BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1938| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ 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) CONTINUED AB 1938 Page 2 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 CONTINUED AB 1938 Page 3 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 CONTINUED AB 1938 Page 4 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 CONTINUED AB 1938 Page 5 RJG:m 6/28/12 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED