Can a manufactured home owner get relocation assistance from Delaware's Trust Fund to move within the same community?

Official title

15-IB04 06/29/15 Attorney General Opinion re: the Delaware Manufactured Home Relocation Trust Fund

Plain-English summary

The chairman of the Delaware Manufactured Housing Relocation Authority (DMHRA) asked the AG to resolve a practical question that had come up in two manufactured home communities. Each community was undergoing a "change of use" affecting only part of its land, while the rest of the community remained untouched. Some homeowners who had to relocate because of that change chose to move their homes to the still-unaffected part of the same community rather than pack up and leave for an entirely different park. The question was whether the Trust Fund, which reimburses qualifying homeowners for relocation costs, could pay for that kind of same-community move, or whether it was limited to moves to a different community altogether.

The AG concluded the Trust Fund could be used either way. The statute authorizing Trust Fund spending covers assistance to homeowners in a community where the owner intends to change the use of "all or part" of the land, language the opinion read as plainly contemplating a partial change of use as a valid trigger for relocation assistance. A companion provision reimburses actual, reasonable moving costs within a 25-mile radius of the vacated community, a radius the opinion found easily broad enough to include a move to another spot within the same community. Because nothing in the statute's plain language limited assistance to inter-community moves, the AG found no basis to read that limitation in.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2015. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

If only part of a manufactured home community is changing use, can affected homeowners still get relocation help?

Yes, according to this opinion. The AG found that the statute's reference to a change in use of "all or part of the land on which the community is located" plainly covers a partial change of use, not just a change affecting the entire community.

Does relocation assistance require moving to a completely different manufactured home community?

No. The opinion concluded that the Trust Fund can reimburse a homeowner's actual, reasonable moving costs for a move within a 25-mile radius of the vacated community, which by its plain terms includes a move to an unaffected section of the very same community.

How does the Attorney General decide what a statute means when there's a dispute over its scope?

The opinion applies Delaware's standard approach: give clear, unambiguous statutory language its plain meaning, and if there is genuine ambiguity, interpret the statute in a way that promotes its purpose and harmonizes with related provisions. Here, the AG found the relevant sections clear enough on their face that it was not necessary to look beyond their plain language.

Is an Attorney General opinion like this one legally binding on the agency that asked for it?

No. The opinion itself notes that an Attorney General's opinion is advisory and non-binding, issued under the AG's statutory authority to provide legal counsel to state agencies, rather than a formal adjudication of anyone's rights.

Background and statutory framework

The Delaware Manufactured Home Owners and Community Owners Act, 25 Del. C. Ch. 70, Subchapter I, created DMHRA in 2003, 25 Del. C. § 7011, "to provide financial assistance to tenants and landlords in manufactured home communities who may be required to relocate, abandon, or remove manufactured homes under a variety of circumstances," as described in Ridgewood Manor II, Inc. v. Delaware Manufactured Home Relocation Authority. The Act establishes the Trust Fund, 25 Del. C. § 7012, and authorizes its use for DMHRA's administrative costs and for assisting homeowners in a community where the owner intends to change the use of "all or part of the land on which the community is located," 25 Del. C. § 7012(b). A qualifying tenant required to relocate due to a change of use under 25 Del. C. § 7010(b) is entitled to the lesser of actual, reasonable moving costs within a 25-mile radius of the vacated community, or a maximum payment set by DMHRA's board, 25 Del. C. § 7013(a). Eligibility procedures appear in 25 Del. C. §§ 7010-7011 and implementing regulations, 1 Del. Admin. C. § 201, and "manufactured home community" is defined at 25 Del. C. § 7003(12).

