall earn interest at a rate which shall be the prevailing rate earned
by other such deposits made with the banking organizations in such area.

(d) In the event that a lease terminates other than at the time that a
banking organization in such area regularly pays interest, the person
depositing such security money shall pay over to his manufactured home
tenant such interest as he is able to collect at the date of such lease
termination.

(e) Any provision of such a contract or agreement whereby a person who
so deposits or advances money waives any provision of this subdivision
is void.

h. No manufactured home park owner shall:

1. Require a manufactured home tenant therein to purchase from said
manufactured home park owner or operator skirting or equipment for tying
down manufactured homes, or any other equipment. However, the
manufactured home park owner or operator may determine by rule or
regulation the style or quality of such equipment to be purchased by the
manufactured home tenant from the vendor of the manufactured home
tenant's choosing, providing such equipment is readily available.

2. Charge any manufactured home tenant who chooses to install an
electric or gas appliance in his manufactured home an additional fee
solely on the basis of such installation unless such installation is
performed by the manufactured home park owner or operator at the request
of the manufactured home tenant, nor shall the manufactured home park
owner or operator restrict the installation, service or maintenance of
any such appliance, restrict the ingress or egress of repairers to enter
the manufactured home park for the purpose of installation, service or
maintenance of any such appliance, or restrict the making of any
interior improvement in such manufactured home, so long as such an
installation or improvement is in compliance with applicable building
codes and other provisions of law and further provided that adequate
utilities are available for such installation or improvement.

3. Require, by contract, rule, regulation or otherwise, a manufactured
home dweller to purchase from the manufactured home park owner or any
person acting directly or indirectly on behalf of the park owner,
commodities or services incidental to placement or rental within such
park; nor shall the park owner restrict access to the manufactured home
park to any person employed, retained or requested by the manufactured
home dweller to provide such commodity or service, unless the
manufactured home park owner establishes that such requirement or
restriction is necessary to protect the property of such park owner from
substantial harm or impairment.

4. Require a manufactured home owner or a prospective manufactured
home owner to purchase his or her manufactured home from the
manufactured home park owner or operator, or from any person or persons
designated by the manufactured home park owner or operator. Nothing
herein shall be construed to prevent a manufactured home park owner or
operator from requiring that any new manufactured home to be installed
in his or her manufactured home park comply with the rules and
regulations of said manufactured home park or conform to the physical
facilities then existing for installation of a manufactured home in said
manufactured home park.

i. 1. No manufactured home park owner or operator shall deny any
manufactured home tenant the right to sell his manufactured home within
the manufactured home park provided the manufactured home tenant shall
give to the manufactured home park owner or operator twenty days'
written notice of his intention to sell, provided that if the
manufactured home owner is deceased no such notice shall be required
from the administrator or executor of the home owner's estate, and
provided further that no manufactured home park owner or operator shall
restrict access to the manufactured home park to any potential purchaser
or representatives of any seller unless the manufactured home park owner
establishes that such restriction is necessary to protect the property
of such park owner or operator from substantial harm or impairment. No
manufactured home park owner or operator shall require the manufactured
home owner or subsequent purchaser to remove the manufactured home from
the manufactured home park solely on the basis of the sale thereof. The
manufactured home park owner or operator may reserve the right to
approve the purchaser of said manufactured home as a manufactured home
tenant for the remainder of the seller's or deceased tenant's term but
such permission may not be unreasonably withheld. If the manufactured
home park owner or operator unreasonably withholds his permission or
unreasonably restricts access to the manufactured home park, the
manufactured home tenant or the executor or administrator of a deceased
tenant's estate may recover the costs of the proceedings and attorneys'
fees if it is found that the manufactured home park owner or operator
acted in bad faith by withholding permission or restricting access.

2. The manufactured home park owner or operator shall not exact a
commission or fee with respect to the price realized by the seller
unless the manufactured home park owner or operator has acted as agent
for the manufactured home owner in the sale pursuant to a written
contract.

