Section 10.07 - Sale of a Manufactured Home by Homeowner(1)General. (a) An operator shall not limit a manufactured homeowner's right to sell or encumber a manufactured home, or require a manufactured homeowner to remove a home from the manufactured community because of the sale of the home.(b) An operator shall not condition its approval of residency of a purchaser on payment by the selling homeowner of monies lawfully withheld under M.G.L. c. 239, § 8A. An operator shall not charge or collect from a succeeding manufactured homeowner or resident any rent, taxes or other charges relating to a prior owner's ownership of the home or occupancy of the manufactured home site.(c) An operator shall not make any false, deceptive, or misleading representation to discourage a potential buyer from purchasing a home from a homeowner in the community. Where the operator discloses that a notice of discontinuance has been issued to community residents, the operator must also disclose the existence of and nature of any legal challenge to the issuance of the notice, and any related judicial rulings that have attacked the validity of the notice.(d) A licensee may have a lien upon a manufactured home as provided in M.G.L. c. 140, § 32J, upon a manufactured home and the contents thereof, as provided in M.G.L. c. 255, § 25A, or if otherwise authorized by a court of law, but it shall be an unfair or deceptive practice to fail to disclose to a prospective purchaser of a manufactured home the existence of a lien placed by or on behalf of an operator on such home.(e) A licensee may require a homeowner to provide notice of an intended sale at least 30 days prior to its execution.(2)Residency Application by Purchaser. Upon the sale or proposed sale of a manufactured home by the homeowner, the operator shall consent to entrance by the purchaser and members of the purchaser's household if the purchaser meets the currently enforceable rules of the manufactured housing community and provides reasonable evidence of financial ability to pay the rent and other charges associated with the tenancy in question. An operator shall not reject the application or prohibit the sale because the applicant owns another home in the community or leases another site in the community. Any application for residency shall be deemed approved if the operator fails, within ten days of receipt of the application, to notify the applicant of its rejection of the application and the reasons for the rejection. If such application is not timely rejected, then the purchaser shall have the right to assume the obligations thereafter arising under any continuing occupancy agreement of a current resident then in effect or, if such occupancy agreement has expired, to enter into a new occupancy agreement on terms satisfactory to the operator and purchaser and not inconsistent with 940 CMR 10.00.(3)Broker. No operator or manufactured home dealer shall: (a) require a resident to designate the operator, the manufactured home dealer, or any designee thereof, as broker or agent for any sale, sublease or lease assignment; or(b) restrict the manufactured homeowner in undertaking such a transaction directly or through a broker or agent of the homeowner's choosing.(4)Fees or Commissions. No operator, manufactured home dealer, or agent shall impose any fee (which is to be passed, directly or indirectly, to the operator) as a condition to the sale, lease or other transaction involving a manufactured home unless such person has entered into a separate written contract for, and rendered, brokerage services in connection with such transaction and the fee or change is reasonable in relation to the services provided. No commission or fee paid to an operator for the sale of a manufactured home shall exceed ten percent of the sale price.(5)"For Sale" Signs. An operator shall not prohibit a homeowner from placing on their manufactured home or manufactured home site commercially reasonable "for sale" or "for lease" signs. An operator may not require that any such signs display the community logo or contain information directing an interested buyer to the community sales or management office, except pursuant to any exclusive brokerage contract the homeowner enters into with the operator for the sale of the home.(6)Condition of Home on Sale. An operator shall not reject the application for residency of a prospective purchaser of a tenant's home: (a) because of the age of the home; and(b) because the home, if built before June 15, 1976, does not comply with federal standards for construction of manufactured housing that became effective on that date and are administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; or(c) because the external condition of the home or site does not comply with community rules, unless before the home was offered for sale the operator specified in writing the area(s) of noncompliance with community rules and gave the homeowner a reasonable opportunity to bring the home into compliance and the homeowner failed to do so.(7)Operator's Right of First Refusal. A right of first refusal granted to an operator or manufactured home dealer or designee thereof shall be enforceable only if: (a) it is based on the full amount of the bona fide third party offer;(b) the operator must accept or reject the offer within 15 days;(c) the sale will take place on the terms set forth in the third-party offer;(d) if the operator fails to timely accept the offer and the third-party offer is not consummated, the selling homeowner shall not be required to submit a subsequent third-party offer made within one year and unless a price is materially reduced; and(e) the right of first refusal shall not apply to any transfer to members of the homeowner's family, including, but not limited to, step-relatives and domestic partners.