Part V. Warranty, Service and Alterations
Article 8
Reinstatement
13VAC6-20-310. Warranties; provisions.
A. Each manufacturer located in or outside of the Commonwealth delivering in or shipping into the Commonwealth manufactured homes for sale shall issue with each new home a warranty to the buyer, in writing, setting forth the following terms:
1. That all structural elements; plumbing systems; heating, cooling (if any), and fuel burning systems; electrical systems; and any other components included by the manufacturer are manufactured and installed free from defect.
2. That the manufacturer shall take appropriate corrective action at the site of the manufactured home, except for components which can be removed for service without undue inconvenience to the buyer, in instances of defects which become evident after the date of delivery of the home to the buyer, provided the buyer gives notice of the defects to the manufacturer at the manufacturer's business address.
3. That the manufacturer shall take such actions deemed necessary as ordered by the board under this chapter.
B. Each dealer located in or outside of the Commonwealth selling or delivering manufactured homes to buyers in the Commonwealth shall issue with each manufactured home a warranty to the buyer, in writing, setting forth the following terms:
1. That any modifications or alterations made to the home by the dealer or authorized by the dealer are free from defects. Alterations or modifications made by the dealer, without written permission of the manufacturer, shall relieve the manufacturer of the warranty requirements of subsection A of this section for the item altered or modified and any damage resulting from the alteration or modification.
2. That set-up operations performed by the dealer or by persons under contract to the dealer on the manufactured home are completed in compliance with the applicable Code requirements for the installation of manufactured homes.
3. That during the course of transportation and set-up operations performed by the dealer or by persons under contract to the dealer, any defects which may occur with the manufactured home will be corrected properly.
4. That the dealer shall take appropriate corrective action at the site of the manufactured home, except for components which can be removed for service without undue inconvenience to the buyer, if such defects become evident after the date of delivery of the home to the buyer, provided the buyer gives notice of the defects to the dealer at the dealer's place of business.
5. That the dealer shall take such actions deemed necessary as ordered by the board under this chapter.
C. Any warranties generally offered by suppliers in the ordinary sale of their products to consumers shall be extended to buyers of manufactured homes. The warranty by the manufacturer of the home shall remain in effect not withstanding the existence of the suppliers' warranty.
D. The regulant's warranty shall be in addition to, and not in detraction of, all other rights and privileges which the buyer may have under any other law or regulation. The regulant shall not require the buyer to waive his rights under this part and any such waiver shall be deemed contrary to public policy and shall be unenforceable and void.
Statutory Authority
§ 36-85.18 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR449-01-02 § 5.1, eff. April 1, 1994; amended, Virginia Register Volume 12, Issue 3, eff. January 1, 1996.
13VAC6-20-320. Duration of warranties.
All warranties provided by regulants as required by 13VAC6-20-310 shall be for a period of not less than 12 months measured from the date of delivery of the home to the buyer.
Statutory Authority
§ 36-85.18 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR449-01-02 § 5.2, eff. April 1, 1994; amended, Virginia Register Volume 35, Issue 20, eff. July 1, 2019.
13VAC6-20-330. Presenting warranty claims.
To invoke a regulant's warranty under 13VAC6-20-310, the buyer shall notify the regulant within a reasonable time after discovering the defect and not later than 90 days after the expiration of the stated term of the warranty. The regulant shall make a record of the name and address of each claimant and the date, substance, and disposition of each claim about the defect. The regulant may request that a warranty claim be made in writing; however, the regulant shall record any claim received as noted above and shall not delay service pending receipt of the written claim.
Statutory Authority
§ 36-85.18 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR449-01-02 § 5.3, eff. April 1, 1994.
13VAC6-20-340. Service agreements; determination of responsible party.
A. If a service agreement exists between or among the manufacturer, the dealer, and the supplier to provide warranty services on a manufactured home, the service agreement shall specify which of the regulants shall be the responsible party for remedying defects reported in the home. All service agreements shall be in writing. No service agreement shall relieve a regulant, determined by the board to be the responsible party for remedying the defect, of the responsibility for performing warranty service; however, any regulant accepting the responsibility to perform the warranty service obligations of other regulants under the service agreement shall be responsible to both the buyer and the other regulant to perform adequate warranty service.
B. If there is no warranty or service agreement between or among the regulants, the board shall have the authority to designate the responsible party for each defect given in the claim. The board may use reports and recommendations from the department staff investigating consumer complaints under the applicable provisions of the Code or may request staff to make a specific on-site inspection to determine the responsible party for remedying the defect.
C. If a warranty claim is made to a regulant that is not the responsible party for remedying the defect, that regulant shall immediately notify the claimant, in writing of that fact, and shall also notify, in writing, the regulant that is the responsible party for the defect, forwarding to the responsible party all available information about the claimant and the substance of the warranty claim.
D. If a defect is the responsibility of more than one regulant, each regulant shall be deemed to be a responsible party for the defect. A responsible party shall not fail to remedy defects because other regulants may also have joint responsibility for the defect or defects; however, nothing in this chapter shall prevent a responsible party from obtaining compensation by way of contribution or subrogation from another responsible party in accordance with any other provision of law or contracts between the regulants.
