Current through Chapter 519 of the 2024 Legislative Session and Chapter 2 of the 2024 First Extraordinary Session
Section 38-12-214 - Rules and regulations - amendments - notice - complaints(1)The management shall adopt written rules and regulations concerning residents' or home owners' use and occupancy of the premises. The management shall provide a resident or home owner with a written copy of the adopted rules and regulations in English and Spanish. Except as otherwise provided in this section, such rules and regulations are enforceable against a resident or home owner only if: (a) Their purpose is to promote the safety or welfare of the home owners, protect and preserve the premises from abuse, or make a fair distribution of services and facilities held out for the home owners generally;(b) They are reasonably related to a legitimate purpose, for which they are adopted;(c) They are not arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable, retaliatory, or discriminatory in nature;(d) They are sufficiently explicit in prohibition, direction, or limitation of each home owner's conduct to fairly inform each home owner of what the home owner must do or not do to comply; and(e)They are established in the rental agreement at the inception of the tenancy, amended subsequently with the written consent of the home owner, or, except as described in subsection (2) of this section, amended subsequently without the written consent of the home owner after the management has provided written notice, in both English and Spanish, of the amendments to the home owner in a common area and in a conspicuous place on each home owner's mobile home lot at least sixty days before the amendments become effective, and, if applicable, enforced in compliance with subsection (3) of this section.(2)(a) When a mobile home or any accessory building or structure is owned by a person other than the owner of the mobile home park in which the mobile home is located, the mobile home and the accessory building or structure are each a separate unit of ownership. The accessory building or structure are each presumed to be owned by the owner of the mobile home unless there is a written agreement establishing ownership by another person.(b) If a rule or regulation requires a home owner to incur a cost or imposes restrictions or requirements on the home owner's right to control what happens in or to the mobile home or any accessory building or structure, the rule or regulation is presumed unreasonable pursuant to subsection (1)(c) of this section unless management demonstrates that the rule or regulation: (I) Is strictly necessary to protect the health and safety of park residents and the rule or regulation provides the protection at the lowest expense to home owners as is reasonably possible;(II) Is strictly necessary to comply with or enforce a federal, state, or local government requirement, including local nuisance laws enforced for the welfare of other residents;(III) Is voluntarily agreed to by the home owner, without coercion or misrepresentation by management, in which case the rule or regulation is only binding upon home owners who have communicated their written consent to the rule or regulation; or(IV) In a mobile home park managed by home owners, was established by the managing home owner organization in accordance with the organization's bylaws and more than fifty percent of the home owners are members of the organization.(c)(I) Rules or regulations that impose restrictions or requirements on the home owner's right to control what happens in or to a home owner's mobile home or any accessory building or structure include, but are not limited to, those that impose requirements related to the following: (A) The structure and appearance of the mobile home, building, or structure, including rules or regulations requiring aesthetic improvements;(B) Who may visit the mobile home, building, or structure, or who may reside at the mobile home;(C) Lawful activities taking place in the mobile home, building, or structure; and(D) Resident occupancy limits that are stricter than applicable federal, state, and local occupancy laws.(II) This subsection (2)(c) does not preclude a landlord from conducting any lawful screening of a rental application.(d) Beginning on the effective date of this subsection (2), any notice to quit served pursuant to section 38-12-204.3 or any complaint to terminate tenancy pursuant to section 38-12-203 (1)(c) shall include a statement that specifically sets forth the basis for enforceability pursuant to subsection (1) of this section and section 38-12-203 (1)(c), including the specific purpose required pursuant to subsection (1)(a) of this section and how the rule or regulation is reasonably related to the stated purpose as required pursuant to subsection (1)(b) of this section. A general statement that a rule or regulation promotes safety or welfare is not sufficient to meet the requirements of this subsection (2)(d) or section 38-12-203 (1)(c).(e) The division is authorized to promulgate rules that:(I) Specify additional park rules and regulations that are not strictly necessary pursuant to this section and are unenforceable or presumptively unenforceable; and(II) Specify additional park rules and regulations that are strictly necessary pursuant to this section and are enforceable or presumptively enforceable.