By Lucio                                               S.B. No. 125
         76R1827 PAM-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to regulating leasing in certain manufactured home
 1-3     communities.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Title 8, Property Code, is amended by adding
 1-6     Chapter 94 to read as follows:
 1-7                  CHAPTER 94.  MANUFACTURED HOME TENANCIES
 1-8           Sec. 94.001.  DEFINITIONS.  In this chapter:
 1-9                 (1)  "Landlord" means the owner of a manufactured home
1-10     community and includes an agent or employee of the landlord.
1-11                 (2)  "Manufactured home" has the meaning assigned by
1-12     Section 3, Texas Manufactured Housing Standards Act (Article 5221f,
1-13     Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes).
1-14                 (3)  "Manufactured home community" means a parcel of
1-15     land on which 25 or more spaces are rented or available for rent
1-16     for installing and occupying manufactured homes.
1-17                 (4)  "Tenant" means a person who is authorized by lease
1-18     to occupy a space in a manufactured home community.
1-19           Sec. 94.002.  APPLICABILITY.  This chapter applies only to
1-20     the relationship between landlords and tenants in manufactured home
1-21     communities.
1-22           Sec. 94.003.  LEASE REQUIREMENTS.  (a)  A landlord may not
1-23     rent a space in a manufactured home community unless the landlord
1-24     provides the tenant with a written lease signed by the landlord.
 2-1           (b)  A lease agreement must be for a term of at least one
 2-2     year.
 2-3           (c)  The lease agreement must include:
 2-4                 (1)  a description of the leased space, including the
 2-5     address or number of the space;
 2-6                 (2)  the rental amount, the interval at which the rent
 2-7     must be paid, and the date on which the periodic rental payments
 2-8     are due;
 2-9                 (3)  the penalty for late payment of rent, if any, and
2-10     the date on which the penalty will be imposed; and
2-11                 (4)  a description of the tenant's rights and
2-12     obligations and the landlord's rights and obligations, including
2-13     services to be provided by the landlord, under the lease agreement.
2-14           (d)  The landlord may incorporate the rules of the
2-15     manufactured home community in the lease agreement by reference.
2-16     If the landlord incorporates the rules in the lease agreement, the
2-17     landlord is bound by those rules for the full term of the lease.
2-18           Sec. 94.004.  TERMINATION OF LEASE.  (a)  A landlord may
2-19     terminate a lease only if:
2-20                 (1)  the tenant fails to comply with local or state
2-21     laws relating to manufactured homes or with reasonable lease
2-22     provisions or manufactured home community rules; or
2-23                 (2)  the rented space is condemned.
2-24           (b)  A landlord who terminates a lease under this section
2-25     must:
2-26                 (1)  notify the tenant in writing that the lease is
2-27     terminated; and
 3-1                 (2)  provide the tenant at least 30 days to remove a
 3-2     tenant-owned manufactured home.
 3-3           SECTION 2.  The importance of this legislation and the
 3-4     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
 3-5     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
 3-6     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
 3-7     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.