S.B. 171 Enrolled

PROPERTY TAX TREATMENT OF
TRANSPORTABLE FACTORY-BUILT HOUSING
UNITS
2004 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Sponsor: Curtis S. Bramble

LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill amends the Property Tax Act and the Mortgage Lending and Servicing Act.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
. amends and provides definitions;
. addresses the treatment of transportable factory-built housing units as personal
property or real property for purposes of the Property Tax Act;
. provides that the treatment of transportable factory-built housing units for purposes
of the Property Tax Act shall be determined without regard to the treatment of
mobile homes or manufactured homes for purposes of the Mortgage Lending and
Servicing Act;
. clarifies that the treatment of mobile homes or manufactured homes for purposes of
the Mortgage Lending and Servicing Act shall be determined without regard to the
treatment of transportable factory-built housing units for purposes of the Property
Tax Act; and
. makes technical changes.
Monies Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
This bill has retrospective operation to January 1, 2004.
Utah Code Sections Affected:

AMENDS:
59-2-102, as last amended by Chapter 113, Laws of Utah 2003
70D-1-20, as enacted by Chapter 229, Laws of Utah 2003
ENACTS:
59-2-1501, Utah Code Annotated 1953
59-2-1502, Utah Code Annotated 1953
59-2-1503, Utah Code Annotated 1953

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 59-2-102 is amended to read:
59-2-102. Definitions.
As used in this chapter and title:
(1) "Aerial applicator" means aircraft or rotorcraft used exclusively for the purpose of
engaging in dispensing activities directly affecting agriculture or horticulture with an airworthiness
certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration certifying the aircraft or rotorcraft's use for
agricultural and pest control purposes.
(2) "Air charter service" means an air carrier operation which requires the customer to
hire an entire aircraft rather than book passage in whatever capacity is available on a scheduled
trip.
(3) "Air contract service" means an air carrier operation available only to customers who
engage the services of the carrier through a contractual agreement and excess capacity on any trip
and is not available to the public at large.
(4) "Aircraft" is as defined in Section 72-10-102 .
(5) "Airline" means any air carrier operating interstate routes on a scheduled basis which
offers to fly passengers or cargo on the basis of available capacity on regularly scheduled routes.
(6) "Assessment roll" means a permanent record of the assessment of property as
assessed by the county assessor and the commission and may be maintained manually or as a
computerized file as a consolidated record or as multiple records by type, classification, or

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categories.
(7) "Certified revenue levy" means a property tax levy that provides the same amount of
ad valorem property tax revenue as was collected for the prior year, plus new growth, but
exclusive of revenue from collections from redemptions, interest, and penalties.
(8) "County-assessed commercial vehicle" means:
(a) any commercial vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer which is not apportioned under Section
41-1a-301 and is not operated interstate to transport the vehicle owner's goods or property in
furtherance of the owner's commercial enterprise;
(b) any passenger vehicle owned by a business and used by its employees for
transportation as a company car or vanpool vehicle; and
(c) vehicles which are:
(i) especially constructed for towing or wrecking, and which are not otherwise used to
transport goods, merchandise, or people for compensation;
(ii) used or licensed as taxicabs or limousines;
(iii) used as rental passenger cars, travel trailers, or motor homes;
(iv) used or licensed in this state for use as ambulances or hearses;
(v) especially designed and used for garbage and rubbish collection; or
(vi) used exclusively to transport students or their instructors to or from any private,
public, or religious school or school activities.
(9) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (9)(b), for purposes of Section 59-2-801 ,
"designated tax area" means a tax area created by the overlapping boundaries of only the
following taxing entities:
(i) a county; and
(ii) a school district.
(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (9)(a), "designated tax area" includes a tax area created
by the overlapping boundaries of:
(i) the taxing entities described in Subsection (9)(a); and
(ii) (A) a city or town if the boundaries of the school district under Subsection (9)(a) and

