Clarification of Statement of Ownership Filing Timelines to Avoid Violations

We hope everyone has seen the MH Division of TDHCA’s recent announcement providing clarification on how to fill out block 4(d) at the bottom of page one for the Statement of Ownership Application.

Just in case, TMHA is notifying our full contact list of this recent development.

We had previously posted about the division’s step-up in enforcement on title and installation reports being filed beyond the state law mandate of 60 and 7 days, respectfully.

(Recall, this originates from a law change in 2007 that extended the Statement of Ownership submission timeline from 30-days to 60-days and authorized a late fee)

Since the division increased its enforcement tracking in May, many Notices of Violations have been sent to licensees for applications that were submitted to the department timestamped received that where longer than 60-days from the date indicated on block 4(d) of the application.

Many in the industry associated the “date of sale” on the Statement of Ownership Application to the date the consumer executed their retail purchase contract. Historically, this is/was a common practice to match these two dates. However, with the enforcement changes, using that date is problematic due to any number of factors that can extend a timeline beyond two months from purchase contract execution and handing the keys of a home to a buyer.

Also, remember that since the industry moved beyond the common use of Retail Installment Contracts in the selling process to a direct lending model (due to the federal law changes in the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010), the timing trigger for the 3-day Right of Rescission is not the date on the state promulgated Statement of Ownership Application, but rather 3-days after the date the sales purchase contract is signed for a cash sale, or 3-days after the buyer/borrower signs the “binding note, security agreement or other financing credit contract.” (See: Sec. 1201.1521, Occupations Code)

The department made a clarification and formal department interpretation announcement that the date that should be used on the Statement of Ownership Application should be the:

“date of transfer, ownership change, or the date the full purchase price has been paid or funded by or on behalf of the buyer, or the delivery date, whichever is later.”

The delivery date should be understood to mean the date of final completed installation.

The department and TMHA will recommend to the board of the MH Division of TDHCA that the Statement of Ownership Application form be changed to reflect the division’s interpretation at their next available meeting, which is set for September. We anticipate other proposed rule changes as well at that time to reflect recent legislation that went into effect on September 1, 2025, and an exception in current rules on filing forms with blank spaces to account for the future date of final funding or final installation, whichever is later.

We will, of course, keep members abreast of all changes and those effective dates.

Lastly, TMHA has also added this clarification to our list of enhancements and clarifications we will advocate for in future legislative sessions. It should be noted, the department pointed out the need for this type of clarification previously, but the political timing was such that we have not yet been able to incorporate the change. We expect this to change in coming session(s).

If you have additional questions, please reach out to the division directly at 877-313-3023 or via email at complaints@tdhca.texas.gov or to TMHA at 512-459-1221 or info@texasmha.com.