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February 2008 Dear Friends and Members of MOTA We, the Board of Directors and I hope you all had a great holiday season. We surely have had a long, long winter and I know we are all looking forward to spring. The purpose of this letter is to bring you, the members of MOTA, up to date on where we stand as an organization in as far as our Membership, Legislation and Association Assistance. First, I would like to bring to your attention the importance of “Membership”. Without a strong membership, we would not be able to function. We as an organization would not be here to protect the “RIGHTS” you now have through RSA’s 205:A and 205:D as well as other legislation we as an organization have helped get passed. We would not be able to further strengthen the laws that are already on the books or even consider any new legislation that might be necessary.
The point here is that a strong membership and active members willing to volunteer their time are both of vital importance to making sure that there is someone making sure our “RIGHTS” are not being cast aside because no one is watching. Complacency is the killer of most organizations and movements. Our volunteer members keep an eye on what is going on in Concord and Washington so that those “RIGHTS” we now enjoy are preserved. MOTA holds regular meetings on the third Wednesday of each month and the meetings are open to all members and non-members. Your participation at these meetings will give you a better idea about what we as an organization do and the hurdles we have to jump over to get your "RIGHTS” preserved. We need members to step forward and volunteer to sit on the Board as well as other duties. Members of the current Board have been working tirelessly to make sure your “RIGHTS” are not lost. However, some of those Board Members are considering retirement and we need you, the membership, to fill those vacancies. By starting to attend our monthly meetings, you will get a better understanding of what is required and be able to make a more informed decision. We are a group that depends on a strong membership for many reasons. “Remember, There is Strength in Numbers” The second item I would like to bring you up to date on is “Legislation”. Your Senators and Representatives want to hear from you, their voting constituency. To your legislators “Numbers of Constituents” backing legislation or a proposal are what drives them to vote for and bring new legislation to the floor. The Board of Directors would like to extend an invitation to all of our current members to talk to at least one neighbor or friend about joining MOTA. By doing this you will add one more voice to helping protect all people’s rights who live in Manufactured Housing in the State and across the United States through MOTA’s association with other organizations. A strong membership and organization is critical when we fight for legislation on behalf of the members and it would improve our chances for passage, which in the end will improve the quality of life in your park and communities both directly and indirectly. The last item I would like to touch on is “Associations”. If your park does not have an association, then get your neighbors and friends together and form one. “Strength in Numbers” Volunteer representatives of MOTA would consider it a privilege to help you form your association. An association can serve you and your neighbors in many ways. An association would help unite members of your community and give you “Strength in Numbers” when you need it. People working together for a common good is very powerful and will generally result in providing a positive effect for the group as a whole. Best Regards & Think Spring Lois Parris president@mota-nh.org
MOTA-Vator Online Blog Can your rights to Freedom of Speech & E xpressionbe violated by a Park Owner ? January 2008: Read about a Montana Woman who is being charged with Trespassing because she was trying to educate some park residence.
Monthly Board of Directors Meeting Schedule: Schedule has been changed back to original posting. But this may change so check back from time to time. | Meeting Location: NHCLF, 7 Wall Street, Concord, NH | January 16, 2008 – 6:00 PM | July 16, 2008 – 6:00 PM | February 20, 2008 – Cancelled | August 20, 2008 – 6:00 PM | March 19, 2008 – 6:00 PM | September 17, 2008 – 6:00 PM | April 16, 2008 – 6:00 PM | October 15, 2008 – 6:00 PM | May 21, 2008 – 6:00 PM | November 2008 – Annual Meeting To Be Announced | June 18, 2008 – 6:00 PM | December 2008 – No Meeting Scheduled | MOTA-NH Phone Number: 603 224-0408 |
As of: Thursday, April 17, 2008 03:24 PM ― the next meeting of this board is scheduled for May 12, 2008 at 1:00PM State Board of Manufactured Housing meets in the Legislative Office Building room 201, Concord, New Hampshire. To get the form needed to file a complaint click here, it is a PDF document. Link to RSA 205A index
As of: Thursday, April 17, 2008 03:24 PM – The next meeting of the Installation Standards Board is scheduled to held at 9:00AM Thursday May 8, 2008 in the 2nd Floor Conference Room, Department of Safety, 33 Hazen Drive, Concord NH 03305. The meeting originally scheduled for April 11, 2008 was cancelled on April 10th. MHISB - Organizational Rules Table of Contents Statutory Authority: RSA 205-D:20 and RSA 541-A
MHISB - Organizational Rules 100-700 As post at the State of New Hampshire's General Courts website - Format HTML (44 pages)
Below are the individual Chapters in PDF  Format with page count:
Legislative News As of: Thursday, April 17, 2008 03:24 PM 09/27/2007 - We just wanted to let you know that House Bill HB232 and Senate Bill SB218 that we supported during the 2007 Legislative Session were set aside. MOTA NH and our group of collaborators and advisors which included New Hampshire Legal Assistance and New Hampshire Community Loan Fund will not be pursuing these two bills during the remainder of this session but will be addressing those issues that seem confusing in order to develop better wording for new legislation in the 2009 session. House Bill 232 that passed the New Hampshire House with amendments (251 to 97) then stalled in the Senate. This bill would have prohibited rent increases based on judgments in manufactured housing park disputes and addresses in part the Fair Affordable Housing issue in New Hampshire. Senate Bill 218 "This bill would have made any violation of the "notice of sale requirements" for manufactured housing parks, a violation of the consumer protection act. The bill would also have increased the potential damages for failing to give the required notice and prohibits undisclosed side agreements between a park owner and a buyer". We ask members and those of you who want to assist in supporting these bills to email any suggestions and opinions to the MOTA NH Board so that we can hopefully draft better legislation that is easier to understand and also try and address those concerns and suggestions that you provide.
