CONTENT

Senate Bill 934 (S-1) would amend the Mobile Home Commission Act to do the following:

-- Rename the Mobile Home Commission to the Manufactured Housing Commission (Commission) and modify its membership.

-- Require the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) to establish a database of all mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park (park) owners within 12 months of the bill's effective date.

-- Require LARA to revise the Mobile Home Code within three months of the bill's effective date and prescribe the scope of those revisions.

-- Allow the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) to create rules regarding park water and sewage systems.

-- Modify park licensure requirements.

-- Require a licensed mobile park owner to post a copy of the license issued by LARA in a conspicuous and accessible area to the residents of the park and prescribe a fine for failure to do so.

-- Prescribe fees for the ownership of a park.

-- Prescribe requirements for the renewal of a license, the process for LARA to prescribe fees for late renewals, and the notification for incomplete applications.

-- Require an owner of a park to notify LARA of a change of ownership, mailing address, and the addition or removal of a mortgage, lien, or secured party.

-- Create the Mobile Home License Enforcement Fund to be spent on inspecting, licensing, and enforcing requirements of the Act.

-- Create the Mobile Home Hardship Fund to be spent on specified financial assistance to park residents and to pay for emergency repairs for mobile homes.

-- Create the Resident Ownership Revolving Fund to be spent on assistance to residents and resident associations of parks in the purchase of a park.

Senate Bill 935 would amend the Mobile Home Commission Act to do the following:

-- Require LARA to conduct inspections of parks annually and report findings, including material deficiencies.

-- Allow LARA to charge a reinspection fee of $200 if a park needed to be reinspected due to material deficiencies identified during the initial inspection.

-- Require LARA and the owner of a park to retain a record of variance in the design and construction of the park as granted under the Act.

-- Require LARA to promulgate rules pertaining to the training and educational requirements for installers and repairers of mobile homes.

-- Prohibit a park owner from engaging in specified unfair or deceptive practices, such as charging more for utility services than a utility service provider charged, mandating or charging fees for certain rent payment methods, or terminating a resident's tenancy to ultimately change the use of a park without notifying the tenant at least 12 months prior to the change.

-- Require that, if a park owner provided utility services to a resident, the owner would have to inform the resident of the utility rates and charges directly related to the resident's usage.

-- Prescribe certain requirements for park lease agreements, including a minimum lease length of one year that could be waived.

Senate Bill 936 would amend the Revised Judicature Act to do the following:

-- Allow a tenant whose tenancy was terminated to choose from specified options regarding the tenant's mobile home within 15 days after a judgement of possession was entered for the possession of the home.

-- Prescribe conditions for a tenant who elected to sell the tenant's mobile home on-site after a judgement.

-- Require a park owner to provide the court and tenant with the criteria used to accept and reject a proposed tenant's application for tenancy within five days after issuance of a judgment of possession.

Senate Bill 937 (S-1) would amend the Mobile Home Commission Act to do the following:

-- Require the owner of a park to notify the residents of the park and LARA of the intent to sell or transfer the park and prescribe the process for that notice.

-- Require that residents notify the owner within 60 days of their intention to purchase the park.

-- Prescribe the process for residents to purchase the park.

-- Prescribe the process for residents to bring legal action for damages if an owner did not comply with the notice requirement.

-- Prescribe a fine of between $10,000 and $250,000 if the owner of a park failed to comply with the requirements for selling the park.

-- Prescribe the process for residents to bring legal action for damages if an owner did not comply with the notice requirement.

-- Prohibit the owner of a park from accepting an offer for the sale of the park that contained any provision preventing or penalizing the owner for entering into a purchase agreement with an HOA.

-- Allow residents to bring action against the owner of a park whom the residents believed to be unlicensed and not having a complete application for a license pending with LARA and prescribe penalties if the owner were unlicensed.

-- Require residents to give the owner of the park notice of action regarding the belief that the owner did not have a license to own the park.

-- Prescribe the process for LARA to remedy a situation in which an owner was found to be unlicensed, including notices, fines, and involvement of the Attorney General for failure to pay any fines.

