By Raymond H.B. No. 3552
77R14068 E
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the regulation of manufactured housing; providing a
1-3 penalty.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Sections 6B(b), (c), and (d), Texas Manufactured
1-6 Housing Standards Act (Article 5221f, Vernon's Texas Civil
1-7 Statutes), are amended to read as follows:
1-8 (b) A manufactured home constructed on or after September 1,
1-9 1997, [the effective date of this section] must meet the Wind Zone
1-10 II standards adopted by the United States Department of Housing and
1-11 Urban Development in order to be installed in a Wind Zone II
1-12 county.
1-13 (c) All manufactured homes constructed prior to September 1,
1-14 1997, [the effective date of this section] may be installed in Wind
1-15 Zone I or Wind Zone II without restriction.
1-16 (d) A consumer purchasing a manufactured home constructed on
1-17 or after September 1, 1997, [the effective date of this section] to
1-18 Wind Zone I standards must be given a notice by the selling
1-19 retailer that:
1-20 (1) the home was not designed nor constructed to
1-21 withstand hurricane force winds which may occur in Wind Zone II or
1-22 III areas; and
1-23 (2) the home is not permitted to be installed in Wind
1-24 Zone II counties in Texas, and there may be restrictions in other
2-1 states prohibiting installation in Wind Zone II or III areas.
2-2 SECTION 2. Section 14(n), Texas Manufactured Housing
2-3 Standards Act (Article 5221f, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is
2-4 amended to read as follows:
2-5 (n) When a new HUD-code manufactured home is permanently
2-6 affixed to real estate, the manufacturer's certificate of origin is
2-7 surrendered for cancellation [canceled], and a notice of attachment
2-8 or certificate of attachment is filed in the real property [deed]
2-9 records of the county, the seller of the real estate may give the
2-10 initial purchaser a written warranty that combines the
2-11 manufacturer's warranty and the retailer's warranty required in
2-12 this section. If a combination warranty is given, the manufacturer
2-13 and retailer are not required to give separate written warranties;
2-14 however, the manufacturer and retailer are jointly liable with the
2-15 seller of the real estate to the purchaser for the performance of
2-16 their respective warranty responsibilities.
2-17 SECTION 3. Section 17(a), Texas Manufactured Housing
2-18 Standards Act (Article 5221f, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is
2-19 amended to read as follows:
2-20 (a) A person, individual, or director, officer, or agent of
2-21 a corporation who knowingly and willfully violates a provision of
2-22 this Act or any rule, regulation, or administrative order of the
2-23 department in a manner that threatens the health or safety of any
2-24 purchaser or consumer commits a Class A misdemeanor and on
2-25 conviction shall be fined not more than $4,000 [$2,000] or shall be
2-26 confined in the county jail not longer than one year or both.
2-27 SECTION 4. Sections 19(l) and (o), Texas Manufactured Housing
3-1 Standards Act (Article 5221f, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), are
3-2 amended to read as follows:
3-3 (l) If a manufactured home is permanently affixed to real
3-4 estate, the manufacturer's certificate or the original document of
3-5 title may be surrendered to the department for cancellation. The
3-6 legal description or the appropriate tract or parcel number of the
3-7 real estate must be given to the department when the certificate or
3-8 document of title is surrendered. If a notice of attachment is to
3-9 be filed, a copy of the notice must be submitted with the
3-10 manufacturer's certificate or the original document of title
3-11 surrendered for cancellation. The director may require the filing
3-12 of other information. The department may not cancel a
3-13 manufacturer's certificate or a document of title if a lien has
3-14 been registered or recorded on the manufactured home. If a lien
3-15 has been registered or recorded, the department shall notify the
3-16 owner and each lienholder that the title and a description of the
3-17 lien have been surrendered to the department and that the
3-18 department may not cancel the title until the lien is released.
3-19 Permanent attachment to real estate does not affect the validity of
3-20 a lien recorded or registered with the department before the
3-21 manufactured home is permanently attached. The rights of a prior
3-22 lienholder pursuant to a security agreement or the provisions of a
3-23 credit transaction and the rights of the state pursuant to a tax
3-24 lien are preserved. The department shall issue a certificate of
3-25 attachment to real estate to the person who surrenders the
3-26 manufacturer's certificate or document of title. The certificate
3-27 or document must contain the legal description or the appropriate
4-1 tract or parcel number of the real estate and the identification
4-2 number of the home, and must certify that the manufacturer's
4-3 certificate or original document of title has been canceled.
4-4 Before the issuance of a certificate of attachment, a person who
4-5 surrenders the manufacturer's certificate or the original document
4-6 of title to the department may file a notice of attachment in the
4-7 real property records of the county in which the home is located.
4-8 The notice must state that the manufacturer's certificate or the
4-9 original document of title has been surrendered for cancellation
4-10 and a request has been made for the issuance of a certificate of
4-11 attachment. The notice must include information sufficient to
4-12 identify the home and must contain the legal description or the
4-13 appropriate tract or parcel number of the real property on which
4-14 the home is located. The notice is valid for all purposes until
4-15 the certificate of attachment is issued and filed in the real
4-16 property records of the appropriate county.
4-17 (o)(1) The department shall furnish each county tax
4-18 assessor-collector in this state a monthly [quarterly] report that
4-19 lists:
4-20 (A) the name of the owner of each manufactured
4-21 home installed in the county during the preceding month;
4-22 (B) [calendar quarter,] the name of the
4-23 manufacturer of the manufactured home;
4-24 (C) [,] the model designation of the
4-25 manufactured home;
4-26 (D) [,] the identification number of each
4-27 section or module of the manufactured home;
5-1 (E) [, and] the address or location where the
5-2 manufactured home is installed; and
5-3 (F) the date of the installation of the
5-4 manufactured home.
5-5 (2) The report shall include the same information for
5-6 all manufactured homes previously installed in the county for which
5-7 a transfer of ownership was recorded by the issuance of a document
5-8 of title during the month [quarter].
5-9 (3) The director shall furnish a copy of the report to
5-10 the chief appraiser of the appraisal district established for the
5-11 county in which the manufactured home is installed.
5-12 SECTION 5. Section 2.001(b), Property Code, is amended to
5-13 read as follows:
5-14 (b) A manufactured home is real property if:
5-15 (1) the home is permanently attached to real property;
5-16 and
5-17 (2) the manufacturer's certificate of origin or the
5-18 original document of title is surrendered for cancellation and a
5-19 notice of attachment or a certificate of attachment, as described
5-20 by the Texas Manufactured Housing Standards Act (Article 5221f,
5-21 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is filed in the real property
5-22 records of the county in which the home is located.
5-23 SECTION 6. (a) The change in law made in amending Section
5-24 17(a), Texas Manufactured Housing Standards Act (Article 5221f,
5-25 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), applies only to an offense
5-26 committed on or after the effective date of this Act. For purposes
5-27 of this section, an offense was committed before the effective date
6-1 of this Act if any element of the offense occurs before that date.
6-2 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
6-3 Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
6-4 and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
6-5 SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.