2007S0463-1 02/22/07
 
  By: Deshotel H.B. No. 3695
 
 
 
   
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to notice and certain restrictions regarding the
nonrenewal of lease agreements in manufactured home communities;
providing a civil penalty.
       BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
       SECTION 1.  Section 94.051, Property Code, is amended to
read as follows:
       Sec. 94.051.  INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED TO PROSPECTIVE
TENANT. At the time the landlord receives an application from a
prospective tenant, the landlord shall give the tenant a copy of:
             (1)  the proposed lease agreement for the manufactured
home community;
             (2)  any manufactured home community rules; and
             (3)  a separate disclosure statement with the following
prominently printed in at least 10-point type:
       "You have the legal right to an initial lease term of six
months. If you prefer a different lease period, you and your
landlord may negotiate a shorter or longer lease period. After the
initial lease period expires, you and your landlord may negotiate a
new lease term by mutual agreement. Your landlord must offer to
renew your lease unless you have violated the terms of your expired
lease agreement. Regardless of the term of the lease, if the
recreational vehicle is tied to, affixed, or otherwise a permanent
part of the premises, the landlord must give you at least 60 days'
notice if the landlord will not renew your lease and will require
that you relocate your manufactured home or recreational vehicle.
During the 60-day period, you must continue to pay all rent and
other amounts due under the lease agreement, including late
charges, if any."
       SECTION 2.  Subsection (b), Section 94.052, Property Code,
is amended to read as follows:
       (b)  Except as provided by Section 94.204, regardless
[Regardless] of the term of the lease, the landlord must provide
notice to the tenant not later than the 60th day before the date of
the expiration of the lease if the landlord chooses [does] not to 
renew the lease for good cause under Section 94.207. During the
60-day period, the tenant must pay all rent and other amounts due
under the lease agreement, including late charges, if any.
       SECTION 3.  Subsection (c), Section 94.053, Property Code,
is amended to read as follows:
       (c)  A lease agreement must contain the following
information:
             (1)  the address or number of the manufactured home lot
and the number and location of any accompanying parking spaces;
             (2)  the lease term;
             (3)  the rental amount;
             (4)  the interval at which rent must be paid and the
date on which periodic rental payments are due;
             (5)  any late charge or fee or charge for any service or
facility;
             (6)  the amount of any security deposit;
             (7)  a description of the landlord's maintenance
responsibilities;
             (8)  the telephone number of the person who may be
contacted for emergency maintenance;
             (9)  the name and address of the person designated to
accept official notices for the landlord;
             (10)  the penalty the landlord may impose for the
tenant's early termination as provided by Section 94.201;
             (11)  the grounds for eviction as provided by
Subchapter E, including the requirement that good cause is required
for termination or nonrenewal of the lease;
             (12)  a disclosure of the landlord's right to refuse to
renew [terminate] the lease agreement if there is a change in the
land use of the manufactured home community [during the lease term]
as provided by Section 94.204;
             (13)  a disclosure of any incorporation by reference of
an addendum relating to submetering of utility services;
             (14)  a prominent disclosure informing the tenant that
Chapter 94, Property Code, governs certain rights granted to the
tenant and obligations imposed on the landlord by law;
             (15)  if there is a temporary zoning permit for the land
use of the manufactured home community, the date the zoning permit
expires; and
             (16)  any other terms or conditions of occupancy not
expressly included in the manufactured home community rules.
       SECTION 4.  Section 94.055, Property Code, is amended to
read as follows:
       Sec. 94.055.  NOTICE OF LEASE RENEWAL. (a)  The landlord
shall provide a tenant [a notice to vacate the leased premises or]
an offer of lease renewal[:
             [(1)]  not later than the 60th day before the date the
current lease term expires[; or
             [(2)if the lease is a month-to-month lease, not later
[than the 60th day before the date the landlord intends to