-- Prescribe the process for LARA to put a park into receivership if an owner were found to be unlicensed.

Senate Bill 938 would amend the Income Tax Act to allow a qualified taxpayer that sold a park to a resident of that park to claim a nonrefundable tax credit against the taxpayer's income tax in an amount equal to 15% of the purchase price.

Senate Bill 939 would amend the State Housing Development Authority Act to authorize the Michigan State Housing Development Authority to administer the Resident Ownership Revolving Fund proposed by Senate Bill 934 (S-1).

Senate Bill 934 is tie-barred to Senate Bills 935 and 937. Senate Bill 935 is tie-barred to Senate Bills 936 and 937. Senate Bill 936 is tie-barred to Senate Bills 934, 935, and 937. Senate Bill 937 is tie-barred to Senate Bills 934 and 935. Senate Bill 938 is tie-barred to Senate Bill 937. Senate Bill 939 is tie-barred to Senate Bill 934.

MCL 125.2302 et al. (S.B. 934); 125.2317 et al. (S.B. 935); 600.5775 et al. (S.B. 936)

125.2335 et al. (S.B. 937)

Proposed MCL 206.281 & 206.678 (S.B 938); 125.1422 (S.B. 939)

BRIEF RATIONALE

According to testimony before the Senate Committee on Housing and Human Services, many individuals are facing challenges with housing access, and manufacturing housing has traditionally been an option for attainable housing access; however, homeowners of manufactured homes are reportedly experiencing declining infrastructure in manufactured housing communities and lack of accountability for unlicensed mobile home park owners, among other difficulties regarding quality of life in these communities. It has been suggested that licensing standards for mobile home communities be updated and that LARA be given additional tools to enforce the proposed standards for the improvement of the manufactured homes market.

PREVIOUS LEGISLATION

(This section does not provide a comprehensive account of previous legislative efforts on this subject matter.)

Senate Bill 934 is similar to Senate Bill 486 from the 2023-2024 Legislative Session. Senate Bill 935 is similar to Senate Bill 487 from the 2023-2024 Legislative Session. Senate Bill 937 is similar to Senate Bill 489 from the 2023-2024 Legislative Session.

Legislative Analyst: Jessica Gebbie

FISCAL IMPACT

The bills would have a significant but indeterminate fiscal impact on State government and an indeterminate fiscal impact on local units of government.

The bills would restructure the licensing system for mobile home parks and related licenses under the Mobile Home Commission Act. Currently, the term for a mobile home park license is three years. The bill would revise this period to one year, beginning on January 1, 2027. According to LARA, there are currently 1,053 parks in the State.

The changes to the license fees included in the bill are shown in Table 1.

Table 1

Proposed Changes Under SB 934
	Current Law (every three years)	Jan. 1, 2027, to Dec. 31, 2028 (annual)	Jan. 1, 2029, to Dec. 31, 2035 (annual)	On and after Jan. 1, 2036 (annual)
Mobile Home Park	$225	$500	$1,000	$1,100
Per site fee for home sites in excess of 25	$3	$6	$10	$11
Mobile Home Park, Seasonal	$125	$300	$600	$660
Per site fee for home sites in excess of 25	$1.50	$3	$5	$5.50

These license fees are deposited into the Mobile Home Code Fund. The Fund is used for the Bureau of Construction Codes, the Bureau of Fire Services, and other overhead expenses within LARA upon appropriation by the Legislature. The proposed changes likely would result in significantly increased revenue to LARA, although the exact amount would depend upon the number of licenses applied for and that met the new criteria required under the bills. It is possible that due to the more stringent requirements, fewer individuals would qualify as licensees; however, the increase in fees likely would offset this loss. The Department estimates that new revenues could equal $1,248,011.