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the boundaries of the city or town are identical; or
(B) a special service district if the boundaries of the school district under Subsection
(9)(a) are located entirely within the special service district.
(10) "Eligible judgment" means a final and unappealable judgment or order under Section
59-2-1330 :
(a) that became a final and unappealable judgment or order no more than 14 months prior
to the day on which the notice required by Subsection 59-2-919 (4) is required to be mailed; and
(b) for which a taxing entity's share of the final and unappealable judgment or order is
greater than or equal to the lesser of:
(i) $5,000; or
(ii) 2.5% of the total ad valorem property taxes collected by the taxing entity in the
previous fiscal year.
(11) (a) "Escaped property" means any property, whether personal, land, or any
improvements to the property, subject to taxation and is:
(i) inadvertently omitted from the tax rolls, assigned to the incorrect parcel, or assessed to
the wrong taxpayer by the assessing authority;
(ii) undervalued or omitted from the tax rolls because of the failure of the taxpayer to
comply with the reporting requirements of this chapter; or
(iii) undervalued because of errors made by the assessing authority based upon incomplete
or erroneous information furnished by the taxpayer.
(b) Property which is undervalued because of the use of a different valuation
methodology or because of a different application of the same valuation methodology is not
"escaped property."
(12) "Fair market value" means the amount at which property would change hands
between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither being under any compulsion to buy or sell and
both having reasonable knowledge of the relevant facts. For purposes of taxation, "fair market
value" shall be determined using the current zoning laws applicable to the property in question,
except in cases where there is a reasonable probability of a change in the zoning laws affecting

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that property in the tax year in question and the change would have an appreciable influence upon
the value.
(13) "Farm machinery and equipment," for purposes of the exemption provided under
Section 59-2-1101 , means tractors, milking equipment and storage and cooling facilities, feed
handling equipment, irrigation equipment, harvesters, choppers, grain drills and planters, tillage
tools, scales, combines, spreaders, sprayers, haying equipment, and any other machinery or
equipment used primarily for agricultural purposes; but does not include vehicles required to be
registered with the Motor Vehicle Division or vehicles or other equipment used for business
purposes other than farming.
(14) "Geothermal fluid" means water in any form at temperatures greater than 120
degrees centigrade naturally present in a geothermal system.
(15) "Geothermal resource" means:
(a) the natural heat of the earth at temperatures greater than 120 degrees centigrade; and
(b) the energy, in whatever form, including pressure, present in, resulting from, created
by, or which may be extracted from that natural heat, directly or through a material medium.
(16) (a) ["Improvements"] Except as provided in Subsection (16)(b), "improvement"
includes [all buildings, structures, fixtures, fences, and improvements erected upon or affixed to
the land, whether the title has been acquired to the land or not.] the following if erected upon or
affixed to land, regardless of whether the title has been acquired to the land:
(i) a building;
(ii) a fence;
(iii) a fixture;
(iv) an improvement; and
(v) a structure.
(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (16)(a), "improvement" does not include a transportable
factory-built housing unit as defined in Section 59-2-1502 if that transportable factory-built
housing unit is considered to be personal property under Section 59-2-1503 .
(17) "Intangible property" means:

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(a) property that is capable of private ownership separate from tangible property,
including:
(i) moneys;
(ii) credits;
(iii) bonds;
(iv) stocks;
(v) representative property;
(vi) franchises;
(vii) licenses;
(viii) trade names;
(ix) copyrights; and
(x) patents; or
(b) a low-income housing tax credit.
(18) "Low-income housing tax credit" means:
(a) a federal low-income housing tax credit under Section 42, Internal Revenue Code; or
(b) a low-income housing tax credit under:
(i) Section 59-7-607 ; or
(ii) Section 59-10-129 .
(19) "Metalliferous minerals" includes gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, and uranium.
(20) "Mine" means a natural deposit of either metalliferous or nonmetalliferous valuable
mineral.
(21) "Mining" means the process of producing, extracting, leaching, evaporating, or
otherwise removing a mineral from a mine.
(22) (a) "Mobile flight equipment" means tangible personal property that is:
(i) owned or operated by an:
(A) air charter service;
(B) air contract service; or
(C) airline; and

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(ii) (A) capable of flight;
(B) attached to an aircraft that is capable of flight; or
(C) contained in an aircraft that is capable of flight if the tangible personal property is
intended to be used:
(I) during multiple flights;
(II) during a takeoff, flight, or landing; and
(III) as a service provided by an air charter service, air contract service, or airline.
(b) (i) "Mobile flight equipment" does not include a spare part other than a spare engine
that is rotated:
(A) at regular intervals; and
(B) with an engine that is attached to the aircraft.
(ii) In accordance with Title 63, Chapter 46a, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, the
commission may make rules defining the term "regular intervals."
(23) "Nonmetalliferous minerals" includes, but is not limited to, oil, gas, coal, salts, sand,
rock, gravel, and all carboniferous materials.
(24) "Personal property" includes:
(a) every class of property as defined in Subsection (25) which is the subject of ownership
and not included within the meaning of the terms "real estate" and "improvements";
(b) gas and water mains and pipes laid in roads, streets, or alleys;
(c) bridges and ferries; and
(d) livestock which, for the purposes of the exemption provided under Section
59-2-1112 , means all domestic animals, honeybees, poultry, fur-bearing animals, and fish.
(25) (a) "Property" means property that is subject to assessment and taxation according
to its value.
(b) "Property" does not include intangible property as defined in this section.
(26) "Public utility," for purposes of this chapter, means the operating property of a
railroad, gas corporation, oil or gas transportation or pipeline company, coal slurry pipeline
company, electrical corporation, telephone corporation, sewerage corporation, or heat