[terminate the current term of the lease].
       (b)  The [If the landlord offers to renew the lease, the]
landlord shall notify the tenant of the proposed rent amount and any
change in the lease terms. The notice must also include a statement
informing the tenant that the tenant's failure to reject the
landlord's offer to renew the lease within the 30-day period
prescribed by Subsection (c) will result in the renewal of the lease
under the modified terms as provided by Subsection (c).
       (c)  The [If the landlord offers to renew the lease, the]
tenant must notify the landlord not later than the 30th day before
the date the current lease expires whether the tenant rejects the
terms of the offer and intends to vacate the leased premises on the
date the current lease term expires. If the tenant fails to provide
the notice within the period prescribed by this subsection, the
lease is renewed under the modified terms beginning on the first day
after the date of the expiration of the current lease term.
       [(d)  Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the landlord may
request a tenant to vacate the leased premises before the end of the
notice period prescribed by Subsection (a) only if the landlord
compensates the tenant in advance for relocation expenses,
including the cost of moving and installing the manufactured home
at a new location.]
       SECTION 5.  The heading to Section 94.204, Property Code, is
amended to read as follows:
       Sec. 94.204.  NONRENEWAL OF LEASE [TERMINATION] FOR CHANGE
IN LAND USE.
       SECTION 6.  Section 94.204, Property Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to read as
follows:
       (a)  A landlord may refuse to renew [terminate] a lease
agreement to change the manufactured home community's land use only
if not later than the 120th day before the date the land use will
change or the 30th day after the date the landlord learns the land
use will change, whichever is earlier:
             (1)  [not later than the 120th day before the date the
land use changes,] the landlord sends notice to the tenant, to the
owner of the manufactured home if the owner is not the tenant, and
to the holder of any lien on the manufactured home:
                   (A)  specifying the date that the land use will
change; and
                   (B)  informing the tenant, owner, and lienholder,
if any, that the owner must relocate the manufactured home; and
             (2)  [not later than the 120th day before the date the
land use changes,] the landlord posts in a conspicuous place in the
manufactured home community a notice stating that the land use will
change and specifying the date that the land use will change.
       (c)  This section does not authorize a landlord to change the
land use, terminate or modify a lease, or require an owner to
relocate a manufactured home prior to the expiration of a lease
term.
       SECTION 7.  Section 94.205, Property Code, is amended to
read as follows:
       Sec. 94.205.  TERMINATION AND EVICTION OR NONRENEWAL FOR
VIOLATION OF LEASE. A landlord may terminate the lease agreement
and evict a tenant or may choose not to renew the tenant's lease for
a serious violation of a lease provision, including a manufactured
home community rule incorporated in the lease, or other good cause.
       SECTION 8.  Section 94.206, Property Code, is amended to
read as follows:
       Sec. 94.206.  TERMINATION AND EVICTION OR NONRENEWAL FOR
NONPAYMENT OF RENT. A landlord may terminate the lease agreement
and evict a tenant or may choose not to renew the tenant's lease if:
             (1)  the tenant fails to timely pay rent or other
amounts due under the lease that in the aggregate equal the amount
of at least one month's rent;
             (2)  the landlord notifies the tenant in writing that
the payment is delinquent; and
             (3)  the tenant has not tendered the delinquent payment
in full to the landlord before the 10th day after the date the
tenant receives the notice.
       SECTION 9.  Subchapter E, Chapter 94, Property Code, is
amended by adding Section 94.207 to read as follows:
       Sec. 94.207.  FAILURE TO RENEW LEASE PROHIBITED WITHOUT GOOD
CAUSE. (a)  A landlord may choose not to renew a lease only for
good cause. Good cause includes a violation under Section 94.205 or
94.206.
       (b)  A provision of an agreement that purports to waive a
right or exempt a party from liability or a duty under this section
is void.
       SECTION 10.  The change in law made by this Act applies to a
landlord who chooses not to renew a lease agreement on or after the
effective date of this Act, regardless of when the lease agreement
was entered into or signed.
       SECTION 11.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.