Wales, Mass., Gen. Bylaws § 13 (2020) § § 13

13.)     MOBILE HOME PARK RENT CONTROL
13.01 This bylaw shall be known and may be cited as the “Mobile Home Park Rent Control
Bylaw”.

13.02 Definitions
For the purposes of the bylaw the following terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall
have the meaning given herein, unless the context in which they are used clearly requires a
difference meaning.
Rent Board and Board mean the Mobile Home Park Rent Control Board as established herein.
Mobile home shall mean a dwelling unit built on a chassis and containing complete electrical,
plumbing and sanitary facilities, and designed to be installed on a temporary or permanent
foundation for permanent living quarters.
Mobile home park means a park licensed by the Board of Health pursuant to Massachusetts
General Laws Chapter 140, Section 32B.
Rules and regulations means rules and regulations promulgated by the Board.
Shall is mandatory; may is permissive.

13.03 Mobile Home Park Rent Control Board

There is hereby established a Mobile Home Park Rent Control Board to be comprised on three
(3) town residents representing the public and to enforce the provisions of the Wales Mobile
Home Park Rent Control Bylaw, except that no such member shall be a landlord renting mobile
home property, a tenant residing in a mobile home or a person making a living or any portion
thereof from the marketing of, or sale of, or investment or employment in mobile home property.
Said Board members shall serve at the discretion of the Board of Selectmen. The members in the
first instance shall be appointed for terms of one (1), two (2) and three (3) years. Upon expiration
of a term of office, the subsequent term shall be for a period of three (3) years.

13.04 Duties and powers

    1) The Board shall regulate rents so as to remove hardships or correct inequities for both
       the owner and the tenant of such mobile home accommodations; set minimum standards
       for use or occupancy of mobile home park accommodations and evictions of tenants
       therefrom; may require registration by owners of mobile home parks; may require
       information of said owners relating to their parks under the penalties of perjury.
    2) The Board may make rules and regulations, sue and be sued, compel attendance of
       persons and the production of papers and information, and issue appropriate orders
       which shall be binding on both the owner and tenant of such mobile home park
       accommodations.

13.05 Standards for adjusting rents

    1) The Board may make individual or general adjustments, either upward or downward, as
       may be necessary to assure that rents for mobile home park accommodations are
       established on levels which yield to owners a fair net operating income for such units.

    2) Fair net operating income shall be that income which will yield a return, after all
       reasonable operating expenses, on the fair market value of the property, equal to the
       debt service rate generally available from institutional first mortgage lenders or other
       such rates of return as the Board, on the basis of evidence presented before it, deems
       more appropriate to the circumstances of the case.

    3) Fair market value shall be assessed valuation of the property or such other valuation as
       the Board, on the basis of evidence presented before it, deems more appropriate to the
       circumstances of the case.

    4) The Board may establish further standards and rules consistent with the foregoing.

13.06 Summary process

The Board may regulate evictions of tenants at mobile home parks and may issue orders which
shall be defense to an action of summary process for possession.

13.07 Review

    1) The Board and its actions shall be subject to the provisions of Massachusetts General Laws
       Chapter 30A (Administrative Procedures Act) as if the Board were an agency of the
       Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

    2) Pursuant to Chapter 40 of the Acts of 1991, the Eastern Hampden Division of the District
       Court department shall have original jurisdiction, concurrently with the Superior Court,

of all petitions for review brought pursuant to Section 14 of Chapter 30 of the General
         Laws.

     3) The Superior Court shall have jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of this bylaw and may
        restrain violations thereof.

 13.08 Penalties

 Violations of this bylaw or any order of the Board shall be punishable by a fine of not more than
 one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) for any one offense.
 13.09 Severability

 If any provision of this bylaw shall be held invalid, the validity of the remainder of this bylaw shall
 not be affected thereby. (Approved 12-11-2020)