Senate Bill No. 459

(By Senator Tucker)

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[Introduced January 31, 2012; referred to the Committee on the Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact §11-5-12 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to the assessment of mobile homes for tax purposes; defining “mobile home”; and classifying mobile homes upon the real estate of the owner as real property.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

    That §11-5-12 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

ARTICLE 5. ASSESSMENT OF PERSONAL PROPERTY.

§11-5-12. Mobile homes situate upon property owned by a person other than owner of mobile home.

    (a) For the purposes of this section, the term “mobile home” means: (1) “Mobile home” as defined in section one-b, article 6, chapter sixty-one of this code; and (2) “Manufactured home” as defined in section two, article nine, chapter twenty-one of said code.

    (b) Mobile homes situate situated upon property owned by a person other than the owner of the mobile home shall be classified as personal property whether or not said mobile home is permanently affixed to the real estate and, unless subject to assessment as Class II property under section eleven of this article or section two, article four of this chapter, shall be assessed as Class III or Class IV personal property, as may be appropriate in the circumstances.

    (c) A mobile home permanently attached to situated on the real estate of the owner may not be classified as personal property if the owner has filed a canceled certificate of title with the clerk of the county commission and has recorded it in the same manner as deeds are recorded and indexed shall be assessed as real property, regardless of whether the structure is affixed to the property or not.

    NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to assess mobile homes situated upon the real estate of the owner as real property.

    Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.