(a) Retaliatory acts are prohibited.

(b) A retaliatory act is an attempted or completed act on the part of a landlord to pursue an action against a tenant for summary possession, to terminate a tenant’s rental agreement, to cause a tenant to move involuntarily from a rented lot in the manufactured home community, or to decrease services to which a tenant is entitled under a rental agreement, after:

(1) The tenant has complained in good faith to either the landlord or to an enforcement authority about a condition affecting the premises of the manufactured home community which constitutes a violation of this subchapter or a violation of a housing, health, building, sanitation or other applicable statute or regulation;

(2) An enforcement authority has instituted an enforcement action based on a complaint by the tenant for a violation of this subchapter or a violation of a housing, health, building, sanitation or other applicable statute or regulation with respect to the premises;

(3) The tenant has formed or participated in a manufactured home tenants’ organization or association; or

(4) The tenant has filed a legal action against the landlord or the landlord’s agent for any reason.

(c) If a tenant proves that a landlord attempted to commit or committed an act pursuant to subsection (b) of this section within 90 days of the tenant’s action under paragraph (b)(1)-(4) of this section, the landlord’s act is presumed to be a retaliatory act.

(d) Affirmative defenses to a claim that a landlord attempted to commit or committed a retaliatory act include proof by a preponderance of the evidence that:

(1) The landlord had due cause for termination of the rental agreement pursuant to this subchapter and gave the required notice to the tenant;

(2) The tenant’s legal action against the landlord relates to a condition caused by the lack of ordinary care by the tenant or by a resident of the tenant’s manufactured home or by a guest or visitor on the premises with the tenant’s or resident’s consent;

(3) The rented lot was in substantial compliance with all applicable statutes and regulations on the date of the filing of the tenant’s legal action against the landlord; or

(4) The landlord could not have reasonably remedied the condition complained of by the tenant by the date of the filing of the tenant’s legal action against the landlord.

(e) A tenant subjected to a retaliatory act set forth in subsection (b) of this section is entitled to recover the greater of 3 months’ rent, or 3 times the damages sustained by the resident, in addition to the court costs of the legal action.

25 Del. C. 1953, § 7009; 58 Del. Laws, c. 286; 58 Del. Laws, c. 472, § 4; 65 Del. Laws, c. 446, § 1; 66 Del. Laws, c. 268, § 1; 69 Del. Laws, c. 291, § 98(c); 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1; 74 Del. Laws, c. 35, § 2.