Part VIII

Prohibition on Waiver of Rights

Title VI §622

The rights afforded mobile home owner purchasers under this Title may not be waived, and any provisions of a contract or agreement entered into after the enactment of this Title to the contrary shall be void.

This section goes to the center of arbitration agreements; they should not be required in the first place, nor should there be any requirement for a dispute resolution process. There should be no disputes that need settling if this Act is carried out as intended. The reason for this is section 615, notification of defects. Under this title is it NOT the responsibility of the purchaser to negotiate with the manufacturer the terms for the repair or replacement of their home if need be.

Section 615(g)

A manufacturer required to furnish notification of a defect under subsection (a) or (e) shall also bring the manufactured home into compliance with applicable standards and correct the defect or have the defect correct within a reasonable period of time AT NO EXPENSE TO THE OWNER.

It is the Secretary of HUD's job to determine the course of action to be taken by the manufacturer to bring the home into compliance and if the manufacturer refuses to correct the defect; it is not the consumer's job to take action. Should it become necessary in-order to obtain repairs the Secretary can issue a final order to this effect, which now makes the manufacturer or whoever subject to Section 611, Civil and Criminal Penalty. It is never the responsibility of the consumer or homeowner to negotiate the repairs on their home. There is limit of 60 days that starts at the time of discovery, unless the Secretary grants an extension, this is on a per case basis and cannot be granted on an overall basis, since the investigations and orders are accomplished on a per case basis.

In addition, if a defect in a home represents an unreasonable risk of injury of death, it doesn't matter what caused the defect, the manufacturer shall repair it or the manufacturer shall replace the home if it cannot be repaired. If the manufacturer fails to comply, the Secretary is instructed by the Section 614 to turn the matter over to the Attorney General or Secretary of Treasury for further action.

Title 42 U.S.C. 5414 We are changing to the Act as codified under Health and Welfare to make this very clear that this is the law.

(g) Correction of defects by manufacturer; conditions; procedures; contract or legal rights of purchasers or other persons unaffected
A manufacturer required to furnish notification of a defect under subsection (a) or (e) of this section shall also bring the manufactured home into compliance with applicable standards and correct the defect or have the defect corrected within a reasonable period of time at no expense to the owner, but only if -

(1) The defect presents an unreasonable risk of injury or death to occupants of the affected manufactured home or homes;

(2) The defect can be related to an error in design or assembly of the manufactured home by the manufacturer.

The Secretary may direct the manufacturer to make such corrections after providing an opportunity for oral and written presentation of views by interested persons. Nothing in this section shall limit the rights of the purchaser or any other person under any contract or applicable law.

In other words, any attempts to use a contract or arbitration agreement to deny the consumer or any other person their rights under this Act by its connection to Section 622 are void. The language contained within section 622 and this section by their very nature allows a consumer to seek remedy in a court of law.

At no time can ANYONE including a State, SAA or any other political subdivision of a State require a homeowner to negotiate though arbitration or any other means the terms of repair or replacement for their home. The problem is not the lack of an arbitration agreement or dispute resolution process, but getting the Secretary of HUD to carry out his duties under this Act.

This Act allows for there to be no disputes that are the responsibility of the homeowner or purchaser to settle, the manufacturer is always responsible to the first purchaser for their products performance.

Any implied contents contained within an arbitration agreement that requires a homeowner or purchaser to arbitrate with the manufacturer over who will pay for such repair is void since this is an attempt to circumvent the rights of the consumer or owner granted under the Act.

Any dispute resolution process that makes the same requirement of a homeowner or purchaser does in fact do the same thing as an arbitration agreement.