Section 10.03 - Terms and Conditions of Occupancy(1)Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices: General. It shall be an unfair or deceptive act or practice, in violation of M.G.L. c. 93A, § 2, for an operator: (a) to restrict the number of occupants of a manufactured home beyond any applicable restriction in any valid local, state or federal law . A guest will presumptively not increase the number of persons deemed normally living in the home.(b) to impose any occupancy restriction based upon race, religious creed, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, ancestry, marital status, familial status, veteran status or membership in the armed forces, blindness, hearing impairment, or other handicap, or based upon any other ground prohibited by M.G.L. c. 151B or the Federal Fair Housing Act, unless such a restriction is explicitly exempted from the scope of those laws;(c) to discriminate in the terms, conditions or privileges of the rental of a manufactured home site, or in the provision of services or facilities, upon a ground prohibited by either M.G.L. c. 151B or the Federal Fair Housing Act;(d) to impose any restriction based upon age unless the manufactured housing community is a qualifying retirement community;(e) to advertise or in any way hold out a manufactured housing community as a "retirement" or "adults only" community, or like terms, if the community is not a qualifying retirement community;(f) to rent or lease a manufactured home site, or to offer a new tenancy after terminating a prior tenancy under M.G.L. c. 186, § 12, without offering a written five-year lease as required under M.G.L. c. 140, § 32P; or(g) to require or retain a security deposit or any other amount in violation of M.G.L. c. 186, § 15B.(2)Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices: Fees and Charges. It shall be an unfair or deceptive act or practice in violation of M.G.L. c. 93A for an operator: (a) to charge any entrance or exit fee for assuming or leaving occupancy of the manufactured housing community;(b) to charge a fee for a service unless such fee is permitted under M.G.L. c. 140, §§ 32A through 32S or 940 CMR 10.00, and is either listed in the tenant's occupancy agreement or is charged for services requested by the resident and actually rendered by the operator;(c) to charge a fee for costs associated with the processing of any residency application, including but not limited to any credit verification costs;(d) to charge a fee for a guest, except as allowed in 940 CMR 10.03(2)(h);(e) to charge a per capita fee for an additional household occupant, unless such fee is objectively based on actual additional expenses incurred by the operator as a result of the increased occupancy, and the operator raises the rent only to the extent needed to conform to the rent paid by other residents with the same number of adult occupants in their household;(f) to charge a fee for maintenance work on the manufactured home or home site, except as permitted under 940 CMR 10.04(5)(d) or as otherwise mutually agreed by the operator and the resident;(g) to charge a pet fee unless such fee is reasonably related to the actual cost of providing a pet service or facility in the community, and further provided that no such fee shall be charged for a guide dog or other service animal assisting a disabled resident or to a pet that is kept exclusively within a manufactured home;(h) to charge a fee for the non-exclusive use of common areas and facilities by any resident or guest, unless such fee is a user fee for recreational or storage areas and reasonably relates to the cost of providing and maintaining such areas and facilities. Nothing herein shall preclude the imposition of reasonable fees for use of such areas and facilities for a private social or recreational function hosted by a resident;(i) to impose any interest or other monetary penalty for late rent, except pursuant to an occupancy agreement and in an amount reasonably intended to compensate the operator for the delay in payment, and provided that no such interest or penalty may be charged until payment is 30 days overdue;(j) to impose in any occupancy agreement a provision allowing for recovery of the operator's attorneys' fees and expenses incurred as the result of any legal action taken against the tenant for violation of the occupancy agreement, unless the agreement also provides that the tenant may recover his or her attorneys' fees and expenses if the tenant prevails in any such legal action;(k) to seek to recover a fee or charge that is not separately listed in the occupancy agreement;(l) to seek to recover, through lump sum charges, the costs of capital improvements to the community or any home site to the extent such costs exceed $100 in the aggregate; provided that the amortized costs of such capital improvements may (if specifically listed in the occupancy agreement) be recovered from tenants over the useful life of such improvements through community-wide nondiscriminatory rent increases;(m) to seek to recover costs or expenses resulting from any legal obligation of the operator to upgrade or repair sewer, water, gas, or electrical systems to meet minimum standards required by law, unless such standards first become effective after a tenant has initially assumed residency in a manufactured housing community and unless such costs are recovered as capital improvements in accordance with 940 CMR 10.03(2)(l);(n) to require any resident to pay for the removal or replacement of oil storage tanks on a home site to meet environmental concerns or risks not caused by the negligence of the resident, provided that the operator may recover such costs as capital improvements in accordance with 940 CMR 10.03(2)(l);(o) to charge a new fee, during the term of an occupancy agreement, for a service or facility that had previously been supplied or maintained by the operator without a separately listed charge in the occupancy agreement; or(p) to charge any fees exceeding those authorized under any applicable rent control law.