We want to thank the Representatives and Senators that helped us sponsor these bills and say that “although we were unsuccessful in the 2007 session", we appreciate their efforts and hope they will continue to address those concerns in the future. We also hope we can continue to count on their continued support in our efforts to strengthen laws that effect and protect thousands of Manufactured Housing residents in the State of New Hampshire. Best Regards, Lois Parris president@mota-nh.org
Are posted to the interactive "MOTA-Vator" Online Newsletter "A conversational forum to discuss manufactured Housing Issues in New Hampshire" | 
| MOTA Board Members left to right Lynn Booth, Dave Stack, Gayle Baird, Lois Parris, Rob Hunt, John Cannon & Davida Barnes at MOTA New Hampshire 2007 Annual Meeting held in Concord, NH on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2007, in the bottom right corner are former Board Members Bill Rivers and Norm Tondreau. |
By: Attorney Rob Hunt, One Small Law May Provide Powerful Protection to Manufactured Housing Park Tenants Tenants in Manufactured Housing Parks are vulnerable to the park owners. This is not a concern when the park owners are honest and decent people. However, when park owners seek to take advantage of their tenants, it becomes very difficult because tenants have limited options under those circumstances. Unlike people renting a house or an apartment, park tenants usually own the home and pay rent for the lot. It is not as simple as just moving out. Park tenants have numerous ways to defend themselves against unscrupulous park owners. Of particular importance is Chapter 205-A of the New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated (or RSA 205-A). This is a set of laws enacted by the NH legislature that helps provide some protection to tenants in manufactured housing parks when the park owners act unreasonably. RSA 205-A:2 provides a list of actions that park owners are prohibited from doing. For example, a park owner may not: Charge or attempt to charge a tenant for repair or maintenance to any underground system, such as oil tanks, or water, electrical or septic systems, for causes not due to the negligence of the tenant or transfer or attempt to transfer to a current tenant responsibility for such repair or maintenance to the tenant by gift or otherwise of all or part of any such underground system. More interestingly, RSA 205-A:13-a states: Any violation of the provisions of RSA 205-A:2 shall also constitute an unfair trade practice within the meaning of RSA 358-A and may be enforced as provided in RSA 358-A. This not so well known provision provides manufactured housing park tenants with some potentially powerful ammunition against park owners who violate one of the prohibitions listed in RSA 205-A, especially if park owners have done so willfully or knowingly. The reason this provides tenants with potential power is because RSA 358-A is the NH Consumer Protection Act. It is designed to protect consumers from unfair or deceptive trade practices. Most importantly, RSA 358-A:10, 1 reads as follows: Any person injured by another's use of any method, act or practice declared unlawful under this chapter may bring an action for damages and for such equitable relief, including an injunction, as the court deems necessary and proper. If the court finds for the plaintiff, recovery shall be in the amount of actual damages or $1,000, whichever is greater. If the court finds that the use of the method of competition or the act or practice was a willful or knowing violation of this chapter, it shall award as much as 3 times, but not less than 2 times, such amount. In addition, a prevailing plaintiff shall be awarded the costs of the suit and reasonable attorney's fees, as determined by the court. Any attempted waiver of the right to the damages set forth in this paragraph shall be void and unenforceable. Injunctive relief shall be available to private individuals under this chapter without bond, subject to the discretion of the court. Arguably, each violation of RSA 205-A by a manufactured housing park owner could entitle the injured tenant to $1,000.00 in damages per violation. If the court finds that the park owner acted willfully or knowingly, it shall award at least 2 times that, per violation, and could award up to 3 times that amount, per violation. This may not seem like much if there is only one or two violations. But if there are multiple violations for one tenant, or, more likely, one or two violations against every person in the park, the potential for damages could become very substantial. Furthermore, the park owner might be subject to separate fines to be paid to that state under other provisions of the law. Knowledge of this law may allow you, or your attorney, to persuade an otherwise stubborn park owner to stop violating the law. If they do not stop, it may mean a substantial damages award from a court for the tenant or for all the tenants in a particular park.
Robert D. Hunt, Esquire
Robert D. Hunt, P.A., Gilford, NH 03249 http://www.robhuntlaw.com email: robhunt@robhuntlaw.com
Phone: (603) 581-7102 or (800) 706-6670
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