BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1803
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 14, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Norma Torres, Chair
AB 1803 (Nava) - As Amended: April 5, 2010
AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED
SUBJECT : Mobilehome Residency Law Mediation Act
SUMMARY : Creates a dispute resolution program within the
Attorney General's Office to resolve disputes related to the
Mobilehome Residency Law, the landlord-tenant law for mobilehome
parks. Specifically, this bill :
1)Creates the mobilehome dispute resolution program and requires
the Attorney General to administer the program.
2)Specifies that the purpose of the mobilehome dispute
resolution program is to provide mobilehome park management
and homeowners with a cost-effective and time-efficient
process to resolve disputes regarding alleged violations of
the Mobilehome Residency Law.
3)Requires the Department of Housing and Community Development
to collect an annual fee of $10 per lot in a mobilehome park,
of which $5 can be charged to homeowners, at the same time
that it collects each mobilehome park's annual permit to
operate fee. The fee is to be placed in the Mobilehome
Residency Law Mediation Fund to fund the mobilehome dispute
resolution program.
4)Specifies that the mobilehome dispute resolution program,
including all of the duties of the Attorney General under the
program, shall be funded by the collection of fines, other
penalties, and fees deposited into the Mobilehome Residency
Law Mediation Fund.
5)Requires the Attorney General to produce educational materials
regarding the Mobilehome Residency Law and the mobilehome
dispute resolution program and make them publicly available on
an Internet website.
6)Requires the Attorney General to produce notice in a format
that management can reasonably post in a mobilehome park that
AB 1803
Page 2
summarizes how to file a complaint with the Attorney General,
including a toll-free telephone number and Internet Web site
address that management and homeowners can use to seek
additional information and communicate complaints.
7)Requires the Attorney General to distribute the notice to all
known mobilehome parks.
8)Requires all mobilehome parks to post the notice in the park
clubhouse or in another conspicuous area within the mobilehome
park.
9)Allows the Attorney General to visually confirm that the
notice is appropriately posted and to issue a fine or other
penalty if the landlord has not appropriately posted the
notice or the landlord has not maintained the posted notice so
that it is clearly visible to tenants.
10)Requires the Attorney General to distribute the educational
materials to any complainants and respondents, as requested.
11)Requires the Attorney General to perform dispute resolution
activities, including investigations, negotiations,
determinations of violations, and imposition of fines or other
penalties.
12)Requires the Attorney General to collect at a minimum the
following information and make it available on a publicly
searchable Internet database:
a) The number, nature, and extent of the complaints
received;
b) The violation of law complained about; and
c) The mobilehome dispute resolution program outcome for
each complaint.
13)Requires the Attorney General to provide an annual report to
the appropriate committees of the Legislature on the
information collected, including program performance measures
and recommendations regarding how the mobilehome dispute
resolution program may be improved, by January 1 of each year,
beginning January 1, 2012.
AB 1803
Page 3
14)States that an aggrieved party has the right to file a
complaint with the Attorney General alleging a violation of
Mobilehome Residency Law.
15)Requires the Attorney General to do both of the following
upon receiving a complaint:
a) Inform the complainant of any notification requirements
under the Mobilehome Residency Law for management or
homeowner violations and encourage the complainant to
appropriately notify the respondent of the complaint.
b) If a statutory time period is applicable, inform the
complainant of the time frame that the respondent has to
remedy the complaint under the Mobilehome Residency Law for
tenant violations or landlord violations.
16)Requires the Attorney General to initiate the mobilehome
dispute resolution program after receiving a complaint by
investigating the alleged violations at its discretion and, if
appropriate, facilitating negotiations between the complainant
and the respondent.
17)Requires complainants and respondents to cooperate with the
Attorney General in the course of an investigation by doing
all of the following:
a) Responding to subpoenas issued by the Attorney General
within 30 days, which may consist of providing access to
papers or other documents;
b) Providing access to the mobilehome facilities relevant
to the investigation;
c) Providing written answers to questions from the Attorney
General; and
d) Providing oral testimony or depositions related to a
complaint.
