[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7386 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7386
To ensure that federally backed financing for the construction,
rehabilitation, or purchase of manufactured home communities is
available only for communities whose owner has implemented minimum
consumer protections in the lease agreements with residents of all
manufactured home communities owned by such owner, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 26, 2020
Ms. Finkenauer (for herself, Mrs. Axne, and Mr. Loebsack) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial
Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To ensure that federally backed financing for the construction,
rehabilitation, or purchase of manufactured home communities is
available only for communities whose owner has implemented minimum
consumer protections in the lease agreements with residents of all
manufactured home communities owned by such owner, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Helping Owners Meet Essential
Standards Act of 2020'' or the ``HOMES Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS FOR COVERED LOAN PROGRAMS.
(a) Requirements.--No loan shall be eligible for insurance by the
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development or purchase by an enterprise
(as such term is defined in section 1303 of the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4502)), as applicable, under a
covered loan program (as such term is defined under section 4 of this
Act) unless--
(1) the borrower under the loan certifies to the Secretary
or the applicable enterprise that the borrower will include, in
any lease agreement for a pad site, or a pad site and
manufactured home, located in any manufactured home community
that the borrower or an affiliate of the borrower owns, the
minimum consumer protections specified in subsection (b) of
this section; and
(2) the borrower complies with regulations, which shall be
issued by the Secretary or the Director of the Federal Housing
Finance Agency, as applicable, that require the borrower to
submit documentation to the Secretary or the applicable
enterprise that is sufficient, as determined by the Secretary
or applicable enterprise, to ensure that the borrower is
complying with the certification pursuant to paragraph (1),
which shall include a copy of the standard lease agreement used
by the borrower that includes such minimum protections.
(b) Minimum Consumer Protections.--The minimum consumer protections
specified in this subsection are as follows:
(1) One-year lease terms that are renewable for additional
one-year terms unless there is good cause for non-renewal.
(2) A right to receive 60-day advance written notice of any
increase in the rents for pad sites, or pad sites and
manufactured homes, located in the community, including a
written justification of the increase with information on
increases in the costs of operating, maintaining, or improving
the community.
(3) A 5-day grace period for rent payments.
(4) A right to cure defaults on rent payments.
(5) A right for a tenant to sell a manufactured home owned
by the tenant without having to first relocate it out of the
community.
(6) A right for a tenant to sell a manufactured home owned
by the tenant in place within a reasonable time period, but not
shorter than 45 days, after eviction by the manufactured
housing community owner.
(7) A right for a tenant who owns a manufactured home--
(A) to sublease or assign the pad site lease for
the unexpired term to a new buyer of the tenant's
manufactured home unless the prospective tenant fails
to meet the community's reasonable and uniformly
applied application criteria; and
(B) in such a case of denial, a right to written
notice provided by the owner of the community informing
the tenant of the denial and the prospective tenant of
the denial and the specific reason or reasons for
denial.
(8) A right for a tenant who owns a manufactured home to
post ``For Sale'' signs.
(9) A right to receive 60-day advance written notice of the
planned sale or closure of the manufactured housing community.
(10)(A) A right against termination of tenancy except in
cases in which a tenant engages in a material noncompliance
with the rental agreement, a tenant commits a material
violation of the manufactured home community reasonable rules
or regulations, or the community has a material, legitimate,
and uniformly applied business reason for termination that was
included in the lease agreement as grounds for termination.
(B) In such a case of termination, a right to written
notice provided by the owner of the community informing the
tenant of the termination and the specific reason or reasons
for termination.
Nothing in this subsection may be construed to annul, alter, or affect
any State or local law providing greater protections to tenants of
manufactured home communities than the protections afforded under this
subsection.
(c) Pricing Incentives.--Any covered pricing incentive offered for
loans issued after the date of the enactment of this Act shall reward
implementation of resident protections that are more protective than
those specified in subsection (b). Any covered pricing incentive that
does not comply with this requirement may not be offered for any loan
issued after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. MANUFACTURED HOME COMPANY LENDING STANDARDS COMMISSION.
(a) Establishment.--There is established a commission to be known
as the Manufactured Home Company Lending Standards Commission (in this
section referred to as the ``Commission'').
(b) Duties.--
(1) Proposed standards.--Not later than the expiration of
the 12-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Commission shall submit to the Congress, the
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and the Director of
the Federal Housing Finance Agency a report that sets forth
proposed consumer protection standards for the covered loan
programs that--
(A) are in addition to and provide greater
protection than the requirements under section 2(b);
and
(B) could be used as a basis for establishing
covered pricing incentives under the covered loan
programs that comply with section 2(c).
(2) Standard for determinations.--Any determination by the
Commission to approve a consumer protection in the proposed
standards required under paragraph (1) shall be made by a vote
of a simple majority of the members of the Commission.
(c) Membership.--
(1) Number and appointment.--The Commission shall be
composed of 10 members, as follows:
(A) The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
(or the Secretary's designee).
