BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 1938
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          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
          AB 1938 (Williams)
          As Amended  May 7, 2012
          Majority vote 

           HOUSING             5-2         JUDICIARY           10-0        
           
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          |Ayes:|Torres, Atkins, Bradford, |Ayes:|Feuer, Wagner, Atkins,    |
          |     |Fong, Hueso               |     |Dickinson, Gorell, Huber, |
          |     |                          |     |Jones, Monning,           |
          |     |                          |     |Wieckowski, Chesbro       |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |Nays:|Beth Gaines, Jeffries     |     |                          |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           SUMMARY  :  Makes changes to the laws governing rental agreements 
          in mobilehome parks.  Specifically,  this bill  :  

          1)Specifies that a homeowner who signs a rental agreement in 
            excess of 12 months' duration may void the agreement by 
            notifying management in writing within 72 hours of returning 
            the signed rental agreement to management, provided that 
            management provides the homeowner with a copy of the signed 
            rental agreement at the time the homeowner returns it.

          2)Specifies that in cases where management does not provide the 
            homeowner with a copy of the signed rental agreement at the 
            time the homeowner returns it, the homeowner may void the 
            agreement within 72 hours of receiving an executed copy of the 
            rental agreement.

          3)Prohibits the management in a mobilehome park from charging or 
            imposing upon a homeowner any fee or increase in rent that 
            reflects the cost to the management of any fine, forfeiture, 
            penalty, money damages, or fee assessed or awarded by a court 
            of law or an enforcement agency for a violation of the 
            Mobilehome Parks Act (Health and Safety Code Section 18200, et 
            seq.), including any attorney's fees and costs incurred by the 
            management.

           EXISTING LAW  :









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          1)Specifies that a rental agreement in a mobilehome park in 
            excess of 12 months' duration that is entered into between the 
            management and a homeowner for the personal residence of the 
            homeowner is exempt from any ordinance, rule, regulation, or 
            initiative measure adopted by any local governmental entity 
            that establishes a maximum amount that a landlord may charge a 
            tenant for rent (Civil Code Section 798.17).

          2)Specifies that a homeowner who executes a long-term rental 
            agreement may void the agreement by notifying management in 
            writing within 72 hours of the homeowner's execution of the 
            rental agreement (Civil Code Section 798.17).

          3)Requires management to return an executed copy of the rental 
            agreement to the homeowner within 15 business days after 
            management has received the rental agreement signed by the 
            homeowner (Civil Code Section 798.16).
          4)Prohibits management from charging or imposing upon a 
            homeowner any fee or increase in rent that reflects the cost 
            to the management of any fine, forfeiture, penalty, money 
            damages, or fee assessed or awarded by a court of law against 
            the management for a violation of the Mobilehome Residency 
            Law, including any attorney's fees and costs incurred by the 
            management in connection therewith (Civil Code Section 
            798.39.5).

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   None

           COMMENTS  :  There are approximately 4,822 mobilehome parks and 
          manufactured housing communities in California, with an 
          estimated 700,000 residents living in these parks.  In the 
          majority of parks, mobilehome residents own their homes but rent 
          the spaces on which their homes are installed.  "Mobilehome" is 
          something of a misnomer in that once installed in a park, it is 
          very rare for a mobilehome to be moved.  This is due to both the 
          difficulty and cost involved, and also because the supply of 
          mobilehome spaces is very limited, vacancies are rare, and most 
          park owners do not allow the installation of older mobilehomes 
          in their parks.

          Over 100 jurisdictions in California have some form of local 
          rent control ordinance limiting the amount of rent or 
          establishing a maximum amount of rent that the management of a 
          mobilehome park may charge a tenant.  Long-term rental 








                                                                  AB 1938
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          agreements, those with a term longer than 12 months, are exempt 
          from local rent control.  

          Under current law, a homeowner has 72 hours to void a long-term 
          rental agreement after signing it.  Current law also gives park 
          management 15 business days to return a copy of the executed 
          lease to the homeowner.  Thus, the window of opportunity for a 
          homeowner to void the lease closes 12 days before the park 
          management is required to provide the homeowner with a copy of 
          the fully executed lease. 

          This bill addresses this issue by specifying that a homeowner 
          has 72 hours to void a long-term rental agreement after signing 
          it, so long as the homeowner gets a copy of the rental agreement 
          at that time.  If the homeowner does not get a copy of the 
          rental agreement at the time of signing, then the homeowner 
          would have 72 hours from the time he or she receives an executed 
          copy of the agreement to void it. 

          Under current law, park management is prohibited from passing 
          through to homeowners the costs of any fines, penalties, or 
          damages awarded by a court against the management for a 
          violation of the Mobilehome Residency Law.  This bill expands 
          this provision by additionally prohibiting management from 
          passing through damages awarded by a court or an enforcement 
          agency against the management for a violation of the Mobilehome 
          Parks Act, which governs health and safety conditions in 
          mobilehome parks. 


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Anya Lawler / H. & C.D. / (916) 
          319-2085 


                                                                FN: 0003528