3. If the ownership or management rejects a purchaser as a prospective
tenant, the selling tenant must be informed in writing of the reasons
therefor.

j. The owner or operator of a manufactured home park may enter a
manufactured home owner's manufactured home without the prior consent of
the occupant only in case of emergency. The owner or operator of a
manufactured home park may enter a manufactured home tenant's
manufactured home during reasonable hours on reasonable notice.

k. The owner or operator shall provide reasonable notice where
practicable to all manufactured home tenants who would be affected by
any planned disruption of necessary services caused by the owner,
operator or his agent.

l. The park owner shall designate an agent on the premises or in close
proximity to the manufactured home park to insure the availability of
emergency response actions in matters affecting the health, safety,
well-being and welfare of manufactured home tenants in the park. The
designated agent's name, address and telephone number shall be posted in
a conspicuous location in the park, given in writing to each tenant and
registered with appropriate county law enforcement and health officials
and local fire officials.

m. Warranty of habitability, maintenance, disruption of services. In
every written or oral lease or rental agreement entered into by a
manufactured home tenant, the manufactured home park owner or operator
shall be deemed to covenant and warrant that the premises so leased or
rented and the manufactured home if rented, including rental through a
rent-to-own contract, and all areas used in connection therewith in
common with other manufactured home tenants or residents including all
roads within the manufactured home park are fit for human habitation and
for the uses reasonably intended by the parties and that the occupants
of such premises and such manufactured homes if rented shall not be
subjected to any conditions which would be dangerous, hazardous or
detrimental to their life, health or safety. When any such condition has
been caused by the misconduct of the manufactured home tenant or lessee
or persons under his direction or control, it shall not constitute a
breach of such covenants and warranties. The rights and obligations of
the manufactured home park owner or operator and the manufactured home
tenant shall be governed by the provisions of this subdivision and
subdivisions two and three of section two hundred thirty-five-b of this
article.

n. 1. No manufactured home park owner or operator shall serve a notice
to quit upon any manufactured home tenant or commence any action to
recover real property or summary proceeding to recover possession of
real property in retaliation for:

(a) A good faith complaint, by or in behalf of the tenant, to a
governmental authority of the manufactured home park owner's or
operator's alleged violation of any health or safety law, regulation,
code, or ordinance, or any law or regulation which has as its objective
the regulation of premises used for dwelling purposes; or

(b) Actions taken in good faith, by or in behalf of the manufactured
home tenant, to secure or enforce any rights under the lease or rental
agreement, under subdivision m of this section and subdivisions two and
three of section two hundred thirty-five-b of this article, or under any
other local law, law of the state of New York, or of its governmental
subdivisions, or of the United States which has as its objective the
regulation of premises used for dwelling purposes; or

(c) The manufactured home tenant's participation in the activities of
a tenant's organization.

2. No manufactured home park owner or operator shall substantially
alter the terms of the tenancy in retaliation for any actions set forth
in subparagraphs (a), (b), and (c) of paragraph one of this subdivision.
Substantial alteration shall include, but is not limited to, the refusal
to continue a tenancy of the manufactured home tenant or, upon
expiration of the manufactured home owner's lease, to renew the lease or
offer a new lease; provided, however, that a manufactured home park
owner or operator shall not be required under this subdivision to offer
a manufactured home owner a new lease or a lease renewal for a term
greater than one year.

3. This subdivision shall apply to all manufactured home parks with
four or more manufactured homes. However, its provisions shall not be
given effect in any case in which it is established that the condition
from which the complaint or action arose was caused by the manufactured
home tenant, a member of the manufactured home tenant's household, or a
guest of the manufactured home tenant. Nor shall it apply in a case
where a tenancy was terminated pursuant to the terms of a lease as a
result of a bona fide transfer of ownership. The rights and obligations
of the manufactured home park owner or operator and the manufactured
home tenant shall be governed by the provisions of this subdivision and
subdivisions three, four and five of section two hundred twenty-three-b
of this article.

o. Whenever a lease shall provide that in any action or summary
proceeding the manufactured home park owner or operator may recover
attorney's fees and/or expenses awarded by a court, there shall be
implied in such lease a covenant by the manufactured home park owner or
operator, to pay to the tenant the reasonable attorney's fees and/or
expenses incurred by the tenant to the same extent as is provided in
section two hundred thirty-four of this article which section shall
apply in its entirety. A manufactured home park owner or operator may
not demand that a tenant pays attorneys' fees unless such fees have been
awarded pursuant to a court order.

p. Any manufactured home park owner or operator who has agreed to
provide hot or cold water, heat, light, power, or any other service or
facility to any occupant of the manufactured home park who willfully or
intentionally without just cause fails to furnish such water, heat,
light, power, or other service or facility, or who interferes with the
quiet enjoyment of the leased premises, is guilty of a violation.

q. Upon receipt of rent, fees, charges or other assessments, in the
form of cash or any instrument other than the personal check of the
tenant, it shall be the duty of the manufactured home park owner or
operator to provide the payor with a written receipt containing the
following:

1. the date;

2. the amount;

3. the identity of the premises and the period for which paid;

4. the signature and title of the person receiving rent.

