BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1047
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 30, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Norma Torres, Chair
SB 1047 (Correa) - As Amended: May 12, 2010
SENATE VOTE : 33-0
SUBJECT : Mobilehomes: nonprofit resident-owned mobilehome
park.
SUMMARY : Clarifies that the tenant provisions of the
Mobilehome Residency Law (MRL) apply in nonprofit resident-owned
mobilehome parks to members of the nonprofit mutual benefit
corporation that lease a space in the park.
EXISTING LAW , the MRL:
1)Extensively regulates the rights, responsibilities,
obligations, and relationships between mobilehome park owners
and residents. Articles 1-8 deal with legal rights and
remedies related to the leasing of space by tenants; Article 9
contains provisions that apply to resident-owned parks.
(Civil Code Section 799 et seq.)
2)Provides that in a subdivision, cooperative, or condominium
for mobilehomes, or a resident-owned mobilehome park Articles
1-8 of the MRL apply only to residents who do not have an
ownership interest in the subdivision, cooperative, or
condominium for mobilehomes, or a resident-owned mobilehome
park (Civil Code Section 799.1).
3)Provides that Article 9 governs residents who do have an
ownership interest in the subdivision, cooperative, or
condominium for mobilehomes, or resident-owned mobilehome park
(Civil Code Section 799.1).
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS :
Enacted in 1978, the MRL governs the relationship between park
owners or managers and the residents of the 4,800-plus
mobilehome parks and manufactured housing communities in
California. In most of those parks, residents own their home
SB 1047
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but lease the land on which their home is installed.
Over the past 20 years, residents have been increasingly
interested in various ways to purchase their parks and the
spaces upon which their homes are installed. One method of
purchasing a park-the nonprofit mutual benefit corporation-is
described by the Department of Real Estate as follows:
Park residents need a legal entity to purchase their park. A
nonprofit mutual benefit corporation is well suited to this
purpose. In general, the nonprofit corporation makes an offer
of participation to the residents. Residents who decided to
participate become shareholders or members of the corporation.
As residents purchase shares or memberships in the
corporation, cash is accumulated for the down payment required
to purchase the park. The officers of the corporation,
elected by the members and acting on their behalf, negotiate
with the seller to purchase the park and solve problems
relating to conversion. After conversion, the corporation may
manage the park.
To deal with the various facets of mobilehome parks and
manufactured housing communities, the MRL is divided into nine
different Articles. Articles 1-8 of the MRL deal with legal
rights and remedies for mobilehome parks that rent space to
residents. Article 9 of the MRL generally deals with the legal
rights and remedies of resident-owned mobilehome parks. Under
existing law, residents who have shares in a nonprofit mutual
benefit corporation but lease their space from that corporation
fall under Article 9 but not Articles 1-8.
According to the author, "The present law treats ? members of a
mutual benefit non-profit corporation as if they actually own
the space in which their home is sited and treats them as if the
typical CC&R [Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions]
provisions apply and provide governance as to their actions in
such a park. No such CC&R provisions exist and the persons who
are members lease the home site from the Corporation in which
they are members and as such these members have neither the
protection of the Civil Code sections set forth in [Civil Code
Section 798] or the typical CC&R provisions. The Corporation
also has no viable method to enforce the members' obligations
outside the leases which often refer to [Civil Code Section] 798
which per [Civil Code Section 799] cannot apply and cannot be
used to enforce the Park leases or Rules and Regulations."
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SB 1047 provides, with specified exceptions, that in a
mobilehome park owned and operated by a nonprofit mutual benefit
corporation whose members consist of park residents where there
is no recorded condominium plan, tract, parcel map, or
declaration, Article 1 (commencing with Civil Code Section 798)
through Article 8 (commencing with Civil Code Section 798.84)
shall govern the rights of members who are residents that have a
rental agreement with the corporation.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Anya Lawler / H. & C.D. / (916)
319-2085