E. If a regulant corrects a defect under a warranty claim and the board determines that the regulant is not the responsible party, then that regulant shall be entitled to reasonable compensation for the warranty service performed. The compensation shall be from the responsible party for the defect.
F. It shall be a violation of this part for a regulant to coerce or require a nonresponsible party to perform warranty service under this chapter. Any regulant or responsible party may file a complaint to the board if warranty service obligations under this chapter are not being completed or enforced.
Statutory Authority
§ 36-85.18 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR449-01-02 § 5.4, eff. April 1, 1994.
13VAC6-20-350. Warranty service; time limits; rejection of claim.
A. Any defect which is determined to be an imminent safety hazard to life and health shall be remedied within three days of receipt of the written notice of the warranty claim. Defects which may be considered as imminent safety hazards to life and health include, but are not limited to, any of the following:
1. Inadequate heating in freezing weather.
2. Failure of sanitary facilities.
3. Electrical shock hazards.
4. Leaking gas.
5. Major structural failure.
The board may suspend this three-day time period in the event of widespread defects or damage resulting from adverse weather conditions or other natural disasters.
B. All other defects shall be remedied within 45 days of receipt of the written notice of the warranty claim unless a bona fide reason exists for not remedying the defect within the time period. If the responsible party has a bona fide reason for not meeting the 45-day time period, he shall respond to the claimant in writing, with a copy to the board, explaining the reason or reasons and stating what further action is contemplated regarding the warranty service.
C. Department staff handling consumer complaints under the Code shall also review the complaints for warranty service obligations under this part, and shall make initial determinations of defects and imminent safety hazards to life and health as defined by the Code. Any disagreements between department staff and regulants or responsible parties regarding these determinations shall be resolved by the board. If a regulant or responsible party disputes the determination of an imminent safety hazard to life or health by the staff and asks for a ruling by the board, the three-day time period for remedying the hazard shall not be enforced unless the board agrees to the determination. If the board determines that the defect is an imminent safety hazard, it shall immediately notify the responsible party of the determination. The responsible party shall have three days from receipt of this notice to remedy the hazard.
D. Within the time limits specified in subsections A and B of this section, the responsible party shall either resolve the claim or determine that it is not justified. Whenever a regulant determines that a claim for warranty service is not justified, in whole or in part, he shall immediately notify the claimant in writing that the claim or a part of the claim is rejected. This notice shall explain to the claimant why the claim or specific parts of the claim are rejected and that the claimant is entitled to complain or file an appeal to the board. The notice shall provide the claimant with the complete address of the board.
Statutory Authority
§§ 36-85.18 and 36-85.36 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR449-01-02 § 5.5, eff. April 1, 1994; amended, Virginia Register Volume 22, Issue 10, eff. April 12, 2006; Volume 28, Issue 20, eff. July 4, 2012.
13VAC6-20-360. Records; available to board.
The board or the board's representative shall be authorized to inspect the pertinent service records of a manufacturer, dealer, supplier, or broker relating to a written warranty claim or complaint made to the board regarding that manufacturer, dealer, supplier, or broker. Such inspection shall be allowed by the regulant during reasonable business hours. Upon request by the board, every regulant shall send to the board within 10 days a true copy of any and all documents or records pertinent to the claim for service or complaint.
Statutory Authority
§ 36-85.18 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR449-01-02 § 5.6, eff. April 1, 1994.
13VAC6-20-370. Alterations; by dealer or by owner.
A. Unless authorized by this chapter or by the manufacturer, a dealer shall not make any alterations or modifications to a manufactured home after shipment from the manufacturer's facility. If a dealer performs an unauthorized alteration or modification in or to a manufactured home, the dealer then shall bear primary warranty responsibility for the altered or modified item or items. If the manufacturer remedies or is required by the board to remedy any warranty claim on the altered or modified item or items, then that manufacturer shall be entitled to recover damages in the amount of his costs, including attorney's fees, from the dealer responsible for the alteration or modification.
B. Unless authorized by the manufacturer, the owner or person or persons working for the owner shall not make alterations or modifications to a manufactured home after shipment from the manufacturer's facility. Any unauthorized alteration or modification made by the owner or person or persons working for the owner shall relieve the manufacturer of the responsibility to remedy any defects caused by such alteration or modification. All manufacturers shall display clearly and conspicuously on the face of their warranty to the buyer a statement explaining that the owner shall be responsible for remedying any defects caused by unauthorized alterations or modifications done by the owner or person or persons working for the owner. The statement shall also include a warning specifying any alterations or modifications which should be performed only by qualified personnel in order to preserve their warranty protection.
Statutory Authority
§ 36-85.18 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR449-01-02 § 5.7, eff. April 1, 1994.
13VAC6-20-380. Qualifications of personnel performing alterations.
All persons responsible for performing alterations under this part shall be deemed "qualified personnel" only when approved or certified by the manufacturer of the home.
Statutory Authority
§ 36-85.18 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR449-01-02 § 5.8, eff. April 1, 1994.