8 CCR 1302-15
DEPARTMENT OF LOCAL AFFAIRS MOBILE HOME PARK ACT DISPUTE RESOLUTION & ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM 8 CCR 1302-15 [Editor’s Notes follow the text of the rules at the end of this CCR Document.] _________________________________________________________________________ Rule 1. Definitions.
In addition to the definitions provided in sections 38-12-201.5 and 38-12-1103, C.R.S., the following definitions apply to enforcement of the Act (Part 2 of Article 12 of Title 38) and the Program (Part 11 of Article 12 of Title 38):
1.1 “Mobile home” as defined pursuant to section 38-12-201.5(2), C.R.S., includes a factory-built residential structure (modular home) if it is situated in a mobile home park, any pre-1976 mobile home, any manufactured home constructed to the federal standards on or after June 15, 1976, or any combination of the three.
1.2 “Mobile home park” as defined pursuant to section 38-12-201.5(3), C.R.S., does not include a park that rents lots to camper coaches, camper trailers, fifth wheel trailers, motor homes, recreational park trailers, recreational vehicles, travel trailers, or truck campers, unless it also rents space to five (5) or more occupied “mobile homes” as defined by section 38-12-201.5(2), C.R.S., and Rule 1.1 of these rules.
1.3 “Mobile home subdivision” or “manufactured home subdivision” as used in section 38-12- 201.5(3), C.R.S., means any parcel of land that is divided into two or more parcels, separate interests, or interests in common, where each parcel or interest is owned by separate owners who own both the mobile home and the land underneath the mobile home, except when the same owner owns two or more subdivided parcels or interests that are collectively used for the continuous accommodation of five (5) or more occupied mobile homes and operated for the pecuniary benefit of the owner of the parcel of land, their agents, lessees, or assignees.
1.3.1 Pursuant to section 38-12-201.5(3), C.R.S., “mobile home park” does not include property zoned by a local government for manufactured home subdivisions or mobile home subdivisions.
1.4 “Retaliatory action(s)” as used in section 38-12-1105(13), C.R.S., means threats, acts of harassment, or acts of harm or injury that may include, but are not limited to the following:
A. Increasing rent or decreasing services in a selective, unequal, or non-uniform way;
B. Issuing mandatory fees in a selective, unequal, or non-uniform way;
C. Issuing warnings/citations/fines that are not justified;
D. Serving notices or threatening eviction when not justified;
E. Billing for something not previously billed in a selective, unequal, or non-uniform way;
F. Creating or modifying rules/requirements that are not reasonably related to legitimate purposes;
G. Selectively enforcing rules/requirements;
H. Conducting management visits that are unjustified;
I. Conducting surveillance targeted at a complainant that is unjustified; or J. Reporting or publicizing damaging information about a complainant that is not germane toward determining park rule violations or violations of the Act or Program, or necessary to protect the health and safety of the mobile home park’s landlord(s), home owners, or other residents.
Rule 2. Registration Requirements 2.1 Initial Registration – for new mobile home parks must occur within three (3) months of the availability of five (5) or more mobile home lots for rent within a new park.
2.1.1 A “landlord” as defined pursuant to section 38-12-201.5(1.5), C.R.S., and who is designated as the primary contact for the mobile home park must file a registration form including full payment on behalf of the park with the Division.
2.2 Required Information – as part of the registration process, a mobile home park must provide the following information in addition to the information required under section 38-12-1106(7), C.R.S.:
A. The mailing address, phone number, and email address (if available) of the landlord designated as the primary contact for the mobile home park;
B. The physical address, phone number, and website address (if available) of the mobile home park;
C. The physical address of each mobile home;
D. Identify which homes are independently owned by a home owner versus any owned by the mobile home park;
E. The total number of occupied mobile homes; and F. The total number of vacant mobile homes.
2.3 Expiration Date – will be one year from the first day of the following month after registration approval by Division staff, i.e. February 1, 2021 if approved in January of 2020, and must be renewed by that date if still operating as a mobile home park.
2.4 If any of the provided information required in Rule 2.2(A) and Rule 2.2(B) of these rules changes between the time of initial registration and renewal, or between registration renewals, the landlord is required to notify the Division within thirty (30) calendar days of the change to ensure timely delivery of registration renewal updates.
2.5 Fee - $24.00 must be paid by the mobile home park for each mobile home independently owned on rented land within the park.
2.5.1 Pursuant to section 38-12-1106(8), C.R.S., a landlord may charge a home owner not more than half of the registration fee annually. If the landlord attempts to recoup up to 50% of this fee from the home owner, the landlord must:
Rule 3. Dispute Resolution and Enforcement 3.1 If a complaint is filed in writing pursuant to section 38-12-1105(1), C.R.S., it must be transmitted to the Division on a Division approved form or containing substantially the same information as is found on the Division form.