r. Limitation on late charges. A late charge on any rental payment by
a manufactured home owner which has become due and remains unpaid shall
not exceed and shall be enforced to the extent of three percent of such
delinquent payment; provided, however, that no charge shall be imposed
on any rental payment by a manufactured home owner received within ten
days after the due date. In the absence of a specific provision in the
lease or the manufactured home park's rules and regulations, no late
charge on any delinquent rental payment shall be assessed or collected.
Late charges may not be compounded and shall not be considered
additional rent.

s. It shall be a violation for a manufactured home park owner,
operator or his agent to restrict occupancy of a manufactured home or
manufactured home park lot intended for residential purposes by express
lease terms or otherwise, to a manufactured home tenant or tenants or to
such tenants and immediate family. Any such restriction in a lease or
rental agreement entered into or renewed before or after the effective
date of this subdivision shall be unenforceable as against public
policy. The rights and obligations of a manufactured home park owner or
operator and the manufactured home tenant shall be governed by the
provisions of this subdivision and subdivisions one, three, four, five,
six, seven, eight and nine of section two hundred thirty-five-f of this
article.

t. 1. Unless a greater right to assign is conferred by the lease, a
manufactured home tenant may not assign his lease without the written
consent of the manufactured home park owner or operator, which consent
may be unconditionally withheld without cause provided that the
manufactured home park owner or operator shall release the manufactured
home tenant from the lease upon request of the mobile home tenant upon
thirty days notice if the manufactured home park owner or operator
unreasonably withholds consent which release shall be the sole remedy of
the tenant. If the owner reasonably withholds consent, there shall be no
assignment and the manufactured home tenant shall not be released from
the lease.

2. (a) A manufactured home tenant renting space or a manufactured home
in a manufactured home park with four or more manufactured homes
pursuant to an existing lease shall have a right to sublease his
premises subject to the written consent of the park owner in advance of
the subletting. Such consent shall not be unreasonably withheld.

(b) The manufactured home tenant shall inform the manufactured home
park owner or operator of his intent to sublease by mailing a notice of
such intent by certified mail, return receipt requested. Such request
shall be accompanied by the following information: (i) the term of the
sublease, (ii) the name of the proposed sublessee, (iii) the business
and permanent home address of the proposed sublessee, (iv) the tenant's
reason for subletting, (v) the tenant's address for the term of the
sublease, (vi) the written consent of any co-tenant or guarantor of the
lease, and (vii) a copy of the proposed sublease, to which a copy of the
manufactured home tenant's lease shall be attached if available,
acknowledged by the manufactured home tenant and proposed subtenant as
being a true copy of such sublease.

(c) Within ten days after the mailing of such request, the
manufactured home park owner or operator may ask the manufactured home
tenant for additional information as will enable the manufactured home
park owner or operator to determine if rejection of such request shall
be unreasonable. Any such request for additional information shall not
be unduly burdensome. Within thirty days after the mailing of the
request for consent, or of the additional information reasonably asked
for by the manufactured home park owner or operator, whichever is later,
the manufactured home park owner or operator shall send a notice to the
manufactured home tenant of his consent or, if he does not consent, his
reasons therefor. Manufactured home park owner's or operator's failure
to send such a notice shall be deemed to be a consent to the proposed
subletting. If the manufactured home park owner or operator consents,
the premises may be sublet in accordance with the request, but the
manufactured home tenant thereunder, shall nevertheless remain liable
for the performance of manufactured home tenant's obligations under said
lease. If the manufactured home park owner or operator reasonably
withholds consent, there shall be no subletting and the manufactured
home tenant shall not be released from the lease. If the manufactured
home park owner or operator unreasonably withholds consent, the
manufactured home tenant may sublet in accordance with the request and
may recover the costs of the proceeding and attorneys fees if it is
found that the manufactured home park owner or operator acted in bad
faith by withholding consent. The rights and obligations of the
manufactured home park owner or operator and the manufactured home
tenant shall be governed by the provisions of this subdivision and
subdivisions three, five, six, seven and eight of section two hundred
twenty-six-b of this article.

u. In the event of a breach by a manufactured home park owner or
operator of any of the requirements of this section, the manufactured
home tenant may commence an action for damages actually incurred as a
result of such breach, or in an action or summary proceeding commenced
by such manufactured home park owner or operator, may counterclaim for
damages occasioned by such breach.

v. 1. On and after April first, nineteen hundred eighty-nine, the
commissioner of housing and community renewal shall have the power and
duty to enforce and ensure compliance with the provisions of this
section. However, the commissioner shall not have the power or duty to
enforce manufactured home park rules and regulations established under
subdivision f of this section.