The opinion applies Delaware's standard statutory interpretation framework: a reviewing authority must give effect to legislative intent, Eliason v. Englehart, giving clear and unambiguous statutory language its plain meaning without need for further interpretation, State v. Skinner, and, where genuine ambiguity exists, construing the statute to promote its purpose and harmonize with related provisions, Eliason v. Englehart; see also Great Hill Equity Partners IV, LP v. SIG Growth Equity Fund I, LLLP (courts presume the General Assembly carefully chose its statutory language and avoid readings that render language surplusage). Applying that framework, the opinion found the "all or part of the land" language in Section 7012(b) and the 25-mile-radius reimbursement language in Section 7013(a) both clear on their face and mutually consistent, leaving no textual basis to limit Trust Fund assistance to moves between different communities. The opinion issued under the AG's general statutory authority to advise state agencies, 29 Del. C. § 2504(2), and notes, citing AFSCME v. State Dep't. of Finance, that such an opinion is advisory and non-binding rather than a formal adjudication.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• 25 Del. C. § 7012(b) (permissible uses of the Manufactured Home Relocation Trust Fund)
• 25 Del. C. § 7013(a) (tenant entitlement to relocation payment for a qualifying move within a 25-mile radius)
• 25 Del. C. § 7011 (establishes DMHRA)
• 25 Del. C. § 7010 (b)(1) (landlord notice obligations for a change in use of community land)
• 25 Del. C. § 7003(12) (defines "manufactured home community")
• 25 Del. C. Ch. 70, Subchapter I (the Delaware Manufactured Home Owners and Community Owners Act)
• 25 Del. C. § 7027 (scope of the subchapter governing a change in use of a manufactured home community)
• 29 Del. C. § 2504(2) (Attorney General's statutory authority to advise state agencies)
• 1 Del. Admin. C. § 201 (regulations on Trust Fund benefit eligibility and application procedures)

Cases:

• Ridgewood Manor II, Inc. v. Delaware Manufactured Home Relocation Authority, 2014 WL 7453275 (Del. Ch. Dec. 31, 2014) (describes DMHRA's statutory purpose)
• AFSCME v. State Dep't. of Finance, 288 A.2d 453 (Del. Ch. 1972) (an Attorney General opinion is advisory and non-binding)
• Eliason v. Englehart, 733 A.2d 944 (Del.1999) (statutory interpretation must give effect to legislative intent and harmonize ambiguous provisions with statutory purpose)
• State v. Skinner, 632 A.2d 82 (Del.1993) (unambiguous statutory language is given its plain meaning)
• Great Hill Equity Partners IV, LP v. SIG Growth Equity Fund I, LLLP, 80 A.3d 155 (Del. Ch. 2013) (courts avoid statutory readings that render chosen language surplusage)

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygeneral.delaware.gov/2015/06/29/15-ib04-062915-attorney-general-opinion-re-the-delaware-manufactured-home-relocation-trust-fund/
• Original PDF: not linked from landing page

Original opinion text

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE

Attorney General Opinion No. 15-IB04

June 29, 2015

VIA EMAIL AND U.S. MAIL

Mitch Crane, Esquire

Chairman

Delaware Manufactured Housing Relocation Authority

110 Main Street, Suite G

Camden, DE 19934

Dear Mr. Crane:

In your letter of April 28, 2015 (the "Request"), on behalf of the Delaware Manufactured Housing Relocation Authority ("DMHRA"),1 you asked for an Opinion of the Attorney General on the question of whether the Delaware Manufactured Home Relocation Trust Fund (the "Trust Fund")2, a fund administered by DMHRA pursuant to the Delaware Manufactured Home Owners and Community Owners Act (The "Act")3, may be used to assist the relocation of homes within the same community.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

By way of factual background, the Request4 indicates that DMHRA is currently considering and approving Trust Fund assistance applications for residents of two particular manufactured home communities5. Each community filed for a "change of use"6 of a defined portion of the community, but the "majority" (or at least some significant portion) of each respective community remains unaffected by the contemplated change of use. In each community there are homeowners who have applied for relocation assistance from the Trust Fund and qualified for such assistance.7 The DMHRA Board apparently became aware of several homeowners in the two communities who were required to relocate, and who chose to relocate to properties within sections of the same communities that were not subject to the contemplated change of use instead of relocating to a different community.