3.2 A home owner acting in the capacity of a “complainant” as defined in section 38-12-1103(2), C.R.S., may file a complaint on behalf of their tenant if they are leasing their mobile home and the renter has experienced and communicated an alleged violation of the Act or Program to the home owner, provided that the home owner has made it clear in the complaint that it is being filed in a representative capacity.
3.3 A landlord’s actions will be presumed retaliatory if the mobile home park takes an action, including, but not limited to, the ones listed in Rule 1.4 of these rules, and takes such action between the time the home owner expresses an intention to the landlord to file a complaint with the Division or files a complaint against the landlord with the Division, up until six (6) months after the Division has closed the complaint.
3.3.1 Before imposing a penalty under section 38-12-1105(13), C.R.S., and Rule 4.4 of these rules, the Division will give the landlord an opportunity to rebut the presumption of retaliation with sufficient evidence of a non-retaliatory purpose.
3.3.2 As used in Rule 3.3.1 of these rules, “sufficient evidence” means a preponderance of the evidence.
3.3.3 The presumption of retaliation under Rule 3.3 of these rules will not apply to cases where the landlord addresses nonpayment of rent pursuant to section 38-12-204, C.R.S.
3.4 A landlord found to be in violation of the Act or Program cannot pass on the costs of any remedial action(s), including penalties, fines, or fees, required by the Division or an Administrative Law Judge in a Final Agency Order to any home owner.
3.5 The following deadlines are in calendar days:
A. Respond to a subpoena within fourteen (14) days pursuant to section 38-12-1105(3)(a), C.R.S.
B. Comply with the requirements of a Notice of Violation within seven (7) days of it becoming a Final Agency Order pursuant to section 38-12-1105(5), C.R.S.
C. A landlord must notify the Division within thirty (30) days of a change in the ownership of the mobile home park pursuant to section 38-12-1106(5), C.R.S.
3.6 Pursuant to section 24-72-204(2)(a)(IX), C.R.S., any records of ongoing administrative investigations conducted by the Division of Housing in furtherance of its statutory authority to protect the public health, welfare, or safety are not subject to a request filed under the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) during the pendency of the investigation and dispute resolution process.
3.7 Pursuant to section 38-12-1105(1), C.R.S., two or more home owners may file a complaint against the landlord(s) of their mobile home park with the Division alleging similar or related violations of the Act or Program. A landlord(s) of a mobile home park may also file a complaint against two or more home owners in the same park with the Division alleging similar or related violations of the Act or Program.
3.8 When filing a complaint with the Division under section 38-12-1105(1), C.R.S., aggrieved parties are not required to allege what specific statutory section(s) of the Act or Program have been violated. The Division will apply the appropriate reference(s) to statute or rule upon review of the information provided in the complaint form and any additional information provided to the Division in connection with the complaint.
Rule 4. Penalties The Division will apply the following criteria when assessing an amount of a monetary penalty authorized by statute for violating either the Act or Program:
- Severity of the violation;
- Type of violation;
- Duration of the violation;
- Whether the person/entity committed repeated violations; and - Any other mitigating or aggravating circumstances, including impact on others, cooperation with the investigation process, and sufficiency to deter future violations.
4.1 The Division will scale any registration delinquency fees assessed under section 38-12-1106(9), C.R.S., as follows:
A. First offense, may be fined up to $3,000.
B. Second offense, may be fined up to $4,000.
C. Third or subsequent offense, may be fined up to $5,000.
4.2 The Division will scale any penalties assessed under section 38-12-1104(2)(d), C.R.S., for failing to appropriately post the required Home Owner Notice described in section 38-12-1104(2)(a), C.R.S., in the locations provided in section 38-12-1104(2)(c), C.R.S., and Rule 5 of these rules, as follows:
A. First offense, may be fined up to $3,000.
B. Second offense, may be fined up to $4,000.
C. Third or subsequent offense, may be fined up to $5,000.
4.3 The Division will scale any penalties assessed under section 38-12-1105(5), C.R.S., for failing to comply with the requirements of a Notice of Violation as follows:
A. First offense, may be fined up to $3,000, per violation per day.
B. Second offense, may be fined up to $4,000, per violation per day.
C. Third or subsequent offense, may be fined up to $5,000, per violation per day.
4.4 The Division will scale any penalties assessed under section 38-12-1105(13), C.R.S., for taking any “retaliatory action(s)” against a home owner, as defined in Rule 1.4 and further clarified in Rule 3.3 of these rules, as follows:
A. First offense, may be fined up to $5,000.
B. Second offense, may be fined up to $7,500.
C. Third or subsequent offense, may be fined up to $10,000. Rule 5. Notice Requirements 5.1 Pursuant to 38-12-1104(2)(c), a landlord must post and maintain the Home Owner Notice described in section 38-12-1104(2)(a), C.R.S., in a clearly visible and accessible location in every common area of the mobile home park, including every community hall, recreation hall, and clubhouse. A landlord must post this Home Owner Notice in a form authorized by the Division within one (1) week of receiving the Home Owner Notice from the Division.