18)Specifies that failure to cooperate with the Attorney General
in the course of an investigation is a violation of the
Mobilehome Residency Law Mediation Act.
19)Requires the Attorney General to make a written determination
AB 1803
Page 4
on whether a violation of any provision of the Mobilehome
Residency Law has occurred if, after an investigation, the
Attorney General determines that an agreement cannot be
negotiated between the parties,
20)Specifies that if the Attorney General finds by a written
determination that a violation of the Mobilehome Residency Law
has occurred, the Attorney General shall deliver a written
notice of violation to the respondent who committed the
violation by certified mail.
21)Requires the notice of violation to specify the violation,
the corrective action required, the time within which the
corrective action shall be taken, the penalties including
fines, actions that will result if corrective action is not
taken within the specified time period, and the process for
contesting the determination, fines, penalties, and other
actions included in the notice of violation through an
administrative hearing.
22)Requires the Attorney General to deliver to the complainant a
copy of the notice of violation by certified mail.
23)Specifies that if the Attorney General finds by a written
determination that a violation of the Mobilehome Residency Law
has not occurred, the Attorney General shall deliver a written
notice of nonviolation to both the complainant and the
respondent by certified mail.
24)Requires the notice of nonviolation to include the process
for contesting the determination through an administrative
hearing.
25)Requires corrective action to take place within 30 business
days of the respondent's receipt of a notice of violation,
except as required otherwise by the Attorney General, unless
the respondent has submitted a timely request for an
administrative hearing to contest the notice of violation.
26)Allows the Attorney General to impose a fine, up to a maximum
of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) per violation, per day,
for each day that a violation remains uncorrected if a
respondent fails to take corrective action within the required
time period and the Attorney General has not received a timely
request for an administrative hearing.
AB 1803
Page 5
27)Requires the Attorney General to consider the severity and
duration of the violation and the violation's impact on other
community residents when determining the appropriate amount of
a fine or the appropriate penalty to impose on a respondent.
28)Allows the Attorney General to delay the imposition of a fine
or penalty if the respondent shows that a good faith effort to
comply with the corrective action requirements of the notice
of violation has been made and that the corrective action has
not been completed because of mitigating factors beyond the
respondent's control.
29)Allows the Attorney General to issue an order requiring the
respondent to cease and desist from an unlawful practice and
take affirmative actions that will carry out the purposes of
the Mobilehome Mediation Act, including, but not limited to,
a) Refunds of rent increases, improper fees, charges, and
assessments collected in violation of the Mobilehome
Residency Law;
b) Filing and utilization of documents that correct a
statutory or rule violation; and
c) Reasonable actions necessary to correct a statutory or
rule violation.
30)Permits the Attorney General to require parties, to ensure
compliance from parties who have agreed to settle, to
memorialize any agreement in writing, furnish the Attorney
General with a signed copy of the agreement, and agree to
enforcement action in the event that one or both parties fails
to comply with the terms of the agreement.
31)Allows a complainant or respondent to request an
administrative hearing before an administrative law judge to
contest any of the following:
a) A notice of violation or a notice of nonviolation;
b) A fine or other penalty; and
c) An order to cease and desist or an order to take
affirmative actions.
AB 1803
Page 6
32)Provides 15 business days from receipt of a notice of
violation, notice of nonviolation, fine, other penalty, order,
or action for the complainant or respondent to request an
administrative hearing.
33)Specifies that if an administrative hearing is not requested
within 15 days, the notice of violation, notice of
nonviolation, fine, other penalty, order, or action
constitutes a final order of the Attorney General and is not
subject to review by any court or agency.
34)Requires the respondent and complainant to each bear the cost
of his or her own legal expenses if an administrative hearing
is initiated.
