103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB2835

 

Introduced 1/19/2024, by Sen. Laura M. Murphy

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

    Creates the Mobile and Manufactured Home Ombudsperson Act. Creates the Office of Mobile and Manufactured Home Ombudsperson within the Department of Public Health. Provides that the Ombudsperson shall offer training, educational materials and course offerings for residents, owners, and other interested persons or groups on the operation and management of mobile and manufactured home parks and the relevant laws that are applicable. Requires the Ombudsperson to establish a written policy for resolving complaints made by residents and a dispute resolution process to assist resolving disputes between owners of mobile home parks and residents.


LRB103 36768 JRC 66878 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB2835LRB103 36768 JRC 66878 b

1    AN ACT concerning property.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Mobile
5and Manufactured Home Ombudsperson Act.
 
6    Section 5. Applicability. This Act applies to all mobile
7and manufactured home parks governed by the Mobile Home Park
8Act and Mobile Home Landlord and Tenant Rights Act.
 
9    Section 10. Definitions. As used in the Act:
10    "Manufactured home" means a factory-assembled, completely
11integrated structure designed for permanent habitation, with a
12permanent chassis, and so constructed as to permit its
13transport, on wheels temporarily or permanently attached to
14its frame, and is a movable or portable unit that is (i) 8 body
15feet or more in width, (ii) 40 body feet or more in length, and
16(iii) 320 or more square feet, constructed to be towed on its
17own chassis (comprised of frame and wheels) from the place of
18its construction to the location, or subsequent locations, at
19which it is connected to utilities for year-round occupancy
20for use as a permanent habitation, and designed and situated
21so as to permit its occupancy as a dwelling place for one or
22more persons, and specifically includes a "manufactured home"

 

 

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1as defined in subdivision (53) of Section 9-102 of the Uniform
2Commercial Code. The term shall include units containing parts
3that may be folded, collapsed, or telescoped when being towed
4and that may be expected to provide additional cubic capacity,
5and that are designed to be joined into one integral unit
6capable of being separated again into the components for
7repeated towing. The term excludes campers and recreational
8vehicles. The words "mobile home" and "manufactured home" are
9synonymous for the purposes of this Act, but the term "mobile
10home" does not include modular homes and their support
11systems.
12    "Mobile home park" means a tract of land or 2 or more
13contiguous tracts of land upon which contain sites with the
14necessary utilities for 5 or more independent mobile homes for
15permanent habitation either free of charge or for revenue
16purposes, and shall include any building, structure, vehicle,
17or enclosure used or intended for use as a part of the
18equipment of such mobile home park. Separate ownership of
19contiguous tracts of land shall not preclude the tracts of
20land from common licensure as a mobile home park if they are
21maintained and operated jointly. Neither an immobilized mobile
22home nor a motorized recreational vehicle shall be construed
23as being a part of a mobile home park. The terms "mobile home
24park" and "park" are synonymous for the purposes of this Act.
25    "Department" means the Department of Public Health, unless
26otherwise indicated.

 

 

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1    "Site" means the lot on which the mobile home is located
2for a period of 2 or more months.
3    "Owner" means the owner of a mobile home site and any
4person authorized to exercise any aspect of the management of
5the premises, including any person who directly or indirectly
6receives rents and has no obligation to deliver the whole of
7such receipts to another person.
8    "Resident" means any person who occupies a mobile home for
9dwelling purposes or a lot on which the person parks a mobile
10home for an agreed upon consideration.
11    "Managing agent" means any person or entity responsible
12for the operation, management, or maintenance of a mobile home
13park or manufactured home community.
 
14    Section 15. Office of the Mobile and Manufactured Home
15Ombudsperson.
16    (a) There is created within the Department of Public
17Health, under the supervision and control of the Director, the
18Office of the Mobile and Manufactured Home Ombudsperson.
19    (b) The Department shall name an Ombudsperson and other
20persons necessary to discharge the requirements of this Act.
21The Ombudsperson shall have the powers delegated to them by
22the Department in addition to the powers set forth in this Act.
23    (c) Neither the Ombudsperson nor the Department shall have
24any authority to consider matters that may constitute grounds
25for charges or complaints under the Illinois Human Rights Act;

 

 

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1that are properly brought before the Department of Human
2Rights or the Human Rights Commission; before a comparable
3department or body established by a county, municipality, or
4township pursuant to an ordinance prohibiting discrimination
5and established for the purpose of investigating and
6adjudicating charges or complaints of discrimination under the
7ordinance; or before a federal agency or commission that
8administers and enforces federal anti-discrimination laws and
9investigates and adjudicates charges or complaints of
10discrimination under such laws.
11    (d) Information and advice provided by the Ombudsperson
12has no binding legal effect and is not subject to the
13provisions of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.
 
