Next Manufactured Housing Landlord/Tenant Coalition Meeting

The next Manufactured Housing Landlord/Tenant Coalition meeting will be held on WEDNESDAY, October 25th from 10am to 1pm at the Valley River Inn in Eugene, the site of the HMCO annual conference.

The agenda has not yet been sent out, but we do know that the discussion about enforcement will continue and Nancy Inglehart will give a presentation on the Washington State Manufactured/Mobile Home Dispute Resolution Program model.

The coalition meetings can be attended by any interested stakeholders, and welcomes input for discussion.

OSTA 2017 Annual Meeting

Stepping UP

OSTA's  2017 Annual Meeting held in Salem was both informative and fun.  The theme this year was Stepping Up, encouraging members to step up the the challenge to become more active, share their talents and built membership.  Senator Sara Gelser, chair of the Senate Human Services Committee, gave a keynote addressing topics of rent stabilization and the SB 277 which passed recently.  She offered advise on how to get our legislators involved in hearing our concerns.  John VanLandingham spoke on the Manufactured Housing Landlord/Tenant Coalition's history and moving forward to addressing the issue of enforcement, a main concern of home owners, in this year's meetings.  Breakout sessions covered Understanding Your Contracts, Option to Purchase, How to Conduct a Meeting and Membership Building. We also had a junior reporter in attendance who interviewed Senator Gelser.  Our silent auction had many wonderful items including paintings, gift baskets, and handmade quilts.  A soup and salad lunch was served and Jane and Rita entertained us with another one of their humorous takes on being on the OSTA board.  We also conducted our annual meeting which included election of board directors. The members also voted in a Bylaw amendment replacing an annual audit with a two member review of the financial books.

John VanLandingham talking about the Coalition

Sam Inglehart interviewing Senator Gelser

Rita and Jane entertaining us with a song.

STEP UP TO THE ANNUAL MEETING

Reservations are coming in for the 2017 annual meeting in Salem on September 23. With September upon us, don't wait much longer to mail your form and check to our P.O. box. After September 15 there's a $5 late fee. We have to let the chef know how many lunches to prepare by then, and of course we have to pay for that number. So, Step Right Up and reserve your spot now! 

More Good News!

SB 277 was signed by Governor Brown on June 14 as an amendment to Ch. 90.500. It became law immediately, so those of you who have been receiving notices to make cosmetic changes to your manufactured homes need to realize you now have the law on your side. You won't find the statute in Chapter 90 until next year when the 2017 edition is published. See details defining deterioration and disrepair in the upcoming OSTA Quarterly Review, due in your mailboxes about August 10 and on our website after that. When our blog administrator has recuperated from shoulder surgery, you'll also find the latest Review on this blog.

In this next issue you'll also find information about the September 23rd annual meeting in Salem. We hope to see many of you there. Get your reservations in early! Last minute reservations cost more.

GOOD DAY IN SALEM1

SB 277, defining the terms "deterioration" and "disrepair" as regards manufactured homes, passed the House unanimously on June 6. It now goes to the Governor, who is expected to sign the bill into law. Rep. Ken Helm carried the bill to the House floor and according to John VanLandingham, "did a great job." Also speaking at this time about the work of the Landlord/Tenant Coalition were Rep. Bill Kennemer  and Rep. Carl Wilson, who both have strongly encouraged and supported the coalition's work, now and in the past.

And in more good news, HB 2008, carried by Rep. Julie Fahey, was signed by the Governor on the same day, June 6. This new law raises the amount paid to residents in MH parks if the park closes to $6,000 for a single-wide, $8,000 for a double-wide, and $10,000 for a triple-wide home. The law now also includes a yearly recalculation adjustment to reflect inflation.

Thank you to all who wrote in support of these two bills, D-Day became another historically good day with these battles won!

Senate Bill 277

SB 880 is no longer being offered. It is still okay to contact your legislators in favor of SB 277.

OSTA Reviews available on web site.

Until we're able to publish the OSTA Quarterly Review on this blog, remember that you can access it on our web site, MH/OSTA.org. Reviews are added twice a year and are currently up-to-date. Other updates will be added after our April board meeting.