BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 419|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
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CONSENT
Bill No: SB 419
Author: McGuire (D)
Amended: 5/19/15
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/12/15
AYES: Jackson, Moorlach, Anderson, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning,
Wieckowski
SUBJECT: Mobilehomes: homeowners: sale
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill amends the Mobilehome Residency Law (1) to
authorize the seller of a mobilehome to display a "for sale"
sign of a generally accepted yard-arm type design or L-frame
design, (2) to allow for the display of an "open house" sign and
the holding of an open house in accordance with park rules, (3)
to require the management of a mobilehome park, upon written
request, to provide in writing the information and standards
management will use to review a prospective homeowner, and (4)
to specify that park management may withhold approval of a
prospective homeowner for reasons based upon fraud, deceit, or
concealment of material facts.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Governs, under the Mobilehome Residency Law (MRL), the
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relationship between mobilehome park owners or managers and
the residents in mobilehome parks and manufactured housing
communities. (Civ. Code Sec. 798 et seq.)
2)Provides that a homeowner, an heir, joint tenant, or personal
representative of the estate who gains ownership of a
mobilehome in the mobilehome park through the death of the
owner, or the agent of any such person, may advertise the sale
or exchange of his or her mobilehome, or, if not prohibited by
the terms of an agreement with the management, may advertise
the rental of his or her mobilehome, by displaying a sign in
the window of the mobilehome, or by a sign posted on the side
of the mobilehome facing the street, or by a sign in front of
the mobilehome facing the street. Existing law provides that
any such person also may display a sign conforming to these
requirements indicating that the mobilehome is on display for
an "open house," unless the park rules prohibit the display of
an open house sign. (Civ. Code Sec. 798.70.)
3)Specifies that signs posted in front of a mobilehome pursuant
to the MRL may be of an H-frame or A-frame design with the
sign face perpendicular to, but not extending into, the
street. (Civ. Code Sec. 798.70.)
4)Specifies that the management of a mobilehome park shall
prohibit neither the listing nor the sale of a manufactured
home or mobilehome within the park by the homeowner, an heir,
joint tenant, or personal representative of the estate who
gains ownership of a manufactured home or mobilehome in the
mobilehome park through the death of the owner, or the agent
of any such person other than the management. (Civ. Code Sec.
798.71(b).)
5)States that upon request of any prospective homeowner who
proposes to purchase a mobilehome that will remain in the
park, management shall inform that person of the information
management will require in order to determine if the person
will be acceptable as a homeowner in the park. (Civ. Code
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Sec. 798.74.)
6)Provides that within 15 business days of receiving all of the
information requested from a prospective homeowner, the
management shall notify the seller and the prospective
homeowner, in writing, of either acceptance or rejection of
the application, and the reason if rejected. Existing law
provides that if the approval of a prospective homeowner is
withheld for any reason other than those stated in the MRL,
the management or owner may be held liable for all damages
proximately resulting therefrom. (Civ. Code Sec. 798.74.)
This bill:
1)Strikes the provision in the MRL allowing a park to prohibit
the display of an open house sign, and instead provides that a
park may establish by rule or regulation reasonable rules
governing how an open house may be conducted, including rules
regarding hours and parking.
2)Provides, in addition to other authorized signs, that signs
posted in front of a mobilehome pursuant to the MRL may be of
an L-frame or generally accepted yard-arm type design.
3)Specifies, for purposes of the MRL, that "listing" includes
advertising the address of the home to the general public.
4)Provides that a selling homeowner may request, in writing, the
information management will require and the standards that
will be utilized in order to determine if a prospective
purchaser will be acceptable as a homeowner in the park, and
that management's response to such a request must be in
writing.
5)States that the approval of a prospective homeowner may be
withheld for reasons based upon fraud, deceit, or concealment
of material facts by the prospective purchaser without the
management or owner being held liable for damages proximately
resulting therefrom.
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6)Makes other technical and conforming changes to the MRL.
Background
Enacted in 1978, the MRL governs the relationship between park
owners or managers and the residents of the 4,800+ mobilehome
parks and manufactured housing communities in California. In
most of these parks, residents own their home but lease the land
on which their home is installed. Although they have
historically been called "mobilehomes," it is very difficult to
actually move a mobilehome once it has been installed in a park.
Mobilehome parks generally offer two types of tenancy; the first
being where the park rents a plot of land and associated
services to the owner of a mobilehome; and the second being
where the park itself owns the mobilehome and rents it to
tenants. For park tenants who own their own mobilehome, the
sale of the home is more complicated than the sale of an
"ordinary" home because the prospective purchaser must also
reach agreement with park management on a tenancy agreement
before purchasing the mobilehome. To prevent park management
from taking unfair advantage of its power to approve new
tenants, the MRL significantly regulates park management's
conduct during a pending sale.