14    Section 20. Training and education. On or before July 1,
152025, the Ombudsperson shall begin offering training,
16outreach, and educational materials and may also arrange for
17the offering of courses to applicants, licensees, mobile and
18manufactured home residents, mobile and manufactured home park
19owners, park managers, and any other person or group the
20Department deems appropriate in subjects relevant to: (i) the
21operation and management of mobile home and manufactured home
22sites and parks; and (ii) the Mobile Home Park Act, the Mobile
23Home Landlord and Tenant Rights Act, the Abandoned Mobile Home
24Act, and the Illinois Mobile Home Tiedown Act.
 

 

 

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1    Section 25. Website; toll-free number.
2    (a) The Office shall maintain on the Department's website
3the following information:
4        (1) the text of this Act, the Mobile Home Park Act, the
5    Mobile Home Landlord and Tenant Rights Act, the Abandoned
6    Mobile Home Act, the Illinois Mobile Home Tiedown Act, and
7    any other statute, administrative rule, or regulation that
8    the Ombudsperson determines is relevant to the operation
9    and management of a mobile and manufactured home park or
10    site;
11        (2) information concerning non-judicial resolution of
12    disputes that may arise within a mobile and manufactured
13    home park, including, but not limited to, alternative
14    dispute resolution programs and contacts for locally
15    available dispute resolution programs;
16        (3) a description of the services provided by the
17    Ombudsperson and information on how to contact the
18    Ombudsperson for assistance; and
19        (4) any other information that the Ombudsperson
20    determines is useful to park managers, licensees, mobile
21    and manufactured home residents, and mobile and
22    manufactured home and site owners.
23    (b) The Office may make available during regular business
24hours a statewide toll-free telephone number to provide
25information and resources on matters relating to mobile and
26manufactured home parks.
 

 

 

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1    Section 30. Written policy for resolving complaints.
2    (a) Each park, except for those specified in subsection
3(b) of this Section, shall adopt a written policy for
4resolving complaints made by residents. The park shall make
5the policy available to all residents upon request. The policy
6must include:
7        (1) a sample form on which a resident may make a
8    complaint to the park managing agent;
9        (2) a description of the process by which complaints
10    shall be delivered to the park managing agent;
11        (3) the park managing agent's timeline and manner of
12    making final determinations in response to a unit owner's
13    complaint; and
14        (4) a requirement that the final determination made by
15    the park's managing agent in response to a resident's
16    complaint be:
17            (i) made in writing;
18            (ii) made within 180 days after the park's
19        managing agent receives the resident's original
20        complaint; and
21            (iii) marked clearly and conspicuously as "final".
22    (b) Mobile and manufactured home parks exempted from the
23Mobile Home Park Act are not required to have a written policy
24for resolving complaints.
25    (c) No later than July 1, 2025, parks, except for those

 

 

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1identified in subsection (b) of this Section, must establish
2and adopt the policy required under this Section.
3    (d) Parks first licensed after July 1, 2025, except for
4those identified in subsection (b) of this Section, must
5establish and adopt the policy required under this Section
6within 180 days following licensure.
7    (e) A resident may not bring a request for assistance
8under Section 40 of this Act for a park's lack of or inadequacy
9of a written policy to resolve complaints but may notify the
10Department in writing of the park's lack of or inadequacy of a
11written policy.
 
12    Section 35. Dispute resolution.
13    (a) Beginning on July 1, 2025, and subject to
14appropriation, owners and residents meeting the requirements
15of this Section may make a written request, as outlined in
16subsection (f) of this Section, to the Ombudsperson for
17assistance in resolving a dispute that involves a violation of
18the Act.
19    (b) The Ombudsperson shall not accept requests for
20resolutions of disputes for which there is a pending complaint
21filed in any court or administrative tribunal in any
22jurisdiction or for which arbitration or alternative dispute
23resolution is scheduled to occur or has previously occurred.
24    (c) The assistance described in subsection (a) of this
25Section is available only to owners and residents. For a

 

 

