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The Business Regulation Committee recommends
the following: |
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|
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Council/Committee
Substitute |
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Remove the
entire bill and insert: |
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A bill to be entitled |
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An act relating to mobile homes; amending s.
723.037, |
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F.S.; providing intent, requirements, and
restrictions |
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regarding information exchanged in meetings
between park |
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owners and homeowners' committees and at
mediation; |
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providing exceptions; amending s. 723.0611,
F.S.; |
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designating the Florida Mobile Home
Relocation Corporation |
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as an agency of the state and certain other
persons as |
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officers, employees, or agents of the state
for |
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application of sovereign immunity provisions;
providing |
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rulemaking authority to administer provisions
involving |
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the corporation; amending s. 723.0612, F.S.;
providing |
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that mobile home owners are not eligible for
compensation |
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in certain circumstances involving change in
use of the |
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land comprising the mobile home park;
providing |
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entitlement to attorney's fees and costs in
certain |
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enforcement actions; providing an effective
date. |
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|
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State
of Florida: |
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|
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Section 1. Subsections
(4) and (5) of section 723.037, |
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Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
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723.037 Lot
rental increases; reduction in services or |
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utilities; change in rules and regulations;
mediation.-- |
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(4)(a) A
committee, not to exceed five in number, |
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designated by a majority of the affected
mobile home owners or |
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by the board of directors of the homeowners'
association, if |
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applicable, and the park owner shall meet, at
a mutually |
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convenient time and place within 30 days
after receipt by the |
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homeowners of the notice of change, to
discuss the reasons for |
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the increase in lot rental amount, reduction
in services or |
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utilities, or change in rules and
regulations. |
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(b)1. At
the meeting, the park owner or subdivision |
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developer shall in good faith disclose and
explain all material |
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factors resulting in the decision to increase
the lot rental |
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amount, reduce services or utilities, or
change rules and |
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regulations, including how those factors
justify the specific |
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change proposed. The park owner or
subdivision developer may not |
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limit the discussion of the reasons for the
change to |
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generalities only, such as, but not limited
to, increases in |
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operational costs, changes in economic
conditions, or rents |
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charged by comparable mobile home parks. For
example, if the |
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reason for an increase in lot rental amount
is an increase in |
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operational costs, the park owner must
disclose the item or |
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items which have increased, the amount of the
increase, any |
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similar item or items which have decreased,
and the amount of |
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the decrease. If an increase is based upon
the lot rental amount |
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charged by comparable mobile home parks, the
park owner shall |
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disclose, and provide in writing to the
committee at or before |
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the meeting, the name, address, lot rental
amount, and any other |
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relevant factors relied upon by the park
owner, such as |
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facilities, services, and amenities,
concerning the comparable |
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mobile home parks. The
information concerning comparable mobile |
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home parks to be exchanged
by the parties is to encourage a |
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dialogue concerning the
reasons used by the park owner for the |
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increase in lot rental
amount and to encourage the home owners |
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to evaluate and discuss
the reasons for those changes with the |
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park owner. The
park owner shall prepare a written summary of |
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the material factors and retain a copy for 3
years. The park |
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owner shall provide the committee a copy of
the summary at or |
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before the meeting. |
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2. The
park owner shall not limit the comparable mobile |
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home park disclosure to
those mobile home parks that are owned |
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or operated by the same
owner or operator as the subject park, |
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except in certain
circumstances, which include, but are not |
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limited to: |
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a. That
the market area for comparable mobile home parks |
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includes mobile home parks
owned or operated by the same entity |
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that have similar
facilities, services, and amenities; |
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b. That
the subject mobile home park has unique attributes |
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that are shared with
similar mobile home parks; |
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c. That
the mobile home park is located in a geographic or |
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market area that contains
few comparable mobile home parks; or |
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d. That
there are similar considerations or factors that |
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would be considered in
such a market analysis by a competent |
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professional and would be
considered in determining the |
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valuation of the market
rent. |
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(c) If
the committee disagrees with a park owner's lot |
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rental amount increase based upon comparable
mobile home parks, |
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the committee shall disclose to the park
owner the name, |
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address, lot rental amount, and any other
relevant factors |
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relied upon by the committee, such as
facilities, services, and |
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amenities, concerning the comparable mobile
home parks. The |
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committee shall provide to the park owner the
disclosure, in |
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writing, within 15 days after the meeting
with the park owner, |
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together with a request for a second meeting.
The park owner |
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shall meet with the committee at a mutually
convenient time and |
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place within 30 days after receipt by the
park owner of the |
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request from the committee to discuss the
disclosure provided by |
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the committee.
At the second meeting, the park owner may take |
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into account the
information on comparable parks provided by the |
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committee, may supplement
the information provided to the |
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committee at the first
meeting, and may modify his or her |
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position, but the park
owner may not change the information |
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provided to the committee
at the first meeting. |
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(d) The
committee and the park owner may mutually agree, |
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in writing, to extend or continue any
meetings required by this |
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section. |
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(e) Either
party may prepare and use additional |
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information to support its position during or
subsequent to the |
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meetings required by this section. |
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This subsection is not
intended to be enforced by civil or |
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administrative action.