35)Requires the administrative law judge appointed when a
hearing is requested to do all of the following:
a) Hear and receive pertinent evidence and testimony;
b) Decide whether the evidence supports the Attorney
General's finding by a preponderance of the evidence; and
c) Enter an appropriate order within 30 days after the
close of the hearing and immediately mail copies of the
order to the affected parties.
36)Specifies that the order of the administrative law judge
constitutes the final order of the Attorney General, which may
be reviewed in superior court pursuant to Section 1094.5 of
the Code of Civil Procedure.
37)Prohibits a respondent from seeking any recovery or
reimbursement of any fine, refund, or other penalty from a
complainant or from other homeowners.
38)Requires any fines or other penalties other than those due to
a complainant to be deposited into the Mobilehome Residency
Law Mediation Fund.
39)Specifies that mobilehome dispute resolution process is not
exclusive and does not limit the right of management or
homeowners to take legal action against another party.
AB 1803
Page 7
40)Specifies that exhaustion of the administrative remedy
provided under the bill is not required before management or a
homeowner may bring a legal action.
41)Specifies that nothing in the bill is intended to prevent a
complainant from taking civil action against another party at
any time if the incident or violation that resulted in the
complaint is not adequately resolved by the mediation process.
42)Requires HCD to annually provide to the Attorney General the
following information:
a) The name and address of each mobilehome park in the
state;
b) The name and address of the owner of each park; and
c) The number of lots within each park.
43)Requires the Office of Administrative Law to assign an
administrative law judge to conduct proceedings when requested
by the Attorney General.
44)Gives the Attorney General the authority to promulgate any
necessary procedural rules to administer the mobilehome
dispute resolution program.
45)Specifies that the Attorney General or individuals acting on
behalf of the Attorney General are immune from suit in any
action, civil or criminal, based upon any disciplinary actions
or other official acts performed in the course of their duties
under the mobilehome dispute resolution program, except their
intentional or willful misconduct.
EXISTING LAW governs the terms of tenancy in mobilehome parks
under the Mobilehome Residency Law.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS :
AB 1803 creates a dispute resolution program within the Attorney
General's office to investigate and resolve complaints from
homeowners and management regarding potential violations of the
Mobilehome Residency Law, California's landlord-tenant law for
AB 1803
Page 8
mobilehome parks. The program is modeled on the Washington
State Manufactured Housing Dispute Resolution Program, which was
created in 2007.
According to the author, disputes between mobilehome park
homeowners and management are often resolved only after costly
and lengthy civil litigation. The author argues that a more
equitable, less costly, and more efficient way to resolve
disputes is needed.
As proposed to be amended, the role of the Department of Housing
and Community Development under the bill is substantially
diminished. The department will have to collect the annual $10
per lot fee, but can do so at the same time that it collects the
annual permit to operate fee and other fees that all mobilehome
parks must pay. It will also have to annually provide the
Attorney General with a list of all mobilehome parks in the
state, the owner of each park, and the number of lots in each
park. This is information HCD already collects via the issuance
of permits to operate. All other duties proposed for HCD under
the April 5 version of the bill are being eliminated.
Some of the key issues raised by this bill as proposed to be
amended are whether it is appropriate for a state agency to
assume this type of role in enforcing the Civil Code, whether
the Attorney General's office is the right place to house this
type of dispute resolution program, and whether the structure of
the program as proposed is appropriate and legally sound. If
this bill is approved by this Committee, these issues appear to
be ones for the Assembly Committee on Judiciary to consider.
Double referred: The Assembly Committee on Rules referred AB
1803 to the Committee on Housing and Community Development and
Judiciary. If AB 1803 passes this committee, the bill must be
referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
Golden State Manufactured-Home Owners League
Western Center on Law & Poverty
MiraMar Mobilehome Community HomeOwners Association (Oceanside)
Woodcrest Homeowners Association (Santa Rosa)
AB 1803
Page 9
Individual letter (1)
Opposition
Western Manufactured Housing Communities Association
Analysis Prepared by : Anya Lawler / H. & C.D. / (916)
319-2085