A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to grant greater consumer protection to residents of manufactured housing in north Carolina.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 20‑109.2 reads as rewritten:
"§ 20‑109.2.  Surrender of title to manufactured home.
(a)	Surrender of Title. – If a title has been issued for a manufactured home and the manufactured home qualifies as real property as defined in G.S. 105‑273(13), the owner shall submit an affidavit to the Division that the manufactured home meets this definition and surrender the certificate of title to the Division.
(b)	Affidavit. – The affidavit must be in a form approved by the Commissioner and shall include or provide for all of the following information:
(1)	The manufacturer and, if applicable, the model name of the manufactured home.
(2)	The vehicle identification number and serial number of the manufactured home.
(3)	The legal description of the real property on which the manufactured home is placed, stating that the owner of the manufactured home also owns the real property or that the owner of the manufactured home has entered into a lease with a primary term of at least 20 years for the real property on which the manufactured home is affixed with a copy of the lease or a memorandum thereof pursuant to G.S. 47‑18 attached to the affidavit, if not previously recorded.
(4)	A description of any security interests in the manufactured home.
(5)	A section for the Division's notation or statement that the title has been surrendered and cancelled by the Division.
(c)	Cancellation. – Upon compliance by the owner with the procedure for surrender of title, the Division shall rescind and cancel the certificate of title. If a security interest has been recorded on the certificate of title and not released by the secured party, the Division may not cancel the title without written consent from all secured parties. After cancelling the title, the Division shall return the original of the affidavit to the owner, or to the secured party having the first recorded security interest, with the Division's notation or statement that the title has been surrendered and has been cancelled by the Division. The owner or secured party shall file the affidavit returned by the Division with the office of the register of deeds of the county where the real property is located. The Division may charge five dollars ($5.00) for a cancellation of a title under this section.
(d)	Application for Title After Cancellation. – If the owner of a manufactured home whose certificate of title has been cancelled under this section subsequently seeks to separate the manufactured home from the real property, the owner may apply for a new certificate of title. The owner must submit to the Division an affidavit containing the same information set out in subsection (b) of this section, verification that the manufactured home has been removed from the real property, and written consent of any affected owners of recorded mortgages, deeds of trust, or security interests in the real property where the manufactured home was placed. The Commissioner may require evidence sufficient to demonstrate that all affected owners of security interests have been notified and consent. Upon receipt of this information, together with a title application and required fee, the Division is authorized to issue a new title for the manufactured home.
(e)	Sanctions. – Any person who violates this section is subject to a civil penalty of up to one hundred dollars ($100.00), to be imposed in the discretion of the Commissioner."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 47‑20.6(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	If the owner of real property or the owner of the manufactured home who has entered into a lease with a primary term of at least 20 years for the real property on which the manufactured home is affixed has surrendered the title to a manufactured home that is placed on the real property and the title has been cancelled by the Division of Motor Vehicles under G.S. 20‑109.2, the owner, or the secured party having the first security interest in the manufactured home at time of surrender, shall record the affidavit described in G.S. 20‑109.2 with the office of the register of deeds of the county where the real property is located. Upon recordation, the affidavit shall be indexed on the grantor index in the name of the owner of the manufactured home and on the grantee index in the name of the secured party or lienholder, if any."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 47‑20.7(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	A person who owns real property on which a manufactured home has been or will be placed or the owner of a manufactured home who has entered into a lease with a primary term of at least 20 years for the real property on which the manufactured home has been or will be placed, as defined in G.S. 105‑273(13), and either where the manufactured home has never been titled by the Division of Motor Vehicles or where the title to the manufactured home has been surrendered and cancelled by the Division prior to January 1, 2002, may record in the office of the register of deeds of the county where the real property is located a declaration of intent to affix the manufactured home to the property and may convey or encumber the real property, including the manufactured home, by a deed, deed of trust, or other instrument recorded in the office of the register of deeds."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 105‑273(13) reads as rewritten:
"§ 105‑273.  Definitions.
When used in this Subchapter (unless the context requires a different meaning):
…
(13)	"Real property," "real estate," and "land" mean not only the land itself, but also buildings, structures, improvements, and permanent fixtures on the land, and all rights and privileges belonging or in any way appertaining to the property. These terms also mean a manufactured home as defined in G.S. 143‑143.9(6) if it is a residential structure; has the moving hitch, wheels, and axles removed; and is placed upon a permanent foundation either on land owned by the owner of the manufactured home or on land in which the owner of the manufactured home has a leasehold interest pursuant to a lease with a primary term of at least 20 years for the real property on which the manufactured home is affixed and where the lease expressly provides for disposition of the manufactured home upon termination of the lease. A manufactured home as defined in G.S. 143‑143.9(6) that does not meet all of these conditions is considered tangible personal property."
SECTION 5.  Chapter 42 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 42-14.3.  Notice of conversion of manufactured home communities.