2. On or before January first, nineteen hundred eighty-nine, each
manufactured home park owner or operator shall file a registration
statement with the commissioner and shall thereafter file an annual
registration statement on or before January first of each succeeding
year. The commissioner, by regulation, shall provide that such
registration statement shall include only the names of all persons
owning an interest in the park, the names of all tenants of the park,
all services provided by the park owner to the tenants and a copy of all
current manufactured home park rules and regulations. The reporting of
such information to the commissioner of taxation and finance pursuant to
subparagraph (B) of paragraph six of subsection (eee) of section six
hundred six of the tax law shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements
of this paragraph. That the commissioner may not be the primary
recipient of such registration statement shall not be construed to
limit, alter or diminish the ability or responsibility of the division
of housing and community renewal in regards to enforcement of this
section or any other applicable laws. The commissioner may request
additional or corrected information to be filed by each manufactured
home park owner or operator as he or she deems necessary to carry out
proper oversight of such manufactured home parks. The commissioner shall
annually make publicly available on its website a report of the data
collected pursuant to this subdivision or subparagraph (B) of paragraph
six of subsection (eee) of section six hundred six of the tax law, not
including any personally identifiable information.

3. Whenever there shall be a violation of this section, an application
may be made by the commissioner of housing and community renewal in the
name of the people of the state of New York to a court or justice having
jurisdiction by a special proceeding to issue an injunction, and upon
notice to the defendant of not less than five days, to enjoin and
restrain the continuance of such violation; and if it shall appear to
the satisfaction of the court or justice that the defendant has, in
fact, violated this section, an injunction may be issued by such court
or justice, enjoining and restraining any further violation and with
respect to this subdivision, directing the filing of a registration
statement. In any such proceeding, the court may make allowances to the
commissioner of housing and community renewal of a sum not exceeding two
thousand dollars against each defendant, and direct restitution.
Whenever the court shall determine that a violation of this section has
occurred, the court may impose a civil penalty of not more than one
thousand five hundred dollars for each violation. Such penalty shall be
deposited in the manufactured home cooperative fund, created pursuant to
section fifty-nine-h of the private housing finance law. In connection
with any such proposed application, the commissioner of housing and
community renewal is authorized to take proof and make a determination
of the relevant facts and to issue subpoenas in accordance with the
civil practice law and rules. The provisions of this subdivision shall
not impair the rights granted under subdivision u of this section.

w. Real property tax payments. 1. A manufactured home park owner,
operator or the agent of such owner or operator shall reduce the annual
rent paid by a manufactured home tenant for use of the land upon which
such manufactured home sits in an amount equal to the total of the real
property taxes actually paid by such manufactured home tenant for such
manufactured home plus the amount by which the taxes on such
manufactured home were reduced as a result of the partial real property
tax exemption granted to the manufactured home tenant pursuant to
article four of the real property tax law, provided such manufactured
home tenant:

(a) owns a manufactured home which is separately assessed, subject to
the provisions of paragraph two of this subdivision;

(b) is entitled to and actually receives a partial real property tax
exemption pursuant to article four of the real property tax law; and

(c) pays the real property taxes due on such home.

3. A manufactured home park owner or operator providing a reduction in
rent as required by paragraph one of this subdivision may retain, in
consideration for record keeping expenses, two percent of the amount of
such reduction.

3-a. Any reduction required to be provided pursuant to paragraph one
of this subdivision shall be provided as follows:

(a) a reduction in monthly rent (prorating the reduction in twelve
parts) shall take effect upon the first monthly rental payment due sixty
days after the last date for the payment of real property taxes with no
penalty or interest for lateness and shall be extended to the next
eleven monthly payments thereafter; or

(b) with the consent of the manufactured home park owner, operator, or
agent of such owner or operator, a reduction in rent may be offset in
the entire amount of such reduction against the first monthly rental
payment due sixty days after the last date for the payment of real
property taxes with no penalty or interest for lateness, and the balance
thereof, if any, may be offset against the monthly rental payments for
succeeding months, until exhausted; or

(c) at the election of the manufactured home park owner, operator, or
agent of such owner or operator, the total amount of such reduction in
rent may be paid to the tenant no later than sixty days after the last
date for the payment of real property taxes with no penalty or interest
for lateness.

4. The failure of a manufactured home park owner or operator to comply
with the provisions of this subdivision shall be a violation punishable
by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars for each violation.

x. 1. Rent and other fees, charges and assessments may not be
increased by a manufactured home park owner or operator more than once
in any year.

2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph one of this
subdivision, if a fee, charge, or assessment in effect at the
commencement of a lease or tenancy is for goods or services provided by
a party unrelated to and not controlled by the manufactured home park
owner or operator, the manufactured home park owner or operator may,
upon the notice required in this section, provide for the pass-along to
the manufactured home tenant of any increases in such fee, charge or
assessment.