5.1.1 If there is no community hall, recreation hall, or clubhouse in the mobile home park, the landlord must post and maintain the Home Owner Notice, in a clearly visible and accessible location, at every location of another type of physical common area in the park. The types of common areas where a landlord may post and maintain the Home Owner Notice include, but are not limited to:
5.1.2 If there are no physical common areas in the park the same as or similar to those described in Rule 5.1 and 5.1.1 of these rules, a landlord may post and maintain the Home Owner Notice on the mobile home park’s online rent payment portal or other website intended for use by residents.
5.1.3 In addition to complying with Rules 5.1, 5.1.1, and 5.1.2, a landlord must provide the Home Owner Notice in an accessible format for any home owner with disabilities (e.g. Braille or audio recording) upon request.
5.2 In addition to complying with Rules 5.1 and 5.3 of these rules, the landlord must provide a copy of the required Home Owner Notice to each individual home owner within one (1) week of receiving the Home Owner Notice from the Division and on an annual basis, by posting it on the door of every home owner’s mobile home or mailing it to each home owner at either the address provided in the rental agreement or the most recent mailing address of the home owner on file with the landlord.
5.2.1 As an alternative to Rule 5.2, a landlord may email a copy of the Home Owner Notice to a home owner(s) only if the home owner has an email address on file with the landlord, and the landlord regularly uses that email address for other communications with the home owner, like rent payment or maintenance notices.
5.3 In addition to complying with Rules 5.1 and 5.2 of these rules, the landlord must also provide a copy of the required Home Owner Notice with each new lease executed with a home owner.
5.4 In mobile home parks where the landlord owns all of the mobile homes and there are no independent mobile home owners with rights and responsibilities under the Act (Part 2 of Article 12 of Title 38) or Program (Part 11 of Article 12 of Title 38), the landlord is not required to post, maintain, or provide a copy of the Home Owner Notice pursuant to section 38-12-1104(2)(a), C.R.S., and Rules 5.1 to 5.3 of these rules.
5.4.1 However, once a mobile home park has one or more independently-owned mobile homes, the landlord is no longer exempt from the Home Owner Notice requirements under section 38-12-1104(2)(a), C.R.S., and Rules 5.1 to 5.3 of these rules, and must post and provide a copy of the required Home Owner Notice to each individual home owner within one (1) week of the change in ownership of the mobile home(s) in compliance with Rules 5.1 to 5.3 of these rules.
Rule 6. Park Rules and Regulations 6.1 Trees located on the “premises” as defined by section 38-12-201.5(5), C.R.S., are presumed to be the responsibility of the landlord if they were not planted by the home owner, including any expense related to the maintenance of them (e.g. removal of dead wood) pursuant to sections 38- 12-212.3(1)(a)(III), C.R.S.
6.1.1 However, a home owner may agree in their rental agreement to take on the responsibility for any routine maintenance (i.e. simple trimming that does not affect health or safety) of trees located on the lot they are renting from the park, so long as the home owner was not required to assume this responsibility as a condition of tenancy in the mobile home park in violation of section 38-12-212.3(2), C.R.S.
6.2 Fences located on the “premises” as defined by section 38-12-201.5(5), C.R.S., are presumed to be the responsibility of the landlord pursuant to sections 38-12-212.3(1)(a)(III), C.R.S., unless:
A. The home owner built the fence;
B. The current home owner bought the fence from the previous home owner; or C. The home owner agreed in their rental agreement to take on the responsibility for maintaining and repairing the fence and paying the cost thereof in their rental agreement, so long as the home owner was not required to assume this responsibility as a condition of tenancy in the mobile home park in violation of section 38-12-212.3(2), C.R.S. _________________________________________________________________________ Adopted on November 8, 2019, to implement House Bill 19-1309 effective December 30, 2019. The following changes were adopted on March 11, 2020 and are effective April 30, 2020: • Created: Rules 1.3, 2.5.1(A)-(B), 3.3.2, 3.7, 3.8, 5.1.1- 5.1.2, 5.2.1, 5.4, 6.2 • Amended: Rules 1.4(I)-(J), 2.1, 2.2, 2.5.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.3.1, 3.3.3, 4, 4.1-4.4 (restated statute), 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1 • Renumbered: Rules 1.4, 2.1- 2.5, 3.6, 5.1.3, 6.1 • Deleted: Rules 2.1 (restated statute)
_________________________________________________________________________ Editor’s Notes History New rule eff. 12/30/2019.
Entire rule eff. 04/30/2020.