Chapter 101

101.88 History History: 1979 c. 309; 1983 a. 164; 2007 a. 63; 2013 a. 143.

subch. V of ch. 101 SUBCHAPTER V

MANUFACTURED HOMES AND MOBILE HOMES

101.91 101.91 Definitions. In this subchapter:

101.91(1g) (1g) “Delivery date” means the date on which a manufactured home is physically delivered to the site chosen by the owner of the manufactured home.

101.91(1i) (1i) “Installation standards” means specifications for the proper installation of manufactured homes at their place of occupancy to ensure proper siting, the joining of all sections of the manufactured home, connection to existing utility services and the installation of stabilization, support, or anchoring systems.

101.91(1j) (1j) “Installer” means a person who is in the business of installing new manufactured homes.

101.91(1m) (1m) “License period” means the period during which a license issued under s. 101.951 or 101.952 is effective, as established by the department under s. 101.951 (2) (b) 1. or 101.952 (2) (b) 1.

101.91(1t) (1t) “Licensed installer” means an installer licensed under s. 101.96 (2) (b).

101.91(1v) (1v) “Licensed manufacturer” means a manufactured home manufacturer licensed under s. 101.95.

101.91(2) (2) “Manufactured home” means any of the following:

101.91(2)(am) (am) A structure that is designed to be used as a dwelling with or without a permanent foundation and that is certified by the federal department of housing and urban development as complying with the standards established under 42 USC 5401 to 5425.

101.91(2)(c) (c) A mobile home, unless a mobile home is specifically excluded under the applicable statute.

101.91(3) (3) “Manufactured home dealer” means a person who, for a commission or other thing of value, sells, exchanges, buys or rents, or offers or attempts to negotiate a sale or exchange of an interest in, manufactured homes or who is engaged wholly or partially in the business of selling manufactured homes, whether or not the manufactured homes are owned by the person, but does not include:

101.91(3)(a) (a) A receiver, trustee, personal representative, guardian, or other person appointed by or acting under the judgment or order of any court.

101.91(3)(b) (b) Any public officer while performing that officer’s official duty.

101.91(3)(c) (c) Any employee of a person enumerated in par. (a) or (b).

101.91(3)(d) (d) Any lender, as defined in s. 421.301 (22).

101.91(3)(e) (e) A person transferring a manufactured home used for that person’s personal, family or household purposes, if the transfer is an occasional sale and is not part of the business of the transferor.

101.91(4) (4) “Manufactured home owner” means any person who purchases, or leases from another, a manufactured home primarily for use for personal, family or household purposes.

101.91(5m) (5m) “Manufactured home community” means any plot or plots of ground upon which 3 or more manufactured homes that are occupied for dwelling or sleeping purposes are located. “Manufactured home community” does not include a farm where the occupants of the manufactured homes are the father, mother, son, daughter, brother or sister of the farm owner or operator or where the occupants of the manufactured homes work on the farm.

101.91(6m) (6m) “Manufactured home community contractor” means a person, other than a public utility, as defined in s. 196.01 (5) (a), who, under a contract with a manufactured home community operator, provides water or sewer service to a manufactured home community occupant or performs a service related to providing water or sewer service to a manufactured home community occupant.

101.91(7) (7) “Manufactured home community occupant” means a person who rents or owns a manufactured home in a manufactured home community.

101.91(8) (8) “Manufactured home community operator” means a person engaged in the business of owning or managing a manufactured home community.

101.91(9) (9) “Manufactured home salesperson” means any person who is employed by a manufactured home manufacturer or manufactured home dealer to sell or lease manufactured homes.

101.91(10) (10) “Mobile home” means a vehicle manufactured or assembled before June 15, 1976, designed to be towed as a single unit or in sections upon a highway by a motor vehicle and equipped and used, or intended to be used, primarily for human habitation, with walls of rigid uncollapsible construction, which has an overall length in excess of 45 feet. “Mobile home” includes the mobile home structure, its plumbing, heating, air conditioning and electrical systems, and all appliances and all other equipment carrying a manufacturer’s warranty.

101.91(11) (11) “New manufactured home” means a manufactured home that has never been occupied, used or sold for personal or business use.

101.91(12) (12) “Used manufactured home” means a manufactured home that has previously been occupied, used or sold for personal or business use.

101.91 History History: 1973 c. 116, 132; 1983 a. 27, 192; 1995 a. 362; 1999 a. 9, 53; 2001 a. 16 ss. 2533 to 2539, 2975 to 2977; 2001 a. 102; 2005 a. 45.

