BILL NUMBER: AB 2026	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 21, 2014

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Stone

                        FEBRUARY 20, 2014

   An act to amend Sections 798.73.5 and 798.74 of the Civil Code,
relating to mobilehome parks.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2026, as amended, Stone. Mobilehome parks: sales.
   Existing law authorizes the management of a mobilehome park, in
the case of a sale or transfer of a mobilehome that is sold and that
will remain in the park, to require repairs or improvements to the
mobilehome, its appearances, or any accessory structure only if
specified conditions are met, including that the repair or
improvement based upon or required by a local ordinance or state
statute or regulation relating to mobilehomes.
   This bill would require a determination following an inspection by
the appropriate enforcement agency that the repair or improvement is
required by the local ordinance or state statute or regulation in
order for the management to require the repair or improvement.
   Existing law authorizes the management of a mobilehome park to
require prior approval of a purchaser of a mobilehome that will
remain in the park. Existing law also prohibits management from
withholding approval if the purchaser has the ability to pay the rent
and charges of the park, except as specified. Existing law
authorizes management to require the purchaser to document the amount
and source of his or her gross monthly income or other means of
support but prohibits management from requiring personal income tax
returns as evidence.  Existing law requires management, upon
request of any prospective homeowner who proposes to purchase a
mobilehome that will remain in the park, to inform that person of the
information that management will require to determine if the person
will be acceptable as a homeowner in the park.  Existing law
permits the management or owner to be held liable for all damages if
the approval of a prospective homeowner is withheld for any
unauthorized reason.
   This bill would  delete the authorization to require
documentation of financial support and would  require the
purchaser to be presumed to have the financial ability to pay the
rent and charges of the park if he or she has been approved for a
loan to purchase the  mobilehome,   mobilehome
 that the purchaser intends to occupy  , or if the purchaser
has not been approved for a loan, based upon consideration of all
information provided by the purchaser regarding his or her assets and
ability to generate income demonstrating sufficient monthly income
that meets or exceeds the income standard disclosed by management.
The bill   would prohibit that income standard from
exceeding a multiplier of 3 times the purchaser's income over the
projected housing-related expenses to be paid by the purchaser in
connection with the proposed mobilehome tenancy  . The bill
would prohibit management from withholding approval on the basis that
the prospective purchaser will not comply with the rules and
regulations of the park. The bill would also prohibit management from
withholding approval solely because the purchaser owns another
mobilehome or real property residence and from requiring that the
mobilehome being purchased be the sole residence of the purchaser.
 The bill would require management, upon request, to provide a
prospective purchaser with a list of information that management will
require in order to determine if the person will be acceptable as a
homeowner in the park and a copy of the current written procedures,
standards, or   requirements that will be used by management
to evaluate the purchaser's application.  This bill would
require the management, if a prospective homeowner is denied approval
and if requested, to meet with the purchaser or homeowner at which
time the management would be required to reconsider the denial based
upon any additional information provided by the prospective
homeowner. This bill would permit the management or owner to be held
liable for damages to either the selling homeowner or the prospective
homeowner if the approval is withheld for any unauthorized reason.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 798.73.5 of the Civil Code is amended to read:
   798.73.5.  (a) In the case of a sale or transfer of a mobilehome
that will remain in the park, the management may only require repairs
or improvements to the mobilehome, its appurtenances, or an
accessory structure that meet all of the following conditions:
   (1) Except as provided by Section 798.83, the repair or
improvement is to the mobilehome, its appurtenances, or an accessory
structure that is not owned and installed by the management.
   (2) The repair or improvement is based upon or is required by a
local ordinance or state statute or regulation relating to
mobilehomes, or a rule or regulation of the mobilehome park that
implements or enforces a local ordinance or a state statute or
regulation relating to mobilehomes, as determined following an
inspection by the appropriate enforcement agency, as defined in
Section 18207 of the Health and Safety Code.
   (3) The repair or improvement relates to the exterior of the
mobilehome, its appurtenances, or an accessory structure that is not
owned and installed by the management.
   (b) The management, in the case of sale or transfer of a
mobilehome that will remain in the park, shall provide a homeowner
with a written summary of repairs or improvements that management
requires to the mobilehome, its appurtenances, or an accessory
structure that is not owned and installed by the management no later
than 10 business days following the receipt of a request for this
information, as part of the notice required by Section 798.59. This
summary shall include specific references to park rules and
regulations, local ordinances, and state statutes and regulations
relating to mobilehomes upon which the request for repair or
improvement is based.
   (c) The provisions of this section enacted at the 1999-2000