This bill makes the following minor changes to the MRL:
authorizes sellers to hold an "open house," and clarifies that
a park may establish by rule or regulation reasonable rules
governing how an open house may be conducted, including rules
regarding hours and parking;
authorizes sellers to display L-frame or generally accepted
yard-arm type design signs indicating that a mobilehome is for
sale;
requires the management of the park, upon request, to provide
in writing the information and standards that will be used to
determine if a prospective homeowner will be acceptable as a
homeowner in the park;
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specifies that management approval of a prospective homeowner
may be withheld for reasons based upon fraud, deceit, or
concealment of material facts by the prospective purchaser
without liability; and
makes other technical changes to existing law.
Comments
The author writes:
Mobilehome and manufactured home owners have an inherent
disadvantage when it comes to selling their home. Unlike
traditional homeowners, who have the ability to line the
street with for sale signs, mobilehome owners must actively
court additional attention from buyers. The Mobilehome
Residency Law needs to be updated to give sellers a more broad
ability to advertise - both on site and publicly.
Additionally, the process of allowing mobilehome park owners
and management to decide whether the prospective owner has
been cleared for residency in the final phase of a transaction
lacks transparency and can seem arbitrary to both the seller
and purchaser.
SB 419 will do four things. First, it would modernize
California's Mobilehome Residency Law to allow a seller to
advertise the sale of a home in a manner consistent with
generally accepted yard sign designs, rather than be limited
to only an "A" or "H" frame design. For example, this bill
would allow, but not limit sellers to, an "A", "H", or "L"
shaped sign. Current law already allows these signs to
contain the name, address, and telephone number of the owner
of the mobilehome or his or her agent, so long as the sign
face does not exceed 24 inches in width and 36 inches in
height, and this bill would keep those requirements the same.
Second, this bill would guarantee the seller's ability to
advertise an open house, with appropriate limits. Third, SB
419 would require management to notify the seller in writing
what their standards are and what additional information they
require to accept the new resident into the mobilehome park.
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Finally, this bill makes non-substantive clean up changes to
the Mobilehome Residency Law, including clarifying what
constitutes a "listing."
Related/Prior Legislation
SB 244 (Vidak, 2015) extends indefinitely the authority of the
management of a mobilehome park to file a motion petitioning for
an order to enjoin violations of a reasonable rule or regulation
of the mobilehome park within the limited jurisdiction of the
superior court. The bill is pending in the Assembly Judiciary
Committee.
AB 999 (Daly, 2015) authorizes the management of a mobilehome
park to sell or dispose of a mobilehome left upon the premises
by a tenant or lienholder under specified circumstances. The
bill requires the landlord, prior to disposing of the
mobilehome, to provide written notice to the tenant and owner,
and specifies that the management of a mobilehome park need not
obtain a tax clearance certificate to dispose of an abandoned
mobilehome. The bill is pending on the Assembly Floor.
AB 2026 (Stone, 2014) would have, among other things, required
the management of a mobilehome park 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. The bill
would have also required 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, including any additional
information relevant to the application provided by the
prospective homeowner. The bill died on the Assembly Floor.
SB 804 (Leno, Chapter 66, Statutes of 2009) prohibited the
management of a mobilehome park from requiring a homeowner to
use a specific broker, dealer, or other person as an agent in
the purchase or installation of a replacement home.
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SB 1090 (Dunn, Chapter 567, Statutes of 2004) prohibited the
management of a mobilehome park from requiring a homeowner, or
an heir, joint tenant, or personal representative of a
mobilehome to use a specified agent of the management in the
sale of the home as a condition of resale.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified5/12/15)
El Toro Mobile Estates GSMOL [Golden State Manufactured-Home
Owners League] Chapter 999
GSMOL Chapter 708
GSMOL Chapter 1128
GSMOL Homeowners Association, San Joaquin Village Mobile Home
Park
Northern Santa Barbara County Manufactured Homeowners Team
Oceanside Manufactured Homeowners Alliance
Orcutt Ranch Home Owners Association
Prothero Mobile Estates Homeowners' Association
Ranch Club Mobile Estates Homeowners Association
Sandpiper Homeowner's Association
Santa Cruz County Manufactured/Mobile Homeowners Association
Santee Mobilehome Owner's Action Committee
Sonoma Valley GSMOL
Trico Mobile Estates Homeowners Association
Multiple individuals
OPPOSITION: (Verified5/12/15)
None received
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Prepared by:Tobias Halvarson / JUD. / (916) 651-4113
5/20/15 15:42:28
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