(a)	In the event that an owner of a manufactured home community (defined as a parcel of land, whether undivided or subdivided, that has been designed to accommodate at least five manufactured homes) intends to convert the manufactured home community, or any part thereof, to another use that will require movement of the manufactured homes, the owner of the manufactured home community shall give each owner of a manufactured home notice of the intended conversion at least 180 days before the owner of a manufactured home is required to vacate and move the manufactured home, regardless of the term of the tenancy. Failure to give notice as required by this section is a defense in an action for possession.  The respective rights and obligations of the community owner and the owner of the manufactured home under their lease shall continue in effect during the notice period.
(b)	Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, if a manufactured home community is being closed pursuant to a valid order of any unit of State or local government, the owner of the community shall be required to give notice of the closure of the community to each resident of the community within three business days of the date on which the order is issued."
SECTION 6.  Chapter 143 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 143-143.20A.  Display of pricing on manufactured homes.
(a)	If the manufacturer of a manufactured home publishes a manufacturer's suggested retail price, that price shall be displayed near the front entrance of the manufactured home.
(b)	Each manufactured home dealer shall prominently display a sign and provide to each buyer a notice, developed by the North Carolina Manufactured Housing Board, containing information about the Board, including how to file a consumer complaint with the Board and the warranties and protections provided for each new manufactured home under federal and State law."
SECTION 7.  G.S. 143‑143.21A reads as rewritten:
"§ 143‑143.21A.  Purchase agreements; buyer cancellations.
(a)	A purchase agreement for a manufactured home shall include all of the following:
(1)	A description of the manufactured home and all accessories included in the purchase.
(2)	The purchase price for the home and all accessories.
(3)	The amount of deposit or other payment toward or payment of the purchase price of the manufactured home and accessories that is made by the buyer.
(4)	The date the retail purchase agreement is signed.
(5)	The estimated terms of financing the purchase, if any, including the estimated interest rate, number of years financed, and monthly payment.
(6)	The buyer's signature.
(7)	The dealer's signature.
(b)	The purchase agreement shall contain, in immediate proximity to the space reserved for the signature of the buyer and in at least ten point, all upper‑case Gothic type, the following statement:
"I UNDERSTAND THAT I HAVE THE RIGHT TO CANCEL THIS PURCHASE BEFORE MIDNIGHT OF THE THIRD BUSINESS DAY AFTER THE DATE THAT I HAVE SIGNED THIS AGREEMENT. I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS CANCELLATION MUST BE IN WRITING. IF I CANCEL THE PURCHASE AFTER THE THREE‑DAY PERIOD, I UNDERSTAND THAT THE DEALER MAY NOT HAVE ANY OBLIGATION TO GIVE ME BACK ALL OF THE MONEY THAT I PAID THE DEALER. I UNDERSTAND ANY CHANGE TO THE TERMS OF THE PURCHASE AGREEMENT BY THE DEALER WILL CANCEL THIS AGREEMENT."
(c)	At the time the deposit or other payment toward or payment for the purchase price is received by the dealer, the dealer shall give the buyer a copy of the purchase agreement and a completed form in duplicate, captioned "Notice of Cancellation," which shall be attached to the purchase agreement, be easily detachable, and explain the buyer's right to cancel the purchase and how that right can be exercised.
(d)	The dealer shall return the deposit or other payment toward or payment for the purchase price to the buyer if the buyer cancels the purchase before midnight of the third business day after the date the buyer signed the purchase agreement or if any of the material terms of the purchase agreement are changed by the dealer. To make the cancellation effective, the buyer shall give the dealer written notice of the buyer's cancellation of the purchase. The dealer shall return the deposit or other payment toward or payment for the purchase price to the buyer within 15 business days after receipt of the notice of cancellation or within three business days of any change by the dealer of the purchase agreement. For purposes of this section, "business day" means any day except Sunday and legal holidays. Each time the dealer gives the buyer a new set of financing terms, unless the financing terms are more favorable to the buyer, the buyer shall be given another three-day cancellation period. The dealer shall not commence setup procedures until after the final three-day cancellation period has expired.
(e)	If the buyer cancels the purchase after the three‑day cancellation period, but before the sale is completed, and if:
(1)	The manufactured home is in the dealer's inventory, the dealer may retain from the deposit or other payment received from the buyer actual damages up to a maximum of ten percent (10%) of the purchase price; or
(2)	The manufactured home is specially ordered from the manufacturer for the buyer, the dealer may retain actual damages up to the full amount of the buyer's deposit or other payment received from the buyer.
(f)	The Board shall adopt rules concerning the terms of any deposit paid by a buyer to a dealer. The rules may exempt deposits of less than two thousand dollars ($2,000). To the extent practicable, the rules shall protect the deposits from the claims of the creditors of a dealer that may thereafter be in bankruptcy. The rules shall further provide for the prompt return of a buyer's deposit if the buyer is entitled to its return."
SECTION 8.  Sections 6 and 7 of this act become effective October 1, 2003.  The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.