Chapter 18: Entitlements for Mobile Home Occupants
Anchor: #BACEIAIESection 1: General Provisions
Anchor: #i1000775Overview
Typically, replacement housing payments for occupants of displaced mobile homes are the same as for standard dwelling occupants, and will be handled according to policies and procedures described here.
Ownership or tenancy of a mobile home (not the land on which it is located) determines the occupant’s status as owner or tenant. Length of ownership and occupancy of the mobile home, on the mobile home site, determines the occupant’s status as a 90-day owner or a 90-day tenant.
The occupant must occupy the mobile home on the same site (or in the same mobile home park) for the required 90 days to be eligible for appropriate payment limitations ($7,200 or $31,000).
Anchor: #i1000797Partial Acquisition of a Mobile Home Park
Acquisition of a portion of a mobile home park property may leave a remaining part of the property inadequate for continued operation of the park. If TxDOT determines that a mobile home located in the remaining part of the property must be moved as a direct result of the project, the owner or tenant is considered a displaced person entitled to relocation payments and other assistance in this chapter.
Anchor: #i1000807Initiation of Negotiations
If a mobile home is not actually acquired, but the occupant is considered displaced under this section, the “initiation of negotiations” is the date of initiation of negotiations to acquire the land, or, if the land is not acquired, the date the occupant is notified in writing that he/she is a displaced person for purposes of this chapter.
Anchor: #ILEGJINFPersons with Both an Ownership and Tenant Interest
A displaced mobile home occupant may have owned the displacement mobile home and rented the site, or may have rented the displacement mobile home and owned the site. Also, a person may elect to purchase a replacement mobile home and rent a replacement site, or rent a replacement mobile home and purchase a replacement site. In these cases, the total replacement housing payment consists of a payment for a dwelling and a payment for a site. The total replacement housing payment to a person will not exceed the maximum payment (either $31,000 or $7,200) permitted under Amount of Total Payment. However, if the replacement housing or the rent supplement exceeds the maximum amount authorized for normal supplemental housing payments ($31,000 or $7,200), the displacee is entitled to a replacement housing payment or rent supplement under Last Resort Housing.
Anchor: #i1000834Amount of Payment
When computing the amount of a replacement housing payment for a person displaced from a mobile home, the cost of a comparable replacement dwelling is the reasonable cost of a comparable replacement mobile home, including the site. This applies whether the displaced person’s actual replacement dwelling is another mobile home or a conventional home.
Anchor: #i1000844Comparability
A mobile home is considered a replacement dwelling for a displaced mobile home if it substantially meets other requirements for replacement housing. When a comparable mobile home is not available, calculate the replacement housing payment based on the reasonable cost of other manufactured housing or a conventional dwelling that is available and meets the requirements of comparability.
Anchor: #i1000854Rent or Replacement
Where the mobile home is determined to be personal property, the housing payment is for the purchase or rent of a replacement site only.
Anchor: #i1000864Transporting Costs
If the owner is reimbursed for the cost of moving the mobile home under this chapter, he/she is not eligible to receive a replacement housing payment to assist in purchasing or renting a replacement mobile home. However, the person may be eligible for assistance in purchasing or renting a replacement site.
When a displacee elects to purchase a mobile home as replacement housing, all transportation and set up expenses necessary to place the mobile home on a lot, in DSS condition, will be included as part of the total acquisition price of the replacement housing.
Anchor: #i1000879Configuration
Mobile homes can be purchased in several configurations (i.e., with or without furnishings). Do not use the sale price for a furnished replacement dwelling when computing a replacement housing or down payment supplement since the subject is always acquired unfurnished by the State. When a displacee elects to purchase a mobile home as a replacement dwelling, the billing for the housing or down payment supplement must not include the cost of non-realty items. The rent supplement for a displaced tenant who does not own his/her furnishings, but has been renting a furnished mobile home, should be based on furnished comparable dwellings.