(B) The Director of the Federal Housing Finance
Agency (or the Director's designee).
(C) Two each shall be appointed by the Speaker of
the House of Representatives, the minority leader of
the House of Representatives, the majority leader of
the Senate, and the minority leader of the Senate. Of
the two members appointed by each such officer--
(i) one shall be employed at the time of
appointment as a professor or academic
researcher with demonstrated background in
housing and consumer protection issues,
especially as they relate to manufactured
housing; and
(ii) one shall be a current or former
member of Congress.
(2) Chairperson and co-chairperson.--
(A) Chairperson.--The chairperson of the Commission
shall be designated by the President from among the
members of the Commission.
(B) Co-chairperson.--The co-chairperson shall be
selected as follows:
(i) Designation by speaker of the house.--
If, on the date of appointment, the Speaker of
the House is of a different political party
than the President, the Speaker of the House
shall designate the co-chairperson from among
the members of the Commission.
(ii) Designation by minority leader of the
house.--If, on the date of appointment, the
Speaker of the House is of the same political
party as the President, the minority leader of
the House shall designate the co-chairperson
from among the members of the Commission.
(3) Timing of appointments.--Appointments to the Commission
shall be made not later than 45 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(4) Terms; vacancies.--Each member shall be appointed for
the life of the Commission. Any vacancy in the Commission shall
not affect its powers and shall be filled within 45 days of the
vacancy in the manner in which the original appointment was
made.
(5) Hearings.--In carrying out its duties under this
section, the Commission is authorized to hold such hearings and
take testimony with respect to matters to which it has a
responsibility under this section. The Chairperson, or any
member authorized by the Chairperson, may administer oaths or
affirmations to witnesses appearing before the Commission.
(6) Prohibition of compensation.--Members of the Commission
shall serve without pay.
(d) Operation and Powers.--
(1) Meetings.--The Commission shall meet not later than 30
days after the date upon which a majority of its members have
been appointed and at such times thereafter as the chairperson
or co-chairperson shall determine. Detailed minutes of each
meeting of the Commission, except for any closed session, shall
be kept and shall include a record of the persons present and a
complete and accurate description of matters discussed.
(2) Rules of procedure.--The chairperson and co-chairperson
shall, with the approval of a majority of the members of the
Commission, establish written rules of procedure for the
Commission, which shall include a quorum requirement to conduct
the business of the Commission.
(3) Hearings.--The Commission shall hold no fewer than 2
hearings on matters to carry out its duties under subsection
(b). The Commission may take testimony and receive evidence as
the Commission considers appropriate. Timely public notice of
each hearing, including the time, place, and agenda of the
meeting, shall be provided by any means determined by the
Commission to provide for wide publicity. Timely notice of each
regular meeting shall be published in the Federal Register.
Interested persons shall be permitted to submit written
statements regarding the matters on the agenda of such
hearings.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) Affiliate.--Except as provided by the Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development or the Director of the Federal
Housing Finance Agency, as applicable, the term ``affiliate''
means, with respect to a borrower referred to in section 2(a),
any entity that controls, is controlled by, or is under common
control with, the borrower.
(2) Covered loan program.--The term ``covered loan
program'' means any of the following programs:
(A) The program under section 207 of the National
Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1713) for insurance of loans for
financing for the construction or substantial
rehabilitation of manufactured home parks.
(B) The program of the Federal National Mortgage
Association for multifamily loans for manufactured
housing communities.
(C) The program of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage
Corporation for loans for manufactured housing
communities.
(3) Covered pricing incentive.--The term ``covered pricing
incentive'' means any pricing discount available to borrowers
under any of the covered loan programs that rewards the
borrower's implementation of one or more specific resident
protections and is designed to ensure that the benefits of a
covered loan program are provided at a lower cost for
manufactured home communities based on the extent to which
residents of a manufactured home community are better protected
from predatory rent increases and management practices.
(4) Manufactured home.--The term ``manufactured home'' has
the meaning given such term in section 603(6) of the National
Manufactured Housing Construction Safety and Standards Act of
1976, except that such term shall include any structure
described in such section without regard to whether such
structure complies with any standards under such Act and
without regard to the date of the manufacture of such
structure.
(5) Manufactured home community.--The term ``manufactured
home community'' means any community, court, or park equipped
to accommodate manufactured homes for which pad sites or pad
sites and the manufactured homes, or both, are leased to
residents to be used primarily for residential purposes,
including any manufactured housing community as such term is
used for purposes of a program referred to in subparagraph (B)
or (C) of paragraph (2).
SEC. 5. FUNDING.
No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out
this Act. Any expenses required to carry out this Act shall be funded
using amounts otherwise available to the Department of Housing and
Urban Development or to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
SEC. 6. TERMINATION.
The Commission shall terminate upon the submission of the report
required under section 3(b).
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