Chapter 18: Entitlements for Mobile Home Occupants
Section 1: General Provisions
Overview
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 (
$9,570 or $41,200
).Partial 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.
Initiation 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.
Persons 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
$41,200 or $9,570
) permitted under
. However, if the replacement housing or the rent supplement exceeds the maximum amount authorized for normal supplemental housing payments ($41,200 or $9,570
), the displacee is entitled to a replacement housing payment or rent supplement under
.Amount 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.
Comparability
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.
Rent 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.
Transporting 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.
Configuration
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.