Connecticut General Statutes 21-79 – Owner prohibited from restricting resident’s right to sell
(a) No owner or operator of a mobile manufactured home park shall require a resident who owns a mobile manufactured home which is safe, sanitary and in conformance with aesthetic standards to remove the home from the development at the time such mobile manufactured home is sold or a mortgage on such a home is foreclosed provided that the purchaser or foreclosing mortgagee shall assume and be bound by the rental agreement of the foreclosed mortgagor and shall be bound by the rules and regulations of the park.
Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 21-79
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Department: means the Department of Consumer Protection. See Connecticut General Statutes 21-64
- Mobile manufactured home: means a detached residential unit having three-dimensional components which are intrinsically mobile with or without a wheeled chassis or a detached residential unit built on or after June 15, 1976, in accordance with federal manufactured home construction and safety standards, and, in either case, containing sleeping accommodations, a flush toilet, tub or shower bath, kitchen facilities and plumbing and electrical connections for attachment to outside systems, and designed for long-term occupancy and to be placed on rigid supports at the site where it is to be occupied as a residence, complete and ready for occupancy, except for minor and incidental unpacking and assembly operations and connection to utilities systems. See Connecticut General Statutes 21-64
- Mobile manufactured home space or lot: means a plot of ground within a mobile manufactured home park designed for the accommodation of one mobile manufactured home. See Connecticut General Statutes 21-64
- Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
- Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
- Mortgagor: The person who pledges property to a creditor as collateral for a loan and who receives the money.
- Owner: means a licensee or permittee or any person who owns, operates or maintains a mobile manufactured home park. See Connecticut General Statutes 21-64
- park: means a plot of ground upon which two or more mobile manufactured homes, occupied for residential purposes are located. See Connecticut General Statutes 21-64
- Rent: means all periodic payments to be made to the owner under the rental agreement. See Connecticut General Statutes 21-64
- Rental agreement: means all agreements, written or oral, and valid rules and regulations adopted under subsection (d) of §. See Connecticut General Statutes 21-64
- Resident: means a person who owns, or rents and occupies, a mobile manufactured home in a mobile manufactured home park. See Connecticut General Statutes 21-64
(b) A mobile manufactured home shall be presumed to be safe and sanitary if it is established that the mobile manufactured home was constructed in accordance with any nationally recognized building or construction code or standard. Failure to meet any such standard or the provisions of any such code shall not automatically raise a presumption that the mobile manufactured home is unsafe or unsanitary. Such failure shall not be used as a reason for withholding approval of an on-site sale unless such failure renders the mobile manufactured home unsafe or unsanitary.
(c) The owner of a mobile manufactured home park shall bear the burden of showing that a mobile manufactured home is unsafe, unsanitary, or fails to meet the aesthetic standards of the development. No aesthetic standard concerning those physical characteristics such as size, original color or original building materials, which cannot be changed without undue financial hardship to the resident, shall be applied against a mobile manufactured home.
(d) Any purchaser of a mobile manufactured home sold by a resident may become a resident of the mobile manufactured home park provided he meets the entry requirements for said park and such requirements are equally applied by the owner to all purchasers and prospective residents and the owner approves such entry. Such approval may not be withheld except for good cause. For the purposes of this section good cause means a reasonable cause for the owner to believe (1) that such purchaser intends to utilize the purchased mobile manufactured home for an illegal or immoral purpose or for any purpose that would disturb the quiet enjoyment of the other residents of the park or (2) that the purchaser is or will be financially unable to pay the rent for the space or lot upon which the purchased mobile manufactured home is located. If the owner denies approval to a purchaser, he shall, in writing, state any reason for such disapproval. Such statement shall be delivered to the resident and the purchaser or prospective resident within ten days after the owner receives the completed application of the purchaser or prospective resident. Failure to deliver such notification within ten days shall be deemed to be approval.
(e) Any resident wishing to sell his or her home shall request a written statement of the owner’s intentions regarding the condition of the home. Within twenty days after receipt of such a request, the owner shall approve the home’s condition for resale or deliver a written statement to the resident specifying the reasons why the home is not safe, sanitary, or in conformance with aesthetic standards. Failure of the owner to respond within twenty days shall be deemed to be an approval of the home’s condition for resale. If the resident disputes the owner’s response, he may seek a declaratory ruling from the Department of Consumer Protection. The resident may attempt to correct defects identified by the owner and may again request the owner’s approval of the home’s condition for resale. If the resident again disputes the owner’s response, he may once again seek a declaratory ruling from the department. An owner’s statement of approval shall remain in force for not more than six months. No owner shall exact a commission or fee with respect to the price realized by the seller, unless he has acted as agent for the seller in a sale pursuant to a written contract, or charge a rent for the mobile manufactured home space or lot upon which the purchased mobile manufactured home is located greater than the prevailing rent for any other space or lot located in the park.