BASIS FOR AN OPINION OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

We issue this opinion pursuant to our statutory authority "to provide legal advice, counsel and services for administrative offices, agencies, departments, boards, commissions and officers of the state government concerning any matter arising in connection with the exercising of their official powers or duties."8 We note that an Opinion of the Attorney General is not a formal adjudicative fact-finding, and instead is a non-binding advisory opinion to the requesting party.9

LEGAL ANALYSIS OF RELEVANT STATUTES

This question of whether the Trust Fund may be used to assist the relocation of homes within the same community requires an analysis of the statutory construction of two particular provisions in the Act: 25 Del. C. § 7012(b) and 25 Del. C. § 7013(a).

25 Del. C. § 7012(b) outlines the two permissible purposes for expending money in the Trust Fund: (1) To pay the administrative costs of the Authority; and (2) To carry out the objectives of the Authority by assisting manufactured home owners who are tenants in a manufactured home community where the community owner intends to change the use of all or part of the land on which the community is located . . ." (Emphasis added).

Section 7012(b) expressly states that objectives of DMHRA are to be carried out by assisting homeowners in a community the community owner intends to change the use of "all or part of the land on which the community is located." On its face, Section 7012(b) expressly contemplates that a partial change in use of land may give rise to a request for homeowner relocation assistance from the Fund.

25 Del. C. § 7013(a) provides that "[i]f a tenant is required to relocate due to a change in use or conversion of the land in a manufactured home community as set forth in § 7010(b) of this Title and complies with the requirements of this Section, the tenant is entitled to payment from the Trust Fund of the lesser of: (1) [t]he actual, reasonable expenses of moving the manufactured home and existing appurtenances to a new location within a 25-mile radius of the vacated manufactured home community including, but not limited to, the cost of taking down, moving and setting up the home in a new location; or (2) [t]he maximum relocation payment, which must be established by the Authority's board of directors." (Emphasis added). Section 7013(a) again expressly states that Trust Fund assistance can be used to cover the costs of moves within a 25-mile radius, and further provides that reimbursement is based on actual moving costs.

In interpreting a statute, a Court or other reviewing authority must "determine and give effect to legislative intent."10 Under Delaware law, "[i]t is well settled that statutory language is to be given its plain meaning and that when a statute is clear and unambiguous there is no need for statutory interpretation."11 If there is ambiguity in the text itself, however, the Court interprets the statute in a manner "that will promote its apparent purpose and harmonize with other statutes."12

The statement in 7012(b) that Trust Fund assistance can be provided to manufactured home owners who are tenants in a manufactured home community when there is a contemplated change of use of "all or part of the land on which the community is located" clearly contemplates that a partial change of use is a permissible basis for a homeowner to seek Trust Fund Assistance. The plain language of the statute is clear and unambiguous on its face, and it is likely not necessary to look beyond Section 7012 to answer the question posed in your Request.

If, however, we further look to Section 7013, and particularly to the underlined language stating that the Trust Fund will cover moves within a twenty-five mile radius, the plain language of the statute appears again to be clear and unambiguous on its face, and can easily be harmonized with the language in Section 7012.

CONCLUSION

We conclude that the Trust Fund may be used to assist a homeowner with the relocation of a home within the same community if the tenant otherwise satisfies the statutory and regulatory qualifications for assistance. We see no indication in the plain language of the statute that the General Assembly intended to limit the availability of such funds to situations where a homeowner relocates a home to a different community.