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corporation where the company performs the service for, or delivers the commodity to, the public
generally or companies serving the public generally, or in the case of a gas corporation or an
electrical corporation, where the gas or electricity is sold or furnished to any member or
consumers within the state for domestic, commercial, or industrial use. Public utility also means
the operating property of any entity or person defined under Section 54-2-1 except water
corporations.
(27) "Real estate" or "real property" includes:
(a) the possession of, claim to, ownership of, or right to the possession of land;
(b) all mines, minerals, and quarries in and under the land, all timber belonging to
individuals or corporations growing or being on the lands of this state or the United States, and all
rights and privileges appertaining to these; and
(c) improvements.
(28) "Residential property," for the purposes of the reductions and adjustments under this
chapter, means any property used for residential purposes as a primary residence. It does not
include property used for transient residential use or condominiums used in rental pools.
(29) For purposes of Subsection 59-2-801 (1)(e), "route miles" means the number of miles
calculated by the commission that is:
(a) measured in a straight line by the commission; and
(b) equal to the distance between a geographical location that begins or ends:
(i) at a boundary of the state; and
(ii) where an aircraft:
(A) takes off; or
(B) lands.
(30) (a) "State-assessed commercial vehicle" means:
(i) any commercial vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer which operates interstate or intrastate to
transport passengers, freight, merchandise, or other property for hire; or
(ii) any commercial vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer which operates interstate and transports
the vehicle owner's goods or property in furtherance of the owner's commercial enterprise.

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(b) "State-assessed commercial vehicle" does not include vehicles used for hire which are
specified in Subsection (8)(c) as county-assessed commercial vehicles.
(31) "Taxable value" means fair market value less any applicable reduction allowed for
residential property under Section 59-2-103 .
(32) "Tax area" means a geographic area created by the overlapping boundaries of one or
more taxing entities.
(33) "Taxing entity" means any county, city, town, school district, special taxing district,
or any other political subdivision of the state with the authority to levy a tax on property.
(34) "Tax roll" means a permanent record of the taxes charged on property, as extended
on the assessment roll and may be maintained on the same record or records as the assessment roll
or may be maintained on a separate record properly indexed to the assessment roll. It includes tax
books, tax lists, and other similar materials.
Section 2. Section 59-2-1501 is enacted to read:
Part 15. Transportable Factory-Built Housing Unit Act
59-2-1501. Title.
This part is known as the "Transportable Factory-Built Housing Unit Act."
Section 3. Section 59-2-1502 is enacted to read:
59-2-1502. Definitions.
As used in this part:
(1) "Manufactured home" is as defined in Section 41-1a-102 .
(2) "Mobile home" is as defined in Section 41-1a-102.
(3) "Transportable factory-built housing unit" means a:
(a) mobile home; or
(b) manufactured home.
(4) "Transportable factory-built housing unit park" means any tract of land on which two
or more unit spaces are:
(a) leased;
(b) rented; or

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(c) offered for:
(i) lease; or
(ii) rent.
(5) "Unit space" means a specific area of land within a transportable factory-built housing
unit park that is designed to accommodate one transportable factory-built housing unit for
residential purposes.
Section 4. Section 59-2-1503 is enacted to read:
59-2-1503. Property tax treatment of transportable factory-built housing units.
Regardless of whether a transportable factory-built housing unit is considered to be real
property or personal property under Section 70D-1-20 , for purposes of this chapter:
(1) a transportable factory-built housing unit that is located in a transportable factory-built
housing unit park:
(a) except as provided in Subsection (1)(b), is considered to be personal property; and
(b) notwithstanding Subsection (1)(a), is considered to be real property if the owner of
the transportable factory-built housing unit owns the real property upon which the transportable
factory-built housing unit is located; and
(2) a transportable factory-built housing unit that is not located in a transportable
factory-built housing unit park:
(a) except as provided in Subsection (2)(b), is considered to be personal property; and
(b) notwithstanding Subsection (2)(a), is considered to be real property if the
transportable factory-built housing unit is an improvement.
Section 5. Section 70D-1-20 is amended to read:
70D-1-20. Qualification of manufactured home or mobile home as improvement to
real property -- Requirements -- Removal from property.
(1) Except as provided in this section, for purposes of this chapter, a manufactured home
or mobile home shall be considered personal property.
(2) Notwithstanding Subsection (1), for purposes of this chapter, if the requirements of
this section are met, a manufactured home or mobile home shall be:

