Eight Bills Target Arizona Mobile Home Utility Costs, Manager Training, Abandonment Rules
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Manufactured Home Residents Push for Better Protection in Legislature
Mobile home residents in Arizona are hoping their pain points finally reach the other side of the aisle.
In 2024, a coalition successfully changed state law to keep mobile home park owners from restricting certain air conditioners that were considered ugly or noisy. Now, those same stakeholders are pushing new legislation to improve the communities where people live.
Kath Noble is the president of the Arizona Association of Manufactured Home Owners. She and other stakeholders 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 Wildfire AZ to help draft bills that would not only change state law but also add more enforcement.
Utility Bills Aim to Stop Overcharges
The group's biggest hope is a bill now called SB1805, which would keep landlords from passing excessive utility costs for gas, electricity and water on to tenants.
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.
Noble said if they get this bill passed, it would help so many people. A lot of people don't realize they are paying more than they should be.
Manager Training Bill Would Require Education
Another bill, HB2199, would require park managers to complete at least four hours of education within six months of beginning the job.
Managers would need to:
- Share proof of completion
- 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.
Additional Bills Create New Pathways
The group 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.
Other bills moving through the legislature include:
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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
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HB2713 - Would make a landlord violation of the Mobile Home Landlord Tenant Act an instance of consumer fraud
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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
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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
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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
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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
Legislative Hurdles Remain
A few months into the legislative session, eight bills related to mobile homes have been introduced, but only a few have moved out of the chamber where they originated, which means they could end up going nowhere.
Noble said she is most hopeful for SB1805. 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.
Heat and Housing Stakes
In Phoenix's extreme heat, people living in manufactured homes face higher risk. RVs and mobile homes make up only about 5% of housing in Maricopa County. But 25% of indoor, heat-related deaths in the county last year occurred in these homes.
The bills are 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 using consumer fraud as a tool for residents when park owners may not be following tenant law or creating a pathway for tenant complaints of high bills to be heard by a judge.
What's Next
At least eight bills related to mobile homes have been introduced this session, but only a few have moved out of the chamber where they originated, which means they could end up going nowhere.
Noble is watching the bills fight their way through the jungle of the Arizona Legislature. She says you have to find a Republican sponsor. If you find a Democratic sponsor it will die in committee. And most bills die in committee.
The group will 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.