Subsidies for tenants in trailer parks not properly allocated

Wednesday, April 16, 2003 | 10:03 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The state Manufactured Housing Division violated its own rules in allocating rent subsidy money to people who live in trailer parks, a legislative audit said Tuesday.

The financial examination said the division, which is supported by fees charged to the industry, has been spending more than it took in during the last four fiscal years. For instance in the 2002 fiscal year, the agency received $1.6 million but spent $1.8 million.

As a result of the overspending, the reserve in the division has dipped from $1.7 million in fiscal 1998 to $720,544 in fiscal year 2002.

The division administers a program to provide subsidies of up to $100 per month to low-income tenants of mobile home parks. The program is financed by a fee of $12 per space per year paid by the parks.

During the last fiscal year, the division determined there was not enough money to pay a subsidy to every approved applicant. The rules of the division said in these cases the amount to each applicant should be reduced.

But the division did not reduce the subsidy. It paid out $370,000 to about 375 applicants last fiscal year and left 49 eligible tenants on a waiting list. The people on the waiting list didn't get any of the program money. Division administrator Renee Diamond said the regulations will be changed to include a waiting list of applicants who would not qualify for the money. Diamond also said she would start better accounting procedures to keep better track of the money.

The division, created in 1979, is responsible for enforcing manufactured housing law. This includes resolving landlord-tenant complaints, making court-ordered payments to consumers who have won judgments against licensees and providing training to mobile home landlords.