BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 999
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
999 (Daly)
As Amended July 15, 2015
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: | 74-0 | (May 22, |SENATE: |39-0 | (September 1, |
| | |2015) | | |2015) |
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Original Committee Reference: JUD.
SUMMARY: Establishes due process requirements for mobilehome
park owners (park management) seeking to dispose of an abandoned
mobilehome without first being required to pay any unpaid
property taxes on the mobilehome. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires park management to file a petition for judicial
declaration of abandonment and in the petition, declare its
intent to not seek a tax clearance certificate, declare its
intent to sell the contents of the abandoned mobilehome before
its disposal, and then notify the county tax collector by
mailing a copy of the petition by first-class mail.
2)Requires park management, within 10 days following a judgment
of abandonment, to enter the mobilehome, make an inventory of
the contents, and submit the inventory to the court.
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3)Requires park management to post and mail a notice of intent
to dispose of the abandoned mobilehome and its contents under
this section, and announcing the date of disposal, in a
specified manner. Further requires the management to provide
notice to the county tax collector and the Department of
Housing and Community Development (HCD).
4)Authorizes park management to dispose of the abandoned
mobilehome following a judgment of abandonment, but not less
than 10 days following the above notice of intent to dispose.
Defines "dispose" to mean to remove an abandoned mobilehome
from a mobilehome park and destroy it, thus making it unusable
for any purpose, and not subject to, or eligible for, future
use as a mobilehome.
5)Authorizes any person having right to possession of the
abandoned mobilehome to recover and remove it from the
premises at any time prior to disposal upon payment to the
management of all rent, reasonable storage charges, and any
other costs due. Requires the management to immediately file
an acknowledgment of satisfaction of judgment upon receipt of
such payment and removal of the mobilehome.
6)Requires park management, within 30 days of the date of the
disposal of an abandoned mobilehome and its contents, to
submit to the court, the county tax collector, and HCD a
statement that the abandoned mobilehome and its contents were
disposed with supporting documentation. Specifies additional
information required to be submitted to HCD to complete the
disposal process.
7)Requires park management, within 30 days of the date of the
disposal, to submit an accounting of the moneys received from
the sale and the disposition of the money and the items
contained in the inventory.
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8)Provides that, notwithstanding any other law, park management
shall not be required to obtain a tax clearance certificate,
as set forth in Revenue and Taxation Code Section 5832, to
either dispose of an abandoned mobilehome and sell its
contents, or dispose of an abandoned mobilehome and its
contents.
9)Specifies conditions under which park management may avoid
responsibility to pay vehicle license fees and past taxes for
a mobilehome acquired through enforcement of a warehouse lien.
The Senate amendments:
1)Provide that if park management acquires a mobilehome after
enforcing a warehouse lien and files a notice of disposal with
HCD to designate the mobilehome for disposal, the management
or any other person enforcing this warehouse lien shall not be
required to pay past or current vehicle license fees or obtain
a tax clearance certificate, provided that management notifies
the county tax collector as specified.
2)Require park management, within 30 days of the disposal of a
mobilehome, to submit to HCD all of the following information
in order to complete the disposal process:
a) Photographs identifying and demonstrating that the
mobilehome was uninhabitable by the removal or destruction
of all appliances and fixtures such as ovens, stoves,
bathroom fixtures, and heating or cooling appliances prior
to its being moved.
b) A statement of facts as to the condition of the
mobilehome when moved, the date it was moved, and the
anticipated site of further dismantling or disposal.
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c) The name, address, and license number of the person or
entity removing the mobilehome from the mobilehome park.
3)Require park management, within 30 days of the sale of a
mobilehome, to submit to the court an accounting of the moneys
received from the sale, and the disposition of the money and
items contained in the inventory previously submitted to the
court.
4)Revise the definition of "abandoned mobilehome" to ensure it
is not affixed to the land.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee:
1)Minor costs to HCD to process notices of mobilehome disposal
and other specified information, offset by fee revenues.
(Mobilehome Revolving Fund)
2)Minor annual losses of delinquent mobilehome property tax
revenues, likely in the low tens of thousands annually, by
relieving management from paying back taxes and fees prior to
taking possession of a mobilehome for disposal. Property tax
revenues that would otherwise have accrued to schools must be
backfilled by the General Fund, pursuant to Proposition 98
(1988) minimum funding guarantees.
3)Minor annual fee revenue gains, likely in the low tens of
thousands annually, related to the new fee of up to $45 that
must be paid to HCD with a notice of disposal. (Mobilehome
Revolving Fund)
4)Non-reimbursable mandate costs related to the creation of a
new crime of perjury. This bill requires specified
information for completing the disposal process to be
submitted to HCD under penalty of perjury.
COMMENTS: Under existing law, owners of mobilehome parks must
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follow a specified court-supervised abandonment proceeding to
dispose of a mobilehome when the homeowner has not only stopped
paying rent on the site, but apparently abandoned the mobilehome
itself, leaving it unoccupied and in a condition rendering it
uninhabitable and unattractive for resale. In many cases, the
property is burdened with unpaid property taxes owed by the
homeowner - taxes which create an obstacle to disposal and
removal of the home by park management because current law
requires the unpaid taxes to be paid off before title to the
mobilehome can be transferred to the park management, even for
the purpose of disposal. This bill, sponsored by the Western
Manufactured Housing Communities Association (WMA), seeks to
establish due process requirements for mobilehome park owners
that if satisfied, would allow them to dispose of an abandoned
mobilehome without first being required to pay unpaid property
taxes or vehicle license fees, if applicable, on the mobilehome.
