SENATE, No. 2320

SECTION 1. Declaration of Emergency. The General Court finds and declares that a serious public emergency exists with respect to the housing of a substantial number of citizens in the Town of Norwell, which emergency has been created by excessive, abnormally high and unwarranted rental increases imposed by some owners of mobile home parks, located therein: that unless mobile home parks rents and eviction of tenants are regulated and controlled such emergency will produce serious threats to the public safety, health, and general welfare of the citizens of said town, particularly the elderly; that such emergency should be met by the Commonwealth immediately and with due regard for the rights and responsibilities of the Town of Norwell.

SECTION 2. General Powers. The Town of Norwell, may, by its ordanances, regulate rents for the use or occupancy of mobile home park accommodations in said town, establish a rent board for the purpose of regulating rents, minimum standards for the use or occupancy of mobile home park accommodations and evictions of tenants there from and may, by its ordaninces, require registration by owners of mobile home park accommodations. Such rents, standards and evictions may be regulated by the rent board so as to remove hardships, or correct inequities for both the owner and the tenants of such mobile home park accommodations. Said rent board shall have all powers necessary or convienient to perform its functions, may make rules and regulations, require registration by owners of mobile home park accommodations, under penalty of perjury, of information relating to the mobile home park accommodations, compel the attendance of persons and the production of papers and information, and issue appropriate orders which shall be binding on both the owners and tenants of such mobile home park accommodations. Violations of any by-laws adopted pursuant to this act or any orders of said rent board shall be punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars for any offense.

SECTION 3. Standards for Adjusting Rent. (a) In regulating such rents, for such mobile home park accommodations, the rent board established under section two may make such individual or general adjustments, either upward or downward, as may be necessary to assure that rents for the mobile home park accommodations in said city are established at levels which yield to owners a fair net operating income for such units. Said town in its by laws or said rent board by regulation may establish further standards and rules consistent with this act. The maximum rent of a mobile home park accommodation shall be the rent charged the tenant for the month of December, two thousand and six. If the mobile home park accommodations was unoccupied at that time but was occupied at any time prior to the effective date of this ordanice, the maximum rent shall be the rent charged therefore for or during the month closest to December, two thousand and six. If the maximum rent is not otherwise established, it shall be established by the board. Any Maximum rent may be subsequently adjusted under this section.

SECTION 4. Incorporation of the Administrative Procedure Act. The provisions of chapter thirty A of the General Laws shall be applicable to the rent board, established under section two, as if said rent board were an agency of the Commonwealth, including those provisions giving agencies the powers to issue, vacate, modify, and enforce subpoenas and those provisions relating to judicial review of the agency order.

SECTION 5. Conference Jurisdiction. The district court department shall have original jurisdiction, concurrently with the superior court, or all petitions for review brought pursuant to section fourteen of chapter thirty A of the General Laws.

            The superior court shall have the jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of the act and any by-laws adopted thereunder and may restrain violations thereof.

SECTION 6. Defense of Summary Process for Possession. The Town of Norwell may, by its by-laws, regulate the eviction of tenants and the rent board, established under section two, may issue orders which shall be a defense of the action of summary process for possession and such orders shall be reviewable pursuant to sections two and three.

SECTION 7. Severability. If any provisions of this act or the application of such provision to any person or circumstance shall be held invalid, the validity of the remainder of this act and the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

SECTION 8. This act shall take effect upon its passage.