BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1938|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1938
Author: Williams (D)
Amended: 5/17/12 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 4-0, 6/26/12
AYES: Evans, Harman, Corbett, Leno
NO VOTE RECORDED: Blakeslee
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-2, 5/21/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Mobilehomes: rental agreements
SOURCE : Golden State Manufactured-Home Owners League
DIGEST : This bill expands the existing prohibition on
mobilehome park management passing through various fines,
fees, or damages assessed by a court relating to violations
of the Mobilehome Residency Law to also cover violations of
the Mobilehome Park Act and amounts assessed by enforcement
agencies.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires mobilehome rental
agreements to be in writing and to include, in addition to
any other provisions required by law: (1) the term of the
tenancy and the rent thereof; the rules and regulations of
the park; (2) the relative responsibilities of mobilehome
park management and owners to maintain the physical
property; (3) a provision listing any services that will be
provided and the fees to be charged for those services; (4)
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a provision stating that management may charge a reasonable
fee for services relating to maintenance in the event that
the homeowner fails to maintain the land or premises in
accordance with the rules and regulations; and (5) all
other provisions governing the tenancy. (Civil Code (CIV)
Section 798.15)
Existing law provides that a copy of the Mobilehome
Residency Law (MRL) be attached to the agreement, and that
homeowners must be notified of any changes to this law, as
specified. (CIV Section 798.15)
Existing law 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. (CIV Section 798.16)
Existing law provides that a rental agreement in a
mobilehome park in excess of 12 months' duration 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. (CIV Section 798.17 (a))
Existing law gives a homeowner at least 30 days from the
date when a rental agreement in excess of 12 months is
first offered to accept or reject the agreement, and
permits the homeowner to void the agreement by notifying
management in writing within 72 hours of the homeowner's
execution of the agreement. Existing law requires
management, at the time the agreement is first offered, to
provide the homeowner with written notice of the
homeowner's right to have 30 days to inspect the rental
agreement and the homeowner's right to void the agreement
up to 72 hours after execution. Failure to provide this
notice makes the agreement voidable at the homeowner's
option. (CIV Section 798.17 (b), (f))
This bill revises the above ability to void a contract
within 72 hours, as follows:
1. If management provides the homeowner with a copy of the
signed rental agreement at the time the homeowner
returns the agreement, a homeowner may void the
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agreement by notifying the management within 72 hours of
returning the signed agreement.
2. If management does not provide a homeowner with a copy
of the agreement at the time the borrower returns the
signed agreement, a homeowner may void the agreement
within 72 hours of receiving an executed copy of the
agreement.
This bill conforms the required written notice of the
homeowner's right to void the agreement within 72 hours to
the above changes.
Existing law 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
MRL. (CIV Section 798.39.5)
This bill extends the above provisions to fines, fees, or
damages assessed or awarded by the court or an enforcement
agency against the management for a violation of the MRL or
the Mobilehome Parks Act.
This bill clarifies that these provisions do not apply to
violations for which the registered owner of the mobilehome
is initially responsible, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/28/12)
Golden State Manufactured-Home Owners League (source)
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
Coalition for Economic Survival
Western Center on Law and Poverty
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author:
This bill will address Ýseveral] consumer protection
issues that have arisen in mobilehome park leases.
Current law allows a park owner to offer a long-term
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lease (these leases can be 1-10 years in length or more)
to manufactured homeowners. Since a homeowner is bound
to such a lease for a very long time, it is critical that
the homeowner have adequate information about the terms
of the lease.
ÝFirst, this] bill will ensure that homeowners have the
protections of existing law which allows homeowners who
have signed a long-term lease to rescind the agreement
within the first 72 hours by clarifying when the 72-hour
rescission right window begins. . . . .
Second, under a long-term lease, a homeowner may be
subject to many possible "passthroughs", additional fees
or charges, in addition to rent that the long-term lease
provides for. These passthroughs are intended to allow
the parkowner to recapture any costs or losses incurred
by the parkowner in the future. However, it is generally
against public policy to allow a parkowner to provide for
a recapture of a judgment obtained by the park residents
against the park owner for actions that harm the
residents. The law already prohibits such passthroughs
for violations of the ÝMobilehome Residency Law]; this
bill would expand that prohibition to include judgments
for violation of the Mobilehome Parks Act (MPA).
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-2, 5/21/12
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley,
Buchanan, Butler, Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro,
Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fong,
Fuentes, Furutani, Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto,
Gordon, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi,
Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight,
Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza,
Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen,
Norby, Olsen, Pan, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva,
Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao,
Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NOES: Bill Berryhill, Donnelly
NO VOTE RECORDED: Charles Calderon, Fletcher, Halderman,
Roger Hernández, Perea
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RJG:m 6/28/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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