Little Mountain Estates Tenants Ass'n v. Lme

192 P.3d 378
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedSeptember 15, 2008
Docket57810-3-I
StatusPublished

This text of 192 P.3d 378 (Little Mountain Estates Tenants Ass'n v. Lme) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Little Mountain Estates Tenants Ass'n v. Lme, 192 P.3d 378 (Wash. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

192 P.3d 378 (2008)

LITTLE MOUNTAIN ESTATES TENANTS ASSOCIATION, a Washington Non-profit corporation, as assignee, Jerry Jewett Virginia Hadleman, Marie McCutchin, and Wes Walton, on behalf of themselves and classes of similarly situated persons, Appellants,
v.
LITTLE MOUNTAIN ESTATES MHC LLC, a Limited Liability Company, Peregrine Holdings, LLC, Kevin A. Ware and Kari M. Ware, husband and wife and the marital community composed thereof, Respondents.

No. 57810-3-I.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 1.

July 21, 2008.
Publication Ordered September 15, 2008.

*379 Thomas P. Sughrua, Sughrua & Associates, Seattle, WA, T. Reinhard G `ron' Wolff, Attorney at Law, Conway, WA, Philip James Buri, Buri Funston Mumford PLLC, Bellingham, WA, for Appellants.

C. Thomas Moser, Attorney at Law, Mount Vernon, WA, Michael Barr King, Sidney Charlotte Tribe, Talmadge Fitzpatrick PLLC, Tukwila, WA, Troy Robert Nehring, Olsen Law Firm PLLC, Kent, WA, for Respondents.

SCHINDLER, C.J.

¶ 1 The Manufactured/Mobile Home Landlord Tenant Act (MHLTA), chapter 59.20 RCW, governs the legal rights and obligations between mobile home park landlords and tenants. Under the MHLTA, a tenant has the right to assign a rental agreement. A rental agreement cannot contain any provision that waives a tenant's rights under the MHLTA, and if a provision in the rental agreement conflicts with the MHLTA, it is unenforceable. The "Little Mountain Estates 25 Year Lease Agreement," contains a rent adjustment formula tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and a provision stating that when a tenant assigns a lease to a new owner, the remainder of the tenant's 25-year term is automatically converted to a one-year or a two-year term. We reject the tenants' argument that the court erred in enforcing the rent adjustment formula in the lease agreement. However, because the tenants had the right to assign their leases under the *380 MHLTA and could not waive that right in the lease agreement, we reverse the trial court's determination that as a matter of law the conversion clause in the 25-year lease agreement did not violate the MHLTA. We also remand to address the tenants' Consumer Protection Act (CPA), chapter 19.86 RCW, claim.

FACTS

¶ 2 In August 2002, the Little Mountain Estates Tenants Association and tenants Jerry Jewett, Virginia Haldeman, Marie McCutchin, and Wes Walton (collectively "the tenants") sued Little Mountain Estates Manufactured Home Community, LLC (LME).

¶ 3 LME was built in the early 1990s as an upscale, gated, 120-lot manufactured housing community for older adults. LME struggled to find tenants because of the economic and political instability in the early 1990s. In an effort to attract tenants, LME entered into a marketing agreement with a manufactured homes dealer, Lamplighter Homes (Lamplighter). From 1990 to 1997, LME offered a 25-year lease with a maximum annual rent increase tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to tenants who either purchased a model home from Lamplighter or purchased and moved a new manufactured home to LME. LME and Lamplighter advertised the 25-year lease through radio, brochures and other written advertisements. Some of the written advertisements state that the details of the rental agreement would be "specified in the lease."[1]

¶ 4 The new manufactured homes purchased by the tenants cost between $60,000 and $80,000. To "[i]nsure quality and overall community appearance" of LME, the tenants also had to comply with the requirements of the "Little Mountain Estates Park Amenity Package" prior to moving in. The mandatory amenity package included requirements to install concrete slabs, a concrete sidewalk to the street or a driveway, "pit set"[2] the manufactured home on the lot, install sewer, water, and electrical connections, and complete landscaping according to the LME specifications. The cost of the improvements required by the mandatory amenity package ranged from $15,000 to $18,000.

¶ 5 It is undisputed that the tenants did not sign written lease agreements before moving in. It is also undisputed that after moving in, each of the tenants and LME entered into the "Little Mountain Estates 25 Year Lease Agreement." The lease unequivocally provides a tenancy of 25 years for a designated space at LME. The lease also sets forth the amount of rent due each month for the first year. Thereafter, the amount "shall be subject to an annual formula per Attachment A." For example, the lease signed by Jerry and Betty Jewett provides:

1. DESCRIPTION OF PREMISES: Landlord hereby leases to Tenant that certain space in the County of Skagit, State of Washington described as space number 38, Little Mountain Estates, Skagit County, Washington.
2. TERM: The term of this tenancy shall be twenty-five years commencing on 12-1-94, and continuing through Nov. 30, 2019.
3. RENT: Tenant shall pay to Landlord $310.00 per month as rent; through Nov. 30, 1995 and thereafter shall be subject to an annual adjustment formula per Attachment A....[3]

¶ 6 The assignment provision in the LME 25-Year Lease Agreement states that the lease is assignable subject to the limitations in "Attachment B."

ASSIGNMENT; SUBLETTING: This lease is assignable, providing that such assignment conforms with the limitations and language in Attachment `B'. Subletting the manufactured home, the lot space, or any part thereof is not permitted.

The one-page attachment to the 25-year lease, titled "Little Mountain Estates," includes *381 Attachment A and Attachment B. Attachment A is clearly labeled "RENT ADJUSTMENT FORMULA" and is set forth first. It contains a description of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the formula for calculating rent adjustments. Halfway down the page is the heading "Attachment `B.'" Attachment B does not have a similar label to explain its purpose. Attachment B states that the tenant can assign the lease to a new owner subject to the conditions set forth in five different subsections, subsections (a) to (e).

¶ 7 Subsection (a) of Attachment B requires the tenant to pay all outstanding rent, taxes, and fees prior to transferring the lease. Subsection (b) addresses the requirements for the landlord's approval of the assignment. Subsection (c) states that upon assignment, the lease agreement is automatically converted to a one-year or a two-year lease. Subsection (d) states that the assignment provision applies to all transfers and subsection (e) allows LME to assign its interest in the lease to a third party purchaser. Attachment B provides:

This lease shall be assignable by tenant only to a person to whom Tenant sells or transfers title to the manufactured home on said lot subject to the following:
(a) All outstanding taxes, rents and/or fees owed by the tenant must be paid prior to such transfer.
(b) Subject to the approval of Landlord after fifteen (15) days written notice by Tenant of such intended assignment. Landlord shall approve or disapprove of the assignment of this lease on the same basis that Landlord approves or disapproves of any new tenant or manufactured home.
(c) Upon assignment by Tenant of Tenant's leasehold interest in the homesite, this rental agreement shall automatically convert to a one (1) year lease beginning on the effective date of the assignment.

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Bluebook (online)
192 P.3d 378, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/little-mountain-estates-tenants-assn-v-lme-washctapp-2008.