Rather, the meetings and discussions are |
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intended to be in the
nature of settlement discussions prior to |
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the parties proceeding to
mediation of any dispute. |
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(5)(a) Within
30 days after the date of the last scheduled |
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meeting described in subsection (4), the
homeowners may petition |
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the division to initiate mediation of the
dispute pursuant to s. |
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723.038 if a majority of the affected
homeowners have |
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designated, in writing, that: |
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1. The
rental increase is unreasonable; |
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2. The
rental increase has made the lot rental amount |
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unreasonable; |
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3. The
decrease in services or utilities is not |
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accompanied by a corresponding decrease in
rent or is otherwise |
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unreasonable; or |
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4. The
change in the rules and regulations is |
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unreasonable. |
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(b) A
park owner, within the same time period, may also |
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petition the division to initiate mediation
of the dispute. |
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(c) When
a dispute involves a rental increase for |
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different home owners and there are different
rates or different |
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rental terms for those home owners, all such
rent increases in a |
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calendar year for one mobile home park may be
considered in one |
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mediation proceeding. |
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(d) At
mediation, the park owner and the homeowners |
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committee may supplement
the information provided to each other |
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at the meetings described
in subsection (4) and may modify their |
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position, but they may not
change the information provided to |
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each other at the first
and second meetings. |
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The purpose of this
subsection is to encourage discussion and |
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evaluation by the parties
of the comparable mobile home parks in |
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the competitive market
area. The requirements of this subsection |
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are not intended to be
enforced by civil or administrative |
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action. Rather, the
meetings and discussions are intended to be |
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in the nature of
settlement discussions prior to the parties |
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proceeding to litigation
of any dispute. |
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Section 2. Paragraph
(c) of subsection (2) and paragraph |
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(a) of subsection (3) of section 723.0611,
Florida Statutes, are |
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amended to read: |
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723.0611 Florida
Mobile Home Relocation Corporation.-- |
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(2) |
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(c) The
corporation shall, for purposes of s. 768.28, be |
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considered an agency of
the state. Agents or employees of the |
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corporation, members of
the board of directors of the |
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corporation, or
representatives of the Division of Florida Land |
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Sales, Condominiums, and
Mobile Homes shall be considered |
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officers, employees, or
agents of the state, and actions against |
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them and the corporation
shall be governed by s. 768.28. There |
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shall be no liability on
the part of, and no cause of action of |
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any nature shall arise
against, agents or employees of the |
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corporation, members of
the board of directors of the |
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corporation, or
representatives of the Division of Florida Land |
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Sales, Condominiums, and
Mobile Homes for any act or omission of |
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the board of directors in
the performance of their powers and |
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duties under this section,
unless such act or omission by such |
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person is in intentional
disregard of the rights of the |
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claimant. |
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(3) The
board of directors shall: |
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(a) Adopt
a plan of operation and articles, bylaws, and |
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operating rules pursuant
to the provisions of ss. 120.536 and |
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120.54 to administer the
provisions of this section and ss. |
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723.06115, 723.06116, and
723.0612. |
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Section 3. Subsection
(7) of section 723.0612, Florida |
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Statutes, is amended, and section (11) is
added to said section, |
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to read: |
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723.0612 Change
in use; relocation expenses; payments by |
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park owner.-- |
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(7) In
lieu of collecting payment from the Florida Mobile |
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Home Relocation Corporation as set forth in
subsection (1), a |
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mobile home owner may abandon the mobile home
in the mobile home |
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park and collect $1,375 for a single section
and $2,750 for a |
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multisection from the corporation as long as
the mobile home |
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owner delivers to the park owner the current
title to the mobile |
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home duly endorsed by the owner of record and
valid releases of |
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all liens shown on the title. If a mobile
home owner chooses |
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this option, the park owner shall make
payment to the |
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corporation in an amount equal to the amount
the mobile home |
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owner is entitled to under this subsection.
The mobile home |
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owner's application for funds under this
subsection shall |
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require the submission of a document signed
by the park owner |
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stating that the home has been abandoned
under this subsection |
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and that the park owner agrees to make
payment to the |
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corporation in the amount provided to the
home owner under this |
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subsection. However, in the event that the
required documents |
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are not submitted with the application, the
corporation may |
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consider the facts and circumstances
surrounding the abandonment |
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of the home to determine whether the mobile
home owner is |
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entitled to payment pursuant to this
subsection. The mobile home |
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owner is not entitled to
any compensation under this subsection |
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if there is a pending
eviction action for nonpayment of lot |
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rental amount pursuant to
s. 723.061(1)(a) which was filed |
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against him or her prior
to the mailing date of the notice of |
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change in the use of the
mobile home park given pursuant to s. |
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723.061(1)(d). |
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(11) In
an action to enforce the provisions of this |
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section and ss. 723.0611,
723.06115, and 723.06116, the |
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prevailing party is
entitled to reasonable attorney's fees and |
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costs. |
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Section 4. This
act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |