Manufactured homes protection

Owners and residents of manufactured home parks are supposed to be paying into a relocation trust fund to protect the homeowners should the park owner decide to close the park or sell the land. The problem is only half of the park owners and residents pay into the trust fund and there appears to be no enforcement of the year-old law. Some homeowners fear there may not be enough in the fund, should they need to rely on it.

HF356, sponsored by Rep. Paul Gardner (DFL-Shoreview), would amend the law to allow park owners to collect a trust fund fee as a separate line item, along with the lot rent. The monthly fee would be $1. An estimated 50,000 families live in manufactured homes in Minnesota.

The House Housing Finance and Policy and Public Health Finance Division laid the bill over March 18 for possible inclusion in its omnibus bill. A companion, SF1269, sponsored by Sen. David Tomassoni (DFL-Chisholm), was scheduled to be heard March 20 by the Housing Subcommittee of the Senate Economic Development and Housing Budget Division and Health, Housing and Family Security Committee.

A problem with the fee notification process is that it has been provided only in English. Rep. Karen Clark (DFL-Mpls), the division chairwoman, urged Gardner to include a provision that requires notification in multiple languages.