Kingstown Mobile Home Park v. Strashnick, 774 A.2d 847 (2001)

Citation: Kingstown Mobile Home Park v. Strashnick, 774 A.2d 847 (2001)
Parent Document: Kingstown Mobile Home Park v. Strashnick, 774 A.2d 847 (2001)
Jurisdiction: Rhode Island (state)
Effective Date: 2001-06-26
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1515698/kingstown-mobile-home-park-v-st... ↗

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Before continuing with our resolution of this case, we briefly review the provisions and purposes of the Rhode Island statute. The Rhode Island Mobile and Manufactured Homes Act (mobile home act), chapter 44 of title 31, was enacted in 1984 with an effective date of July 1, 1985. It defines seventeen significant terms to aid in the interpretation of the chapter, § 31-44-1, and, along with other provisions, sets forth the process of mobile home park licensing, § 31-44-1.7, and provides for triennial surveys by the Department of Health, § 31-44-1.8. The mobile home act establishes notice requirements for the rules and regulations of a park, § 31-44-3, and specifies the necessary procedures to be followed for an eviction of a mobile home park tenant in § 31-44-2, the section at issue in the present case. It further requires a park owner to provide a written lease of no less than one year and prohibits the operator from charging an entrance fee or from providing for one in the lease. Section 31-44-7. Pursuant to § 31-44-17, any owner of a mobile home park or any resident therein may file a complaint with the director of the Department of Business Regulation, whose decision may be appealed to the Superior Court.5 The statute on the whole affords tenants of mobile home parks more protection than tenants enjoy in other residential housing. For example, pursuant to § 31-44-3.1, a tenants’ association has a right of first refusal to purchase before a park may be sold or leased for any purpose that would result in a discontinuance of its use as a mobile home park. As noted previously, in case of a discontinuance due to sale or leasing of a park, tenants are entitled to relocation benefits pursuant to § 31-44-3.2.

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