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(a) considered to be an improvement to real property; and
(b) considered as real property.
(3) A manufactured home or mobile home shall be considered to be an improvement to
real property if:
(a) the manufactured home or mobile home is permanently affixed to real property;
(b) the person seeking to have the manufactured home or mobile home considered to be
an improvement to real property:
(i) owns the manufactured home or mobile home; and
(ii) (A) owns the real property to which the manufactured home or mobile home is
permanently affixed; or
(B) leases the real property to which the manufactured home or mobile home is
permanently affixed and the real property is financed in accordance with Subsection (4); and
(iii) meets the requirements of Subsections (5) and (6); and
(c) in accordance with Subsection (7), the following are recorded by the county recorder:
(i) the affidavit of affixture described in Subsection (7); and
(ii) the receipt of surrender described in Subsection (7).
(4) For purposes of Subsection (3)(b)(ii)(B), a manufactured home or mobile home shall
be financed in accordance with the guidelines established by:
(a) the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation;
(b) the Federal National Mortgage Association;
(c) the United States Department of Agriculture; or
(d) another entity that requires as part of the entity's financing program restrictions:
(i) on:
(A) ownership; and
(B) actions affecting title and possession; and
(ii) if the restrictions described in Subsection (4)(d)(i) are similar to restrictions imposed
by one or more of the entities described in Subsections (4)(a) through (c).
(5) (a) An owner of a manufactured home or mobile home seeking to have the

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manufactured home or mobile home considered to be an improvement to real property and
considered real property shall complete an affidavit of affixture.
(b) An affidavit of affixture described in Subsection (5)(a) shall contain:
(i) the vehicle identification numbers of the manufactured home or mobile home;
(ii) the legal description of the real property to which the manufactured home or mobile
home is permanently affixed;
(iii) a statement certified by the assessor of the county in which the manufactured home or
mobile home is located that the owner of the manufactured home or mobile home:
(A) is not required to pay personal property tax in this state on the manufactured home or
mobile home; or
(B) if the manufactured home or mobile home is subject to personal property tax in this
state, has paid all current and prior year personal property taxes assessed on the manufactured
home or mobile home;
(iv) a description of any security interests in the manufactured home or mobile home; and
(v) a receipt of surrender issued by the Motor Vehicle Division of the State Tax
Commission in accordance with Subsection (6).
(6) (a) The Motor Vehicle Division of the State Tax Commission shall issue a receipt of
surrender under Subsection (5)(b)(v) if an owner described in Subsection (5) surrenders to the
Motor Vehicle Division the:
(i) manufacturer's original certificate of origin; or
(ii) title to the manufactured home or mobile home.
(b) After issuing the receipt of surrender in Subsection (6)(a), the Motor Vehicle Division
shall maintain a permanent record of:
(i) the receipt of surrender; and
(ii) the certificate or title described in Subsection (6)(a)(ii).
(7) (a) An owner shall present to the county recorder:
(i) the affidavit of affixture described in Subsection (5); and
(ii) the receipt of surrender described in Subsection (6).

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(b) A county recorder who receives an affidavit of affixture and receipt of surrender
described in Subsection (7)(a) shall record the receipt of surrender and affidavit of affixture.
(c) An owner of property described in Subsection (5) shall provide a copy of the recorded
affidavit of affixture to:
(i) the Motor Vehicle Division of the Tax Commission; and
(ii) the assessor of the county in which the manufactured home or mobile home is located.
(8) A lien on the manufactured home or mobile home that is considered to be an
improvement to real property shall be perfected in the manner provided for the perfection of a lien
on real property.
(9) If a manufactured home or mobile home owner separates the manufactured home or
mobile home from the real property, the owner may acquire a new title by submitting to the
Motor Vehicle Division of the State Tax Commission:
(a) a recorded affidavit that the manufactured home or mobile home has been removed
from the real property; and
(b) an application for a new title.
(10) The determination of whether a manufactured home or mobile home is considered
real property or personal property under this section may not be considered in determining
whether the manufactured home or mobile home is real property or personal property for
purposes of taxation under Title 59, Chapter 2, Property Tax Act.
Section 6. Retrospective operation.
This bill has retrospective operation to January 1, 2004.

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