3. Any agreement modifying any of the rights set forth in this
subdivision shall be void as contrary to public policy.

y. 1. No manufactured home park owner or operator shall offer or
execute a rent-to-own contract unless the manufactured park owner or
operator possesses documentation of ownership of the manufactured home,
including a certificate of title to the home, if the home is a
manufactured home subject to being titled pursuant to article forty-six
of the vehicle and traffic law, or for mobile homes not subject to being
titled pursuant to such law, such other documentation, which may include
a bill of sale, or deed, sufficient to establish ownership.

2. Every rent-to-own contract shall be in writing and clearly state
all terms, including but not limited to: a description of the home to be
leased, including the name of the manufacturer, the serial number and
the year of manufacture; the site number upon which the home is located
in the manufactured home park; an itemized statement of any payments to
be made during the term of the contract, including the initial lot rent,
the rental amount for the home, and the amount of the rent-to-own
payments; the term of the agreement; the number of payments, itemized,
required to be made over the term of the agreement; any lien or security
interest encumbering the manufactured or mobile home, if applicable; and
the amount of any additional fees to be paid during the term. A
rent-to-own contract shall not require a manufactured home tenant to pay
any additional fees for transfer of ownership at the end of the lease
period. A rent-to-own contract shall provide that where the rent-to-own
tenant pays all rent-to-own payments and other fees established in the
contract during the lease term, title transferred at the end of the
lease term shall be free of superior interests, liens or encumbrances.

3. Valuations used to determine the fair market value of the
manufactured home at the time the rent-to-own contract is entered into,
shall be based on the information provided by an independent system,
entity, publication or publications that provide valuation information
for manufactured homes adjusted, as appropriate, by reasonable and
identifiable regional market data, such as location, park-specific
amenities, trends and comparable sales.

4. Every rent-to-own contract shall clearly state that the
manufactured home tenant is occupying a rented home, until ownership is
transferred, and that the manufactured home park owner and operator
shall be responsible for compliance with the warranty of habitability,
including but not limited to all major repairs and capital improvements.

5. With the execution of every rent-to-own contract, the manufactured
home park owner or operator shall offer the manufactured home tenant a
lease for the site on which the home is located as provided in
subdivision f of this section, and, if the term of the rent-to-own
contract is longer than the term of the initial site lease, shall offer
renewal leases on the same terms as provided to manufactured home
tenants within the park pursuant to subdivision e of this section,
provided that such renewal lease may not include a rent increase greater
than that imposed on similarly situated manufactured home tenants that
own their home within the park.

6. The manufactured home park owner or operator shall provide each
manufactured home tenant who is a party to a rent-to-own contract an
itemized accounting listing all payments made pursuant to the
rent-to-own contract. Such accounting shall be provided no less than
once each year, beginning one year from the execution of the rent-to-own
contract. Upon request by a manufactured home tenant, the manufactured
home park owner or operator shall provide such an accounting within ten
days of such request.

7. Any successor to ownership of the manufactured home park shall be
bound by the terms of a rent-to-own contract entered into after the
effective date of this subdivision.

8. If a manufactured home tenant's tenancy is terminated by the
manufactured home park owner or operator during the term of a
rent-to-own contract, all rent-to-own payments made during the term of
the contract shall be refunded to the manufactured home tenant; if a
manufactured home park owner or operator fails to refund such payments,
in an eviction proceeding, the court may award the manufactured home
renter damages in the amount of the rent-to-own payments which have not
been refunded.

9. It is a violation of this section for a manufactured home park
owner or operator to make any material misrepresentation, either written
or oral, regarding any of the terms of a rent-to-own contract, or to
obtain, or attempt to obtain, a waiver from any manufactured home renter
of any protection or right provided under this subdivision.

10. (i) If a manufactured home park owner or operator violates the
provisions of this subdivision or wrongfully evicts a manufactured home
tenant who is a party to a rent-to-own contract, a court may award
damages including treble the economic damages suffered by the
manufactured home tenant, which may include all rent-to-own payments.
The court may also provide for reasonable attorney fees and costs of
litigation, and other equitable relief.

(ii) Failure of the manufactured home park owner or operator to comply
with this section shall give the manufactured home renter the
unconditional right to cancel the rent-to-own contract and receive
immediate refund of all payments and deposits made on account of or in
contemplation of the lease with the rent-to-own contract.

11. The provisions of this section apply to rent-to-own contracts and
tenants with rent-to-own contracts.