§ 21-82 — Owner's responsibilities. Resident's responsibilities. Payment of rent. Terms and conditions of rental agreement. Remedy for unlawful entry. Mitigation of damages. Acceptance of overdue rent.

Connecticut § 21-82

• Jurisdiction: Connecticut
• Title 21: Licenses
• Ch. 412: Mobile Manufactured Homes and Mobile Manufactured Home Parks. Park Owners and Residents

Text

(a) At all times during the tenancy the owner shall: (1) Comply with the requirements of the State Building Code, the Fire Safety Code, and all applicable state laws and regulations, local ordinances and planning and zoning regulations materially affecting health and safety; (2) Maintain the premises and regrade them when necessary to prevent the accumulation of stagnant water and to prevent the detrimental effects of moving water; (3) Maintain the ground at such a level that the mobile manufactured home will not tilt from its original position; (4) Keep each mobile manufactured home space or lot marked in such a way that each resident will be certain of his area of responsibility; (5) Keep any exterior area of the park not the responsibility of each resident free from any species of weed or plant growth which are noxious or detrimental to the health of the residents; (6) Make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the portion of the mobile manufactured home park that is not the responsibility of each resident in a fit and habitable condition, except where such premises are intentionally rendered unfit or uninhabitable by the resident, a member of his family or other person on the premises with his consent, in which case such duty shall be the responsibility of the resident; (7) Keep all common areas of the premises in a clean and safe condition; (8) Be responsible for the extermination of any insect, rodent, vermin or other pest dangerous to the health of the residents whenever infestation exists in the area of the park not the responsibility of the resident or in the area for which the resident is responsible including the mobile manufactured home if such infestation is not the fault of the resident and particularly if such infestation existed prior to the occupancy of the resident claiming relief; (9) Maintain all mobile manufactured homes rented by the owner in a condition which is structurally sound and capable of withstanding adverse effects of weather conditions; (10) Maintain all electrical, plumbing, gas or other utilities provided by him in good working condition except during any emergency after which any repair shall be completed within seventy-two hours unless good cause is shown as to why such repair has not been completed; (11) Maintain all water and sewage lines and connections in good working order, and in the event of any emergency, make necessary arrangements for the provision of such service on a temporary basis; (12) Arrange for the removal from waste receptacles of ashes, garbage, rubbish and other waste incidental to the occupancy of the dwelling unit; (13) Maintain any road within the park in good condition, provide adequate space for parking of two cars for each lot except that any park which provided only one space for each lot on January 1, 1985, and which provided only one space for each lot on October 1, 1972, shall be exempt from such requirement, and be responsible for damage to any vehicle which is the direct result of any unrepaired or poorly maintained access road within the park; (14) Respect the privacy of the resident and if only the space or lot is rented, agree to enter the mobile manufactured home only with the permission of the resident; (15) Allow all residents freedom of choice in the purchase of all services pursuant to section 21-78 ; (16) Allow a resident to terminate a rental agreement whenever a change in the location of such resident's employment requires a change in the location of his residence if such resident gives thirty days' notice; provided, a resident who is a member of the armed forces of the United States may terminate his rental agreement with less than notice of thirty days if he receives reassignment orders which do not allow such prior notification. (b) At all times during the tenancy the resident shall: (1) Comply with all obligations primarily imposed upon residents by applicable provisions of any building, housing or fire code materially affecting health and safety; (2) Keep the unit and his area of responsibility as marked by the owner in a clean and sanitary condition, free of garbage and rubbish; (3) Keep the supplied basic facilities including any plumbing fixture, cooking and refrigeration equipment and electrical fixtures in a rented mobile manufactured home unit in a clean and sanitary condition and exercise reasonable care in their proper use and operation; (4) Dispose of any rubbish, garbage and other waste material in a clean and sanitary manner; (5) Not wilfully or negligently destroy, deface, damage, impair or remove any part of the premises or permit any other person to do so; (6) Observe all reasonable rules of the owner concerning the use, occupation and maintenance of the premises, provided such reasonable rules are brought to his attention at the time he signs a rental agreement; (7) Unless otherwise agreed, occupy the dwelling unit only as a dwelling unit; (8) Conduct himself and require other persons on the premises with his consent to conduct themselves in a manner that will not disturb his neighbors' peaceful enjoyment of the premises or constitute a nuisance, as defined in section 47a-32 , or a serious nuisance, as defined in section 21-80 ; (9) If judgment has entered against a member of the resident's household pursuant to subsection (c) of section 47a-26h for serious nuisance by using the premises for the illegal sale of drugs, not permit such person to resume occupancy of the dwelling unit, except with the consent of the owner. (c) Rent is payable without demand or notice at the time and place agreed upon by the parties. Unless otherwise agreed, (1) rent is payable at the premises and (2) periodic rent is payable at the beginning of any term of one month or less and for terms of more than one month in equal monthly installments at the beginning of each month. In the absence of agreement, the resident shall pay the fair rental value for the use and occupancy of the premises. (d) The terms for the payment of rent shall be clearly set forth and any charge for services, space or lot rent, unit rent or any other charge shall be specifically itemized in the rental agreement and in any billing to the resident by the owner. The total rent for the term of the rental agreement shall be stated therein. (e) Reasonable rules for guest parking shall be clearly stated and unless violation thereof occurs, no fee shall be charged a resident or a guest. (f) Any action on the part of the resident which may be grounds for eviction from the park or termination of the rental agreement shall be clearly and specifically stated therein. (g) The right of the resident to sell his mobile manufactured home pursuant to section 21-79 shall be clearly stated in the rental agreement. (h) If the owner makes an entry prohibited by subdivision (14) of subsection (a) of this section, or makes repeated demands for entry otherwise lawful but which have the effect of unreasonably harassing the resident, the resident may recover actual damages not less than an amount equal to one month's rent and reasonable attorney's fees. The resident may also obtain injunctive relief to prevent the recurrence of the conduct or terminate the rental agreement. (i) If, during the term of a rental agreement, the resident removes his mobile manufactured home from a space or lot which he is renting, the owner shall make reasonable efforts to rent the space or lot at a fair rental in mitigation of damages. If the owner fails to use reasonable efforts to rent the space or lot at a fair rental, the rental agreement is deemed to be terminated by the owner as of the date the owner has notice of the abandonment. (j) Acceptance of rent with the knowledge that such rent is overdue constitutes a waiver of the owner's right to terminate the rental agreement for the resident's failure to pay such rent when it was due.