101.92 101.92 Departmental powers and duties. The department:

101.92(3) (3) Shall review annually the rules adopted under this subchapter.

101.92(4) (4) Shall provide for announced or unannounced inspection of manufacturing facilities, processes, fabrication and assembly of manufactured homes to ensure compliance with the rules adopted under this subchapter.

101.92(6) (6) May enter into reciprocal agreements with other states regarding the inspection, installation, and labeling of manufactured homes where the laws or rules of other states meet the intent of this subchapter and where the laws or rules are actually enforced.

101.92(7) (7) Shall establish a staff for the administration and enforcement of this subchapter.

101.92(8) (8) May revoke the license of any manufacturer who violates this subchapter or any rules promulgated thereunder.

101.92(9) (9) Shall promulgate rules and establish standards necessary to carry out the purposes of ss. 101.951 and 101.952.

101.92 History History: 1973 c. 116; 1979 c. 221; 1983 a. 27 ss. 1375pr, 1375q, 2200 (25); 1995 a. 27, 362; 1999 a. 9, 53; 2005 a. 45.

101.92 Cross-reference Cross-reference: See also s. SPS 305.32, Wis. adm. code.

101.9202 101.9202 Excepted liens and security interests. Sections 101.9203 to 101.9218 do not apply to or affect:

101.9202(1) (1) A lien given by statute or rule of law to a supplier of services or materials for the manufactured home.

101.9202(2) (2) A lien given by statute to the United States, this state or any political subdivision of this state.

101.9202(3) (3) A security interest in a manufactured home created by a manufactured home dealer or manufacturer who holds the manufactured home for sale, which shall be governed by the applicable provisions of ch. 409.

101.9202 History History: 1999 a. 9, 53.

101.9203 101.9203 When certificate of title required.

101.9203(1) (1) Except as provided in subs. (3) and (4), the owner of a manufactured home situated in this state or intended to be situated in this state shall make application for certificate of title under s. 101.9209 for the manufactured home if the owner has newly acquired the manufactured home.

101.9203(2) (2) Any owner who situates in this state a manufactured home for which a certificate of title is required without the certificate of title having been issued or applied for, knowing that the certificate of title has not been issued or applied for, may be required to forfeit not more than $200. A certificate of title is considered to have been applied for when the application accompanied by the required fee has been delivered to the department or deposited in the mail properly addressed and with postage prepaid.

101.9203(3) (3) Unless otherwise authorized by rule of the department, a nonresident owner of a manufactured home situated in this state may not apply for a certificate of title under this subchapter unless the manufactured home is subject to a security interest or except as provided in s. 101.9209 (1) (a).

101.9203(4) (4) The owner of a manufactured home that is situated in this state or intended to be situated in this state is not required to make application for a certificate of title under s. 101.9209 if the owner of the manufactured home intends, upon acquiring the manufactured home, to make the manufactured home a fixture to land in which the owner of the manufactured home has an ownership or leasehold interest subject to ch. 706.

101.9203 History History: 1999 a. 9, 53; 2001 a. 16; 2005 a. 45.

101.9204 101.9204 Application for certificate of title.

101.9204(1) (1) An application for a certificate of title shall be made to the department upon a form or in an automated format prescribed by it and shall be accompanied by the required fee. Each application for certificate of title shall include the following information:

101.9204(1)(a) (a) The name and address of the owner.

101.9204(1)(b) (b) A description of the manufactured home, including make, model, identification number and any other information or documentation that the department may reasonably require for proper identification of the manufactured home.

101.9204(1)(c) (c) The date of purchase by the applicant, the name and address of the person from whom the manufactured home was acquired and the names and addresses of any secured parties in the order of their priority.

101.9204(1)(d) (d) If the manufactured home is a new manufactured home being titled for the first time, the signature of the manufactured home dealer. The document of origin shall contain the information specified by the department.

101.9204(1)(e) (e) Any further evidence of ownership which the department may reasonably require to enable it to determine whether the owner is entitled to a certificate of title and the existence or nonexistence of security interests in the manufactured home.

101.9204(1)(f) (f) If the identification number of the manufactured home has been removed, obliterated or altered, or if the original casting has been replaced, or if the manufactured home has not been numbered by the manufacturer, the application for certificate of title shall so state.

101.9204(1)(g) (g) If the manufactured home is a used manufactured home that was last previously titled in another jurisdiction, the applicant shall furnish any certificate of ownership issued by the other jurisdiction and a statement, in the form prescribed by the department, pertaining to the title history and ownership of the manufactured home.

