For years, manufactured home park owners across Arizona would restrict what types of air conditioners or cooling devices people used on their mobile homes because they were noisy or ugly. That was until 2024, when a coalition of groups changed state law to make the practice illegal.
Now a new legislative session is in full swing, and with it the hopes for new tools to improve the experiences of mobile home residents in Arizona.
Kath Noble is the president
of the Arizona Association of Manufactured Home Owners, one of the groups involved in changing the 2024 law.
This year, she and other stakeholders around the state spent months in discussion to decide what bills felt most urgent to introduce.
“We went to many, many meetings with all kinds of people,” Noble said.
They held eight listening sessions with residents, utility companies and groups like anti-poverty organizer Wildfire AZ to help draft bills that would not only change state law but also add more enforcement.
The Arizona Association of Manufactured Home Owners drafted one bill requiring more education for park managers, and worked with Wildfire to draft two utility bills that would prevent park owners from charging residents more than they pay for gas, electricity and water, along with a maximum administrative fee of $8.
Then they watched the bills fight their way through the jungle of the Arizona Legislature.
“You have to find a Republican sponsor. If you find a Democratic sponsor it will die in committee,” Noble says. “And most bills die in committee.”
The group’s biggest expense during the legislative session is also its biggest fighter in the ring: a lobbyist.
The legislative liaison is the biggest part of their $62,000 annual budget. “Now that we don’t own a building anymore, so we don’t have office expenses or a full-time secretary or anything, our biggest expense is our legislative liaison,” Noble said.
They’ll be in the room with representatives and lobbyists from owner organizations, utility companies, and a range of other bodies that have a stake in what happens in Arizona’s mobile homes.
A few months into the legislative session, eight bills related to mobile homes (including those supported by Noble) have been introduced, but only a few have moved out of the chamber where they originated.
Noble is most hopeful for the bill now called SB1805, which would keep landlords from passing excessive utility costs for gas, electricity and water on to tenants, restricting them to charges imposed by the utility provider and capping administrative fees at $8.
“If we get this bill passed, it would help so many people,” said Noble. “A lot of people don’t realize they are paying more than they should be.”
Still, looking at what legislation has been put forward is a barometer of the biggest issues faced by mobile home residents this year: unusually high utility bills, conflicts with park management and what happens to a mobile home after eviction.
Some of the bills, including those supported by Noble, have also tried to introduce solutions, like the multiple bills that wanted to use consumer fraud as a tool for residents when park owners may not be following tenant law or create a pathway for tenant complaints of high bills to be heard by a judge.
Here are some of the bills related to manufactured housing now moving through the Arizona Legislature:
SB1805 This bill is a striker, meaning it was initially introduced under another bill number ( HB2459 ) but when that bill didn’t get traction, its contents were moved to SB1805. The bill changes how landlords can charge for gas, water or electricity utilities. Rather than limiting landlords to charging the basic residential rate, the bill says landlords can only recover charges imposed by the utility provider and caps administrative fees at $8.
The Manufactured Housing Communities of Arizona, which represents park owners, was named as one of the opponents of the bill. The group did not respond to a request for comment.
HB2199 Would require park managers to complete at least four hours of education within six months of beginning the job, share proof of completion and take the training every two years. Tenants can file a formal complaint with the Arizona Department of Housing if a manager isn’t able to produce this.
HB2852 Creates a way for a tenant to raise a concern about utility overcharges by giving a landlord written notice. If the dispute is not resolved in thirty days from the written notice, the tenant could file a civil complaint. The bill would also allow the attorney general to investigate instances when landlords may be charging above the regular single-family residential charge.
SB1393 Amends details on the abandonment of a mobile home, including requiring a mobile home be examined before being removed from a space to make sure no one is living there or there are no human or animal remains.
HB2713 Would make a landlord violation of the Mobile Home Landlord Tenant Act an instance of consumer fraud.
HB2300 Suggests changes to the rental agreement between a park and residents who are renting a lot. Would require a written rental agreement to newly include the phone number, email address and physical address that can be visited by a tenant of a property manager and the owner of the property. The landlord would also be required to disclose the full amount of rent and any mandatory fees or expenses and their due date. If a tenant does not pay rent when it is due, the landlord will provide a four-day notice of non-payment of rent. The bill would also pause the four-day period of notice if a tenant can pay at least 50% of their past due rent within the notice period.
SB1558 Require tenant’s bills to specify the total amount of utility usage, the total utility charges the landlord must pay per billing period, any administrative fee, and contact information for billing inquiries. A tenant can raise a concern about utility overcharges by giving a landlord written notice. If the dispute is not resolved in thirty days from the written notice, the tenant could file a civil complaint.
HB2850 Clarifies that a mobile home is abandoned if a tenant is away for at least 30 days without telling the landlord and has not paid rent for at least 30 days, and there is no reasonable evidence a tenant lives in the home seven days after a landlord has delivered an eviction notice. A mobile home would also be considered abandoned if the home remains on the premises after an eviction judgement. A landlord can’t attempt to sell the home until it is abandoned according to the section above. If the landlord sells the property, they must pay the former owner a portion of the proceeds after paying costs of sale and the cost to hold the property.
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This story was originally published by Arizona Luminaria and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