The bills would require LARA to employ "an appropriate number" of qualified employees to implement and enforce the Act as well as the rules promulgated under it. Although LARA currently enforces and administers the Mobile Home Commission Act and most related rules, the changes made under the bills, as well as the new and revised rules that could be required under it, likely would necessitate one or more additional Full-time Equivalents (FTE) and appropriations to fully satisfy the LARA's duties and responsibilities. The average cost of an FTE, including benefits, is $141,000 per year. The number of employees needed would depend partially on the number of applicants who qualify under the new licensee parameters. The Department estimates that new staffing costs would equal $1,449,000.

Additional duties for LARA would include additional inspections. Senate Bill 935 would allow LARA to contract this work out to local governments, which could bear minor additional costs related to the development and administration of these agreements; however, in the absence of such an agreement, the cost of these inspections would fall to LARA. As described above, it is possible that LARA could need to engage additional inspectors.

The Department also would have to establish a publicly accessible database of owners that would contain key licensing information. It currently has such a database, but LARA could need additional funding to ensure compliance with the bills. The Department could charge a $100 processing fee if an owner failed to update contact information as required under the bill.

The Department could elect to conduct a background check on an applicant or a person who holds a beneficial interest in a park. The number of background checks performed could increase due to the expansion of the definition of a person with beneficial interest included in the bill. The Department could use the ICHAT system maintained by the Department of State Police for this purpose. There is a cost to conduct each search, though the bill does not specify whether LARA would charge the applicant or person with interest for the cost of the search.

The bills could result in minor costs to the Department of Attorney General should LARA decide to bring a civil action against individuals who neglected to pay the new fine of not more than $250,000 for failure to acquire a license; however, the Attorney General may exercise authority over similar violations under current law. The Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs would be unlikely to refer enough cases to the Attorney General to meaningfully affect costs, but LARA would have to reimburse the Attorney General for such costs from the new Mobile Home License Enforcement Fund.

Senate Bill 934 (S-1) would require LARA to revise the Mobile Home Code. This process likely would be covered by existing appropriations, but additional staff time and administrative costs could increase expenditures. The Department would need to consult with additional entities to develop these recommendations. The bill also would allow LARA to impose an administrative fine of not more than $5,000, following appropriate steps as required under the APA, if a licensed owner failed to post a copy of the owner's license as required under the bill. It also would require the payment of all previously assessed fees and administrative fines in order for an individual to be considered to have completed a complete application. The Department could assess a late renewal fee of up to 50% of the license application fee if a renewal were submitted more than seven days after the expiration of a license. All revenue from fines assessed under the Mobile Home Commission Act is deposited into the Mobile Home Code Fund. The revenue from fines would depend upon the number of violations found and fines levied.

Senate Bill 934 (S-1) also likely would have a minor fiscal impact on the Department of Treasury. It would create the Resident Ownership Revolving Fund in the State Treasury and the Mobile Home License Enforcement Fund and the Mobile Home Hardship Fund as subfunds of the Mobile Home Code Fund. For each of these funds, money would remain in the respective fund at the close of the fiscal year and not lapse to the General Fund. The Department of Treasury likely would incur minor costs associated with the management of these funds, but it is unlikely to require additional appropriations.

Senate Bill 937 (S-1) could have a positive fiscal impact on local units of government. The bill could result in the levying of additional civil fines of up to a maximum of $50,000. Revenue collected from civil fines is used to support local libraries and county law libraries. The amount of revenue for local libraries is indeterminate and dependent on the actual number of violations.

Senate Bill 938 would have an indeterminate negative fiscal impact on the State It would give a non-refundable tax credit to taxpayers that sold a mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park. The tax credits would begin in tax year 2026. The credit would equal 15% of the purchase price. The total amount of the credit would be determined by the sales price and the number of sales in a given tax year. Based on national sales averages, the State has roughly 10 to 20 mobile home or seasonal mobile home park sales per year. Based on recent listings in the State, the average value of a mobile home or seasonal mobile home park is approximately $2.5 million. Assuming the upper average level of 20 sales per year at $2.5 million each, that is a total of $50.0 million. The 15% credit would be equal to $7.5 million.

Date Completed: 5-14-26 Fiscal Analyst: Bobby Canell

Joe Carrasco, Jr.

Nathan Leaman

Elizabeth Raczkowski

Michael Siracuse