(2.5)(a) Subsection (2) of this section does not prohibit the management from requiring compliance by a new home owner with park rules and regulations that were not enforceable against the previous home owner after the sale or transfer of a mobile home or accessory building or structure as described in subsection (2.5)(b) of this section if the rules or regulations comply with this section and have been duly noticed, in both English and Spanish, to all home owners and residents, including the seller, pursuant to subsection (1)(e) of this section; except that, as used in this subsection (2.5), "transfer" does not include a transfer of ownership pursuant to death or divorce or a transfer of ownership to a new co-owner who is an immediate family member, spouse, or domestic partner of the home owner.(b) The management shall not require a home owner selling a mobile home or accessory building or structure to ensure that the mobile home or accessory building or structure complies with any rules or regulations by the closing date of the sale or to bear the costs of compliance with any such rules or regulations. If the management requires all prospective buyers to comply with such rules and regulations as a condition of gaining tenancy in the park, the management shall promptly provide a written list of items for which the management requires action to the seller upon receiving notice that the mobile home is for sale. The seller shall provide the list to all prospective buyers, and the management shall provide the list to the buyer upon receiving an application for tenancy. The management shall allow a reasonable amount of time after closing for the buyer to bring the mobile home or accessory building or structure into compliance, which must be at least thirty days from the closing date. During the period in which the buyer may bring the mobile home or accessory building or structure into compliance, the management shall provide the buyer with reasonable access to the mobile home or accessory building or structure, including access to the mobile home or accessory building or structure for the purpose of storing belongings until the buyer is able to reside in the mobile home.(2.7)(a) Notwithstanding any rental agreement, the management shall not interfere with a home owner's right to sell a mobile home or accessory building or structure, in place or otherwise, to a buyer of the home owner's choosing, regardless of the age of the home, except as necessary for the management to ensure: (I) Compliance with park-wide affordability restrictions, including requirements for owner occupancy;(II) The financial ability of the home buyer to comply with the buyer's obligations as a new tenant pursuant to subsection (2.7)(c) of this section;(III) Compliance with applicable local, state, or federal law; and(IV) The absence of a home buyer's relevant criminal history that would indicate a reasonable chance of risk to other residents in accordance with section 38-12-904 (1)(b).(b) A provision in a rental agreement that limits or restricts a home owner's right to sell a mobile home or accessory building or structure to a buyer of the home owner's choosing other than as allowed by this subsection (2.7) is unenforceable.(c) A buyer demonstrates the buyer's financial ability to comply with the provisions of subsection (2.7)(a)(II) of this section if the buyer can demonstrate that:(I) The buyer has a monthly income that is at least two hundred percent of the seller's current monthly lot rent for one month; or(II) The buyer has other cash assets that are at least two hundred percent of the seller's current monthly lot rent for six months.(3)(a) If the management provides each home owner written notice, in both English and Spanish, of the management's intent to add or amend any written rule or regulation as described in subsection (1)(e) of this section, or if the management indicates that it will begin enforcing a rule or regulation that was previously unenforced, a home owner may file a complaint challenging the rule, regulation, or amendment pursuant to section 38-12-1105 within sixty days after receiving the notice. If a home owner files such a complaint and the new or amended rule or regulation will increase a cost to the home owner in an amount that equals or exceeds ten percent of the home owner's monthly rent obligation under the rental agreement, the management shall not enforce the rule, regulation, or amendment unless and until the parties reach an agreement concerning the rule, regulation, or amendment or the dispute resolution process concludes and the division issues a written determination, pursuant to section 38-12-1105 (4), that the rule, regulation, or amendment does not constitute a violation of this part 2 and may be enforced. Notwithstanding any provision of part 11 of this article 12 to the contrary, as part of the complaint process described in section 38-12-1105, the management has the burden of establishing that the rule, regulation, or amendment satisfies the requirements described in subsections (1) and (2) of this section.(b) Nothing in this section precludes a home owner from filing a complaint, pursuant to section 38-12-1105, concerning a rule or regulation at any time after the rule or regulation takes effect.(4) Rules and regulations that concern recreational facilities may be amended at the reasonable discretion of the management.Amended by 2024 Ch. 399,§ 13, eff. 6/4/2024.Amended by 2022 Ch. 255, § 15, eff. 10/1/2022.Amended by 2020 Ch. 195, § 13, eff. 6/30/2020.L. 81: Entire section added, p. 1816, § 9, effective June 9. L. 87: IP(1), (1)(a), and (1)(d) amended, p. 1315, § 13, effective May 8. L. 92: (1)(c) amended, p. 1128, § 13, effective July 1. L. 2020: Entire section amended, (HB 20-1196), ch. 924, p. 924, § 13, effective June 30. 2022 Ch. 255, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3).