Amended in Assembly April 21, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2026

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. begin insert 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. end insert 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 begin delete delete the authorization to require documentation of financial support and would end delete 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 begin delete mobilehome, end delete begin insert mobilehome end insert that the purchaser intends to occupy begin insert , 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 end insert . 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. begin insert 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. end insert 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. begin insert end insert begin insert 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 submit 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. end insert

(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.

begin insert

(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.

end insert begin delete

(2)

end delete

begin insert (3) end insert  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)  begin delete Uponrequest end delete begin insert Upon request end insert 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 begin delete park. end delete begin insert 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. end insert

(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.