Regular Session of the Legislature are declarative of existing law as
they pertain to allowing park management to enforce park rules and
regulations; these provisions specifically limit repairs and
improvements that can be required of a homeowner by park management
at the time of sale or transfer to the same repairs and improvements
that can be required during any other time of a residency.
  SEC. 2.  Section 798.74 of the Civil Code is amended to read:
   798.74.  (a) The management may require the right of prior
approval of a purchaser of a mobilehome that will remain in the park
and that the selling homeowner or his or her agent give notice of the
sale to the management before the close of the sale. Approval shall
not be withheld if the purchaser has the financial ability to pay the
rent and charges of the park unless the management reasonably
determines that, based on the purchaser's prior tenancies, he or she
will not comply with the rules and regulations of the park. 
  In determining whether the  purchaser has the
financial ability to pay the rent and charges of the park, the
management shall not require the purchaser to su   bmit
copies of any personal income tax returns in order to obtain approval
for residency in the park. However, management may require the
purchaser to document the amount and source of his or her gross
monthly income or means of financial support. 
   (b) For purposes of determining the prior approval of a purchaser
pursuant to this section, all of the following shall apply:
   (1) A purchaser shall be presumed to have the financial ability to
pay the rent and charges of the park if the purchaser has been
approved by a state or federally chartered financial institution for
a loan to purchase the mobilehome that the purchaser intends to
occupy and written documentation confirming this fact has been
provided to management. 
   (2) If the purchaser has not been approved for a loan to purchase
the mobilehome pursuant to paragraph (1), the management shall
determine the purchaser's financial ability to pay the rent and
charges of the park based upon consideration of all information
provided by the purchaser regarding his or her assets and ability to
generate income, including, but not limited to, savings accounts,
certificates of deposit, stock portfolios, trust interests of which
the purchaser is the beneficiary, real property, and similar
financial assets that can be liquidated or sold. A purchaser who
demonstrates sufficient monthly income from all sources that meets or
exceeds the income standard disclosed by management pursuant to
subdivision (d) shall be presumed to have the financial ability to
pay the rent and charges of the park.  
   (2) 
    (3)  Management shall not withhold approval on the basis
that the purchaser will not comply with the rules and regulations of
the park unless management provides the purchaser with documentary
evidence that the purchaser has failed to comply with the rules and
regulations during a previous tenancy within the three years
preceding the purchaser's application for tenancy.
   (c) Management shall not withhold approval solely because the
purchaser owns another mobilehome or real property residence.
Management shall not require that the mobilehome that is the subject
of the purchase be the sole residence of the purchaser as a condition
of granting approval.
   (d)  Uponrequest   Upon request  of any
prospective homeowner who proposes to purchase a mobilehome that will
remain in the park, management shall provide that person with a list
of the information management will require in order to determine if
the person will be acceptable as a homeowner in the  park.
  park, and a copy of the current written procedures,
standards, or requirements that will be   used by management
to evaluate the purchaser's application, including, but not limited
to, minimum income standards that will be used to determine the
purchaser's financial ability the rent and charges of the park
pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b). The income standard
shall not exceed a multiplier of three times the purchaser's income
over the projected housing-related expenses to be paid by the
purchaser in connection with the proposed mobilehome tenancy. 
   (e) Within 15 business days of receiving all of the information
requested from the prospective homeowner, the management shall notify
the seller and the prospective homeowner, in writing, of either
acceptance or rejection of the application, and the specific reason
or reasons, if rejected. During this 15-day period the prospective
homeowner shall comply with the management's request, if any, for a
personal interview. If a prospective homeowner is denied approval,
within five business days of receiving the denial, the selling
homeowner and the prospective homeowner may request an in-person
meeting with management. If requested, the meeting shall take place
within 10 days, at which time the management shall reconsider its
denial based upon any additional information provided by the
prospective homeowner. If the approval of a prospective homeowner is
withheld for any reason other than those stated in this article, the
management or owner may be held liable for all damages to the selling
homeowner and the prospective homeowner proximately resulting
therefrom.
   (f) If the management collects a fee or charge from a prospective
purchaser of a mobilehome in order to obtain a financial report or
credit rating, the full amount of the fee or charge shall be credited
toward payment of the first month's rent for that mobilehome
purchaser. If, for whatever reason, the prospective purchaser is
rejected by the management, the management shall refund to the
prospective purchaser the full amount of that fee or charge within 30
days from the date of rejection. If the prospective purchaser is
approved by the management, but, for whatever reason, the prospective
purchaser elects not to purchase the mobilehome, the management may
retain the fee, or a portion thereof, to defray its administrative
costs under this section.