Very Truly Yours,

/s/ Meredith Stewart Tweedie

Meredith Stewart Tweedie

State Solicitor

cc: Matthew P. Denn, Attorney General

Danielle Gibbs, Chief Deputy Attorney General

Suzanne Lantz, Executive Director, DMHRA

Dorothy Boucher, Board Member

Andy Strine, Board Member

William Dunn, Board Member

Joelle Polesky, Delaware Department of Justice (Non-Voting Board Member)

George Meldrum, Board Member

FOOTNOTES

1 25 Del. C. § 7011 (establishing DMHRA). The General Assembly established DMHRA in 2003 "to provide financial assistance to tenants and landlords in manufactured home communities who may be required to relocate, abandon, or remove manufactured homes under a variety of circumstances." Ridgewood Manor II, Inc. v. Delaware Manufactured Home Relocation Authority, 2014 WL 7453275, *1 (Del. Ch. Dec. 31, 2014).

2 25 Del. C. § 7012 (establishing the Trust Fund).

3 25 Del. C. Ch. 70, Subchapter I (the Delaware Manufactured Home Owners and Community Owners Act); see also 25 Del. C. § 7027 ("This subchapter governs a change in use of a manufactured home community, as described in § 7010(b) of this title, to any use other than a conversion of the community to a manufactured home cooperative or condominium community …").

4 While the publicly available Minutes of the April 28, 2015 meeting of the DMHRA Board reflect that this Request was submitted following a review by, and consent of, the DMHRA Board, our office subsequently learned that there may be additional relevant facts that are were not fully reflected in the Request. In response to my letter of June 25, 2015 requesting clarification of the facts giving rise to this dispute, three DMHRA Board members provided supplemental information. The supplemental information confirmed that the Request accurately characterizes the disputed legal question that is the subject of this Opinion.

5 See 25 Del. C. § 7003(12) (The term "manufactured home community" means a parcel of land where 2 or more lots are rented or offered for rent for the placement of manufactured homes. Manufactured home community is synonymous with 'mobile home park,''trailer park' and 'trailer court'").

6 The Act does not define the term "Change of Use" that is referenced in the Request, but does contain several references to "change in use" and "change of use", which appear to be used interchangeably. See, e.g., 25 Del. C. § 7010 (b)(1) (Explaining a landlord's options and obligations in connection with terminating a rental agreement "if a change is intended in good faith in the use of land on which a manufactured home community or a portion of a manufactured home community is located and the landlord intends to terminate or not renew a rental agreement" and using both "change of use" and "change in use").

7 The procedure for qualifying for Trust Fund relocation assistance is set forth in 25 Del. C. §§ 7010-7011 and the implementing regulations. See 1 Del. Admin. C. § 201 (Regulations establishing criteria for Trust Fund benefits eligibility, application procedures, application review procedures, and payment procedures).

A landlord must comply with the statutory procedures for written notice to tenants and to DMHRA upon termination of a rental agreement for "an intended change in the use of the land of a manufactured home community as set forth in [§ 7010(b)]; see also 25 Del. C. § 7010(b) (landlord shall notify DMHRA and tenants in writing when "a change is intended in good faith in the use of land on which a manufactured home community or a portion of a manufactured home community is located and the landlord intends to terminate or not renew a rental agreement"). Once the written notice of change of use is issued, Homeowners must qualify for assistance pursuant to the criteria set forth in the Act and its implementing Regulations.

8 29 Del. C. § 2504(2).

9 AFSCME v. State Dep't. of Finance, 288 A.2d 453, 455 (Del. Ch. 1972) (An opinion of the Attorney General is advisory and non-binding).

10 Eliason v. Englehart, 733 A.2d 944, 946 (Del.1999).

11 See State v. Skinner, 632 A.2d 82, 85 (Del.1993); see also 2A Norman Singer & Shambie Singer, SUTHERLAND STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION § 45:2 (7th ed.2014).

12 Eliason, 733 A.2d at 946. See also Great Hill Equity Partners IV, LP v. SIG Growth Equity Fund I, LLLP, 80 A.3d 155, 157 (Del. Ch. 2013) ("There is a presumption that the General Assembly carefully chose particular language when writing a statute, and this court will not construe the statute to render that language mere surplusage if another interpretation is reasonably possible") (footnote omitted).