AG obtains victory for manufactured housing residents | State | coastalpoint.com – Coastal Point

Attorney General, State of Delaware

Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings has obtained a preliminary victory for residents of the Pine Haven manufactured home community after the community owner, Blue Beach Bungalows DE LLC, was found to have violated statutory protections afforded to the residents.

An administrative hearing officer issued an opinion Thursday, April 4, finding that Blue Beach has willfully violated Delawares Consumer Fraud Act, among other laws, and ordered the company to pay more than $800,000 in penalties, along with rebates of excess rent paid by residents. Blue Beach has 30 days to appeal the order.

Owners of manufactured home communities should consider themselves on notice, said Jennings. Exploiting vulnerable Delawareans with threats and lies is not something manufactured home community owners can expect to get away with.

In April 2023, after receiving numerous complaints from residents, the AGs Consumer Protection Unit (CPU) issued a summary cease-and-desist order requiring Blue Beach to refrain from making false statements to residents and evicting residents in violation of the law, among other things. The cease-and-desist order was accompanied by a complaint detailing how residents were subjected to illegal rent increases, illegally threatened with eviction and arrest, and, in some cases, forced out of their homes prematurely. An administrative proceeding followed, culminating in an administrative hearing in September 2023.

The harm caused by [Blue Beach]s actions cannot be undone, the hearing officer wrote in a 90-page opinion issued on April 4. Despite being operated as a manufactured home community with numerous year-round residents, the park owner was found to have repeatedly made false and misleading claims as to the nature of the park as justification for taking action against residents.

The hearing officer ordered the park owner to rebate all tenants and former tenants any excess rental payments, and awarded an administrative penalty of $737,000 for willful violations of the Consumer Fraud Act, as well as a penalty of $94,000 for violations of the cease-and-desist order. The park owner has the option to appeal, and the order is not final until the window for appeal is closed.

A number of Pine Haven residents targeted for eviction by the park owner were protected due to a recent amendment to Delawares Manufactured Housing Code. 2022s House Bill 374, proposed by Jennings and sponsored by state Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton, that expanded the definition of a manufactured home to include certain camper trailers, recreational vehicles, and motor homes.

Manufactured housing complaints can be made to the Office of the Manufactured Housing Ombudsperson on the Delaware Department of Justices website or by calling the hotline at 1-800-220-5424.

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AG obtains victory for manufactured housing residents | State | coastalpoint.com - Coastal Point