The Mobilehome Residency Law

Learn what the Mobilehome Residency Law (MRL) contains in the following course of study. Become a MRL Master.

Manufactured home owners who live in leased-space parks take on a dual role as home owner and park tenant. In addition, private individuals or corporations own most parks, not the residents. The United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit stated: "Because the owner of the mobile home cannot readily move it to get a lower rent, the owner of the land has the owner of the mobile home over a barrel." (Guggenheim v. Goleta, Dec. 2010)

This complex housing situation has few if any other parallels. Manufacturers and dealerships, park owners and managers abused households that purchased