Legislative History

(P.A. 74-333, S. 7, 12; P.A. 77-614, S. 253, 610; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 83-3, S. 15; P.A. 85-512, S. 2; P.A. 91-383, S. 7.) History: P.A. 77-614 provided for the commissioner of consumer protection with advice and comments from the real estate commission to adopt regulations instead of the real estate commission to adopt such regulations, effective January 1, 1979; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 83-3 deleted reference to real estate commission and changed term “mobile home” to “mobile manufactured home”; P.A. 85-512 deleted provision requiring use of model rental agreement by park owners while retaining list of required provisions for each rental agreement; P.A. 91-383 amended Subsec. (a) by inserting a new Subdiv. (1) re duty to comply with state building code, fire safety code and applicable state and local laws, regulations and ordinances affecting health and safety, a new Subdiv. (6) re duty to make repairs and keep park in a fit and habitable condition, a new Subdiv. (7) re duty to keep all common areas in a clean and safe condition and a new Subdiv. (12) re duty to remove waste, redesignating former Subdiv. (12) re duty to maintain roads and provide parking as Subdiv. (13), renumbering the remaining Subdivs. accordingly, and deleting from renumbered Subdiv. (14) a provision re entry after notice to the resident of a mobile manufactured home which is the property of the owner, amended Subsec. (b) by inserting a new Subdiv. (1) re duty to comply with applicable provisions of building, housing or fire code materially affecting health and safety and a new Subdiv. (5) re duty not to destroy or damage the premises and renumbering the remaining Subdivs. accordingly, and added a new Subdiv. (7) re duty to occupy the dwelling unit only as a dwelling unit, a new Subdiv. (8) re duty to conduct oneself so as not to disturb neighbors or create a nuisance or serious nuisance and a new Subdiv. (9) re duty to not permit a person who has used the premises for the illegal sale of drugs to resume occupancy of the dwelling unit, inserted a new Subsec. (c) re time and place for payment of rent and relettered the remaining Subsecs. accordingly, and added Subsec. (h) re remedies of a resident for illegal entry by the owner, Subsec. (i) re owner's obligation to mitigate damages and Subsec. (j) re consequences of acceptance of overdue rent. Cited. 178 C. 586. Cited. 31 CA 575.