(1) “Discrimination” or “discriminatory” means that a homeowner is being treated differently as to the rent charged, the services rendered, or an action for possession or other civil action being taken by the park owner, without a reasonable basis for the different treatment.

(2) “Division” means the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

(3) “Electronic transmission” means a form of communication, not directly involving the physical transmission or transfer of paper, that creates a record that may be retained, retrieved, and reviewed by a recipient and that may be directly reproduced in a comprehensible and legible paper form by the recipient through an automated process, such as a printer or copy machine. Examples of electronic transmission include, but are not limited to, telegrams, facsimile transmission of images, and text that is sent via e-mail between computers. Electronic transmission does not include oral communication by telephone.

(4) “Homeowners’ association” means a corporation for profit or not for profit, which is formed and operates in compliance with ss. 723.075-723.079; or, in a subdivision the homeowners’ association authorized in the subdivision documents in which all home owners must be members as a condition of ownership.

(5) “Homeowners’ committee” means a committee, not to exceed five persons in number, designated by a majority of the affected homeowners in a mobile home park or a subdivision; or, if a homeowners’ association has been formed, designated by the board of directors of the association. The homeowners’ committee is designated for the purpose of meeting with the park owner or park developer to discuss lot rental increases, reduction in services or utilities, or changes in rules and regulations and any other matter authorized by the homeowners’ association, or the majority of the affected home owners, and who are authorized to enter into a binding agreement with the park owner or subdivision developer, or a binding mediation agreement, on behalf of the association, its members, and all other mobile home owners in the mobile home park.

(6) “Lot rental amount” means all financial obligations, except user fees, which are required as a condition of the tenancy.

(7)(a) “Mediation” means a process whereby a mediator appointed by the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes, or mutually selected by the parties, acts to encourage and facilitate the resolution of a dispute. It is an informal and nonadversarial process with the objective of helping the disputing parties reach a mutually acceptable agreement.

(b) For purposes of mediation under ss. 723.037 and 723.038, the term “parties” means a park owner as defined in subsection (13) and a homeowners’ committee selected pursuant to s. 723.037.

(8) “Mobile home” means a residential structure, transportable in one or more sections, which is 8 body feet or more in width, over 35 body feet in length with the hitch, built on an integral chassis, designed to be used as a dwelling when connected to the required utilities, and not originally sold as a recreational vehicle, and includes the plumbing, heating, air-conditioning, and electrical systems contained therein.

(9) “Mobile home lot” means a lot described by a park owner pursuant to the requirements of s. 723.012, or in a disclosure statement pursuant to s. 723.013, as a lot intended for the placement of a mobile home.

(10) “Mobile home lot rental agreement” or “rental agreement” means any mutual understanding or lease, whether oral or written, between a mobile home owner and a mobile home park owner in which the mobile home owner is entitled to place his or her mobile home on a mobile home lot for either direct or indirect remuneration of the mobile home park owner.

(11) “Mobile home owner,” “mobile homeowner,” “home owner,” or “homeowner” means a person who owns a mobile home and rents or leases a lot within a mobile home park for residential use.

(12) “Mobile home park” or “park” means a use of land in which lots or spaces are offered for rent or lease for the placement of mobile homes and in which the primary use of the park is residential.

(13) “Mobile home park owner” or “park owner” means an owner or operator of a mobile home park.

(14) “Mobile home subdivision” means a subdivision of mobile homes where individual lots are owned by owners and where a portion of the subdivision or the amenities exclusively serving the subdivision are retained by the subdivision developer.

(15) “Offering circular” has the same meaning as the term “prospectus” as it is used in this chapter.

(16) “Operator of a mobile home park” means either a person who establishes a mobile home park on land that is leased from another person or a person who has been delegated the authority to act as the park owner in matters relating to the administration and management of the mobile home park, including, but not limited to, authority to make decisions relating to the mobile home park.

(17) “Pass-through charge” means the mobile home owner’s proportionate share of the necessary and actual direct costs and impact or hookup fees for a governmentally mandated capital improvement, which may include the necessary and actual direct costs and impact or hookup fees incurred for capital improvements required for public or private regulated utilities.

(18) “Proportionate share” as used in subsection (17) means an amount calculated by dividing equally among the affected developed lots in the park the total costs for the necessary and actual direct costs and impact or hookup fees incurred for governmentally mandated capital improvements serving the recreational and common areas and all affected developed lots in the park.

(19) “Resale agreement” means a contract in which a mobile home owner authorizes the mobile home park owner, or the park owner’s designee, to act as exclusive agent for the sale of the homeowner’s mobile home for a commission or fee.

(20) “Unreasonable” means arbitrary, capricious, or inconsistent with this chapter.

(21) “User fees” means those amounts charged in addition to the lot rental amount for nonessential optional services provided by or through the park owner to the mobile home owner under a separate written agreement between the mobile home owner and the person furnishing the optional service or services.

History.—s. 1, ch. 84-80; s. 1, ch. 86-162; s. 2, ch. 90-198; s. 1, ch. 91-202; s. 242, ch. 94-218; s. 912, ch. 97-102; s. 2, ch. 2001-227; s. 72, ch. 2008-240; s. 2, ch. 2015-90.