Definitions of "abandoned" and "disposal." Under existing law,
an abandoned mobilehome means a mobilehome about which all of
the following are true: 1) it is unoccupied; 2) it is located
in a mobilehome park on a site for which no rent has been paid
to the management for the preceding 60 days; and 3) a reasonable
person would believe it to be abandoned. This bill would expand
the definition to include an additional condition, namely that
it is not affixed to the land. This bill also defines the term
"disposal" to mean to "remove it from a mobilehome park and
destroy it, thus making it unusable for any purpose and not
subject to, or eligible for, use in the future as a mobilehome."
Thus, under the plain language of this bill, a mobilehome park
owner using the procedure authorized by this bill to dispose of
an abandoned mobilehome must destroy it upon removal from the
park, and may not use the home for any other purpose.
Obligation to pay outstanding taxes and vehicle license fees.
Existing law, the Mobilehome Residency Law, contains two sets of
procedures that authorize the management of mobilehome parks to
remove mobilehomes under specified circumstances. The first set
involves mobilehomes occupied by residents who have had their
tenancies terminated, such as for the non-payment of rent.
Under this set of procedures, if the mobilehome of the evicted
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tenant is not timely removed or otherwise disposed of, the
management of the park can secure a warehouse lien against the
mobilehome for unpaid obligations and proceed to sell the
mobilehome and its contents to satisfy the lien. The second set
of procedures involves disposing of "abandoned" mobilehomes.
When a resident abandons their mobilehome, the Mobilehome
Residency Law authorizes park management to petition for a
judicial declaration of abandonment, which, if granted, permits
the management to sell the home and its contents, and offset its
bid on the home by the amount owed by the former resident.
Recent amendments to this bill seek to modify both sets of
procedures for removing mobilehomes from a mobilehome park.
Under the first set involving removal of mobilehomes occupied by
evicted tenants, this bill would specify that the management may
"dispose" of a home instead of sell it when the mobilehome at
issue is no longer habitable. Since it has no resale value,
this bill would provide that the disposal and destruction of an
uninhabitable mobilehome would relieve the management of an
obligation to pay outstanding taxes and vehicle license fees
when enforcing a warehouse lien and obtaining title to remove
the home. Under the second set of procedures involving
disposition of abandoned mobilehomes, this bill would similarly
authorize park management to dispose of a home instead of
selling it when it is no longer habitable. The management would
be relieved of the obligation to pay outstanding taxes and
vehicle license fees when disposing of the abandoned mobilehome
pursuant to a judicial declaration of abandonment, provided
certain conditions are satisfied.
Due process for disposing of an abandoned mobilehome. This bill
establishes due process procedures for disposal of abandoned
mobilehomes and their contents - provisions that largely track
those currently governing the sale of abandoned mobilehomes. As
a prerequisite, the management must first post a notice of
belief of abandonment on the mobilehome for a minimum of 30 days
and mail copies of the notice to the homeowner and any known
lienholders. To further protect due process for the homeowner
who may wish to contest abandonment, existing law requires the
management to file a petition for judicial declaration of
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abandonment and serve it upon the homeowner, as well as any
known lienholders on the home. Because this bill seeks to
relieve park management from clearing unpaid taxes on the home,
this bill requires management to declare its intent in the
petition to not seek a tax clearance certificate, and then
requires notification to the county tax collector and the HCD by
mailing first-class a copy of the petition. If at the hearing
on the petition, the petitioner shows sufficient evidence that
the criteria for abandonment are satisfied and no party
establishes a right to possession or security or ownership
interest in the mobilehome, then the court shall enter a
judgment of abandonment.
At this point, this bill requires park management, within 10
days following the judgment of abandonment, to enter the
mobilehome, inventory the contents, and submit the inventory to
the court. Subsequently, management shall post and mail to the
homeowner and any known lienholders a notice of intent to
dispose of the abandoned mobilehome and its contents, including
the planned date of disposal. The notice must also be provided
to the county tax collector and HCD. This bill authorizes park
management to dispose of the abandoned mobilehome and its
contents following a judgment of abandonment, but not less than
10 days following the notice of intent to dispose. Within 30
days of the date of the disposal, this bill requires management
to submit to the court, the county tax collector, and HCD a
statement that the abandoned mobilehome and its contents were
disposed with supporting documentation.
Recent amendments also require park management to submit to HCD
additional information to complete the disposal process,
including photographs demonstrating that the mobilehome was
uninhabitable by the removal or destruction of all appliances
and fixtures, and a statement of facts as to the condition of
the mobilehome when moved, the date it was moved, and the
anticipated site of further dismantling or disposal, among other
things. Finally, this bill requires management to also submit
an accounting of the moneys received from the sale and the
disposition of the money and the items contained in the
inventory.
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Analysis Prepared by:
Anthony Lew / JUD. / (916) 319-2334 FN: 0001491