§ 7019 — Retaliatory acts prohibited

Delaware § 7019

• Jurisdiction: Delaware
• Title: 25
• Part: Manufactured Home Communities
• Ch. 70: Manufactured Homes and Manufactured Home Communities Act
• Subch.: Landlord-Tenant Relationship

Text

(a) Retaliatory acts are prohibited.

(b) A retaliatory act is an attempted or completed act on the part of a landlord to pursue an action against a tenant for summary possession, to terminate a tenant’s rental agreement, to cause a tenant to move involuntarily from a rented lot in the manufactured home community, or to decrease services to which a tenant is entitled under a rental agreement, after any of the following occur:

(1) The tenant has complained in good faith to either the landlord or to an enforcement authority about a condition affecting the premises of the manufactured home community which constitutes a violation under subchapters I through V of this chapter or a violation of a housing, health, building, sanitation, or other applicable statute or regulation.

(2) An enforcement authority has instituted an enforcement action based on a complaint by the tenant for a violation under subchapters I through V of this chapter or a violation of a housing, health, building, sanitation, or other applicable statute or regulation with respect to the premises.

(3) The tenant has formed or participated in a manufactured home tenants’ organization or association.

(4) The tenant has filed a legal action against the landlord or the landlord’s agent for any reason.

(c) If a tenant proves that a landlord attempted to commit or committed an act under subsection (b) of this section within 90 days of the tenant’s action under paragraphs (b)(1) through (b)(4) of this section, the landlord’s act is presumed to be a retaliatory act.

(d) Affirmative defenses to a claim that a landlord attempted to commit or committed a retaliatory act include proof by a preponderance of the evidence of any of the following:

(1) The landlord had due cause for termination of the rental agreement under subchapters I through V of this chapter and gave the required notice to the tenant.

(2) The tenant’s legal action against the landlord relates to a condition caused by the lack of ordinary care by the tenant or by a resident of the tenant’s manufactured home or by a guest or visitor on the premises with the tenant’s or resident’s consent.

(3) The rented lot was in substantial compliance with all applicable statutes and regulations on the date of the filing of the tenant’s legal action against the landlord.

(4) The landlord could not have reasonably remedied the condition complained of by the tenant by the date of the filing of the tenant’s legal action against the landlord.

(e) A tenant subjected to a retaliatory act set forth in subsection (b) of this section is entitled to recover the greater of 3 months’ rent, or 3 times the damages sustained by the resident, in addition to the court costs of the legal action.

Legislative History

25 Del. C. 1953, § 7009; 58 Del. Laws, c. 286 ; 58 Del. Laws, c. 472, § 4 ; 65 Del. Laws, c. 446, § 1 ; 66 Del. Laws, c. 268, § 1 ; 69 Del. Laws, c. 291, § 98(c) ; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1 ; 74 Del. Laws, c. 35, § 2 ; 82 Del. Laws, c. 38, § 23