Updates to mobile landlord and tenant act discussed

Mobile home tenants would have the same rights as residential tenants under a proposal considered by members of the Judiciary Committee Jan. 27.

In 2019, the Legislature approved changes to the Uniform Residential Landlord Tenant Act. LB277, sponsored this year by Omaha Sen. Megan Hunt, would update the Mobile Home Landlord and Tenant Act to mirror those changes.

Hunt said the bill would help tenants and landlords avoid unnecessary confusion and litigation.

“This bill does not make it harder for landlords who are already using best practices,” she said. “Those landlords who are rightfully returning deposits and lawfully handling evictions will not be affected.”

LB277 would require a landlord to provide the balance due on a security deposit automatically to a tenant within 14 days of termination of a rental agreement.

If a landlord fails to return the security deposit within 14 days, the tenant could recover any property or money due to him or her, as well as liquidated damages equal to one month’s rent plus costs or twice the amount of the rental deposit — whichever is less — and reasonable attorney’s fees.

Landlords would be required to remit any unclaimed security deposit to the state treasurer for disposition under the Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act if returned undeliverable or if the deposit is outstanding 30 days after the initial mailing.

If a government entity deems a residence to be uninhabitable due to negligence, the tenant would not be liable for any damage as a direct result of forcible removal. Finally, the bill would extend the period of time for payment of rent after a notice of intent to terminate from five to seven days.

Supporting the bill was Ryan Sullivan of Lincoln. Currently, a person who rents a mobile home and a mobile home lot is governed by two different landlord and tenant acts, he said, which can create unnecessary confusion and litigation.

“Consistency between the two acts is of particular importance in situations when both acts are implicated,” Sullivan said. “Renters of mobile home lots deserve the same rights as renters of traditional homes.”

Scott Mertz, representing Legal Aid of Nebraska, also supported LB277. He said current discrepancies between the two acts create a tiered system of tenant rights in the state.

“Right now, a tenant in a residential property will have more days afforded to them to procure late rent than a tenant in a mobile home space,” Mertz said. “This is a difference of just two days, but when one is seeking rental assistance or waiting on unemployment benefits, those days can and do make a major difference to that tenant.”

Opposing the bill was Pierce Carpenter of Omaha. If a landlord discovers more extensive damage to a unit after paying back a security deposit, he said, the landlord must absorb that additional cost.

“The thing that we’re getting away from is tenant responsibility and [instead] placing everything on the landlord,” Pierce said.

The committee took no immediate action on the bill.