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1resident to receive the assistance from the Ombudsperson
2described in subsection (a) of this Section, the resident
3must:
4        (1) Owe no outstanding assessments, fees, or funds to
5    the park, unless the assessments, fees, or funds are
6    central to the dispute;
7        (2) Allege a dispute that was initiated, or initially
8    occurred, within the 2 calendar years preceding the date
9    of the request;
10        (3) Have made a written complaint pursuant to the
11    Park's complaint policy, as outlined in Section 35, which
12    alleged violations of the Acts;
13        (4) Have received a final and adverse decision from
14    the Park's managing agent and attach a copy of the Park's
15    managing agent's final adverse decision marked "final" to
16    the request of the Ombudsperson; and
17        (5) Have filed the request within 30 days after the
18    receipt of the park's final adverse decision.
19    (d) A resident who has not received a response, marked
20"final," to their complaint from the park within a reasonable
21time may request assistance from the Ombudsperson under
22subsection (a) of this Section if the resident meets the
23requirements of items (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (c) of
24this Section. A resident may not request assistance from the
25Ombudsperson until at least 90 days after the initial written
26complaint was submitted to the park's managing agent. The

 

 

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1Ombudsperson may decline a resident's request for assistance
2on the basis that a reasonable time has not yet passed.
3    (e) The request for assistance shall be in writing, on
4forms provided electronically by the Ombudsperson, and include
5the following:
6        (1) the name, address, and contact information of the
7    owner or resident;
8        (2) the name, address, and contact information of the
9    park;
10        (3) the applicable park governing documents unless the
11    absence of governing documents is central to the dispute;
12        (4) the date of the final adverse decision by the
13    park's managing agent;
14        (5) a copy of the park's written complaint policy
15    required under Section 35 of this Act;
16        (6) a copy of the owner or resident's complaint to the
17    park's managing agent with a specific reference to the
18    alleged violations of the Act;
19        (7) documentation verifying the owner's ownership of a
20    unit, or documentation verifying the resident's lease of
21    the property; and
22        (8) a copy of the park's managing agent adverse
23    decision marked "final," if applicable.
24    (f) On receipt of an owner or resident's request for
25assistance that the Department determines meets the
26requirements of this Section, the Ombudsperson shall, within

 

 

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1the limits of the available resources, confer with the
2interested parties and assist in efforts to resolve the
3dispute by mutual agreement of the parties.
4    (g) The Ombudsperson shall assist only opposing parties
5who mutually agree to participate in dispute resolution.
6    (h) An owner or resident is limited to one request for
7assistance per dispute. The meaning of dispute is to be
8broadly interpreted by the Department.
9    (i) The Department has the authority to determine whether
10or not a final decision is adverse under paragraph (4) of
11subsection (c) of this Section.
12    (j) The Department shall, on or before July 1, 2025,
13establish rules describing the time limit, method, and manner
14for dispute resolution.
 
15    Section 40. Confidentiality.
16    (a) All information collected by the Department in the
17course of addressing a request for assistance or for any other
18purpose pursuant to this Act shall be maintained for the
19confidential use of the Department and shall not be disclosed.
20The Department shall not disclose the information to anyone
21other than law enforcement officials or regulatory agencies
22that have an appropriate regulatory interest as determined by
23the Director. Information and documents disclosed to a
24federal, State, county, or local law enforcement agency shall
25not be disclosed by that agency for any purpose to any other

 

 

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1agency or person.
2    (b) A request for information made to the Department or
3the Ombudsperson under this Act does not constitute a request
4under the Freedom of Information Act.
5    (c) The confidentiality provisions of this Section do not
6extend to educational, training, outreach material,
7statistical data, and operational information maintained by
8the Department in administering this Act.
 
9    Section 45. Reports. The Department shall submit an annual
10written report on the activities of the Office to the General
11Assembly. The Department shall submit the first report no
12later than July 1, 2026. Beginning in 2027, the Department
13shall submit the report no later than October 1 of each year.
14The report shall include all of the following:
15        (1) annual workload and performance data, including
16    (i) the number of requests for information; (ii) training,
17    education, or other information provided; (iii) the manner
18    in which education and training was conducted; and (iv)
19    the staff time required to provide the training,
20    education, or other information. For each category of
21    data, the report shall provide subtotals based on the type
22    of question or dispute involved in the request; and
23        (2) if relevant information is available, analysis of
24    the most common and serious types of concerns happening in
25    mobile home parks, along with any recommendations for

 

 

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1    statutory reform to reduce the frequency or severity of
2    those disputes.
 
3    Section 50. Rules. The Department may, from time to time,
4adopt such rules as are necessary for the administration and
5enforcement of any provision of this Act. Any rule adopted
6under this Act is subject to the rulemaking provisions of the
7Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.
 
8    Section 55. State Lawsuit Immunity Act. Nothing in this
9Act shall be construed to constitute a waiver of the immunity
10of the State, Department, Office, or Ombudsperson, or any
11officer, employee, or agent thereof under the State Lawsuit
12Immunity Act.