(3)General Terms and Conditions. Any violation of any applicable local, state or federal statute, regulation or ordinance governing landlord-tenant relations (including, but not limited to, M.G.L. c. 186, §§ 12 through 21, M.G.L. c. 111, § 127A, 105 CMR 410.000, local ordinances and rent control laws) with regard to manufactured housing shall constitute a violation of M.G.L. c. 93A.(4)Initial Disclosure and Lease Offer. All terms and conditions of occupancy shall be disclosed in writing to any prospective resident, including without limitation, an existing tenant whose prior occupancy agreement is being amended, renewed, or extended, any tenant at will whose terms of tenancy are being changed under M.G.L. c. 186, § 12, or any approved subtenant. Such disclosure shall be signed by the operator and delivered at least 72 hours prior to either the signing of the occupancy agreement or the commencement of the new occupancy, whichever comes first. Disclosure shall include, but shall not be limited to: (b) an itemized list of any usual charges or fees, including, upon request of any prospective resident, a statement of the charges and fees assessed over the preceding 12 months and estimated for the ensuing 12 months, and a description of the circumstances under which any special charges or fees may be imposed for extraordinary work, services, or repairs to the extent otherwise permitted under M.G.L. c. 140, §§ 32A through 32S and 940 CMR 10.00;(c) the proposed term(s) of occupancy, as provided under 940 CMR 10.03(5);(d) the names and addresses of all the owners and operators of the community, and if a corporation, partnership, trust or other entity, the principal beneficial owners thereof;(f) the size and location of the manufactured home site, including a disclosure of any known and materially adverse conditions or defects;(g) a description of all common areas and facilities and any restrictions on the use thereof;(h) the statutory notice required under M.G.L. c. 140, § 32P.(5)Minimum Term of Occupancy. The written disclosure required by 940 CMR 10.03(4) shall contain a bona fide, good faith offer to enter into an occupancy agreement with a term of five years at fair market rental rates, subject to any applicable rent control restrictions, as an alternative to any other proposed term lengths which may include periods shorter or longer than five years. Where a valid notice of discontinuance under M.G.L. c. 140, § 32L and 940 CMR 10.10 is then in effect, such offer shall be for the period remaining before the scheduled effective date of the discontinuance. The requirement in 940 CMR 10.00 regarding an operator's responsibility to offer a fair market five year lease does not create a new right of action, beyond those available at common law and/or by statute, by which tenants can challenge the fair market rent of such leases after executing the leases. However, any fraud, material misrepresentation, or other unfair or deceptive act by operators during negotiations with prospective tenants regarding the fair market value shall be a violation of M.G.L. c. 93A.
(6)Credit Verification. An operator shall not, in requiring a prospective tenant to complete any credit application, require the prospective tenant to supply more than three credit references; all credit verifications shall be carried out through recognized credit verification sources and in accordance with applicable law.(7)Sublease and Assignment. An operator shall not unreasonably restrict leasing of a tenant's manufactured home or subleasing or assignment of a tenant's interest in a manufactured home site. In addition, all restrictions imposed by the operator on tenant subleasing or assignment shall also apply to any direct leasing of homes by the operator. Moreover, an operator shall not restrict a tenant's ability to lease his or her manufactured home and sublease the underlying manufactured home site after a discontinuance notice has been issued.(8)Operator's Right of Entry.(a) No occupancy agreement shall contain a provision that an operator may enter a manufactured home. Moreover, an operator shall not enter a manufactured home without the prior written consent of the tenant, provided on a separate document which addresses only the issue of consent and no other topic. Such consent may be revoked at any time, without penalty or consequence to the tenant of any sort.(b) No occupancy agreement shall contain a provision that an operator may enter onto a manufactured home site prior to the termination of such agreement, except to inspect the site, to make repairs thereto subject to 940 CMR 10.04(5)(d), or to show the site to a prospective tenant, purchaser or mortgagee or its agents. An operator may enter onto a manufactured home site as permitted in M.G.L. c. 186, § 15B(l)(a)(i),(ii) or (iii). Any entry pursuant to 940 CMR 10.03(8)(b) shall require reasonable prior notice from the operator, except in the case of an emergency that creates an imminent threat to the safety or property of the tenant or others, and shall not interfere unreasonably with the tenant's right to use and enjoyment of the manufactured home or the manufactured home site.(9)Resident's Insurance and Indemnification.(a) An operator shall not require a tenant to maintain insurance unless insurance is available at reasonable rates.(b) Any rule or provision of an occupancy agreement which imposes liability on a resident without regard to fault, or which violates M.G.L. c. 186, § 15B, or which releases or limits the operator's liability arising under law or resulting from an act or omission of the operator, or which provides for indemnification of an operator for any such liability or costs connected therewith, shall be void and unenforceable. The foregoing shall not affect any statutory liability of either the operator or the tenant.(10)Notice of Change in Terms and Conditions of Occupancy. An operator shall give each resident, and any tenants' association written notice of any permitted increase in rent or charges, any permitted reduction in services or utilities, or any other permitted change in the terms and conditions of tenancy at least 30 days before the effective date of the change, or with such longer notice period as the occupancy agreement or M.G.L. c. 186, § 12 may require. An operator shall give notice of any change or proposed change in the community rules in accordance with 940 CMR 10.04.