101.9204(1m) (1m) On the form or in the automated format for application for a certificate of title, the department may show the fee under s. 101.9208 (4m) separately from the fee under s. 101.9208 (1) or (4).

101.9204(2) (2) Any person who knowingly makes a false statement in an application for a certificate of title is guilty of a Class H felony.

101.9204 History History: 1999 a. 9, 53, 185; 2001 a. 38, 109; 2005 a. 45, 253.

101.9205 101.9205 When department to issue certificate and to whom; maintenance of records.

101.9205(1) (1) The department shall maintain a record of each application for certificate of title received by it and, when satisfied as to its genuineness and regularity and that the applicant is entitled to the issuance of a certificate of title, shall issue and deliver a certificate to the owner of the manufactured home.

101.9205(2) (2) The department shall maintain a record of all applications, and all certificates of title issued by the department, indexed in the following manners:

101.9205(2)(a) (a) According to title number.

101.9205(2)(b) (b) Alphabetically, according to the name of the owner.

101.9205(2)(c) (c) In any other manner that the department determines to be desirable.

101.9205(3) (3) The department shall establish, by rule under s. 101.19, a fee of not less than $2 for conducting a file search of manufactured home title records.

101.9205 History History: 1999 a. 9, 53, 185; 2005 a. 45.

101.9206 101.9206 Contents of certificate of title.

101.9206(1) (1) Each certificate of title issued by the department shall contain all of the following:

101.9206(1)(a) (a) The name and address of the owner.

101.9206(1)(b) (b) The names of any secured parties in the order of priority as shown on the application or, if the application is based on another certificate of title, as shown on that certificate.

101.9206(1)(c) (c) The title number assigned to the manufactured home.

101.9206(1)(d) (d) A description of the manufactured home, including make, model and identification number.

101.9206(1)(e) (e) Any other data that the department considers pertinent and desirable.

101.9206(2) (2) 

101.9206(2)(a) (a) The certificate of title shall contain spaces for all of the following:

101.9206(2)(a)1. 1. Assignment and warranty of title by the owner.

101.9206(2)(a)2. 2. Reassignment and warranty of title by a manufactured home dealer.

101.9206(2)(b) (b) The certificate of title may contain spaces for application for a certificate of title by a transferee and for the naming of a secured party and the assignment or release of a security interest.

101.9206(3) (3) 

101.9206(3)(a) (a) Unless the applicant fulfills the requirements of par. (b), the department shall issue a distinctive certificate of title for a manufactured home last previously registered in another jurisdiction if the laws of the other jurisdiction do not require that secured parties be named on a certificate of title to perfect their security interests. The certificate shall contain the legend “This manufactured home may be subject to an undisclosed security interest” and may contain any other information that the department prescribes. If the department receives no notice of a security interest in the manufactured home within 4 months from the issuance of the distinctive certificate of title, the department shall, upon application and surrender of the distinctive certificate, issue a certificate of title in ordinary form.

101.9206(3)(b) (b) The department may issue a nondistinctive certificate of title if the applicant fulfills either of the following requirements:

101.9206(3)(b)1. 1. The applicant is a manufactured home dealer and is financially responsible as substantiated by the last financial statement on file with the department, a finance company licensed under s. 138.09, a bank organized under the laws of this state, or a national bank located in this state.

101.9206(3)(b)2. 2. The applicant has filed with the department a bond in the form prescribed by the department and executed by the applicant, and either accompanied by the deposit of cash with the department or also executed by a person authorized to conduct a surety business in this state. The bond shall be in an amount equal to 1.5 times the value of the manufactured home as determined by the department and conditioned to indemnify any prior owner and secured party and any subsequent purchaser of the manufactured home or person acquiring any security interest in it, and their respective successors in interest, against any expense, loss or damage, including reasonable attorney fees, by reason of the issuance of the certificate of title for the manufactured home or on account of any defect in or undisclosed security interest upon the right, title and interest of the applicant in and to the manufactured home. Any such interested person has a right of action to recover on the bond for any breach of its conditions, but the aggregate liability of the surety to all persons shall not exceed the amount of the bond. The bond, and any deposit accompanying it, shall be returned at the end of 5 years or prior thereto if, apart from this section, a nondistinctive certificate of title could then be issued for the manufactured home.

101.9206(4) (4) A certificate of title issued by the department is prima facie evidence of the facts appearing on it.

101.9206(5) (5) The department may issue a certificate of title in an automated format.

101.9206 History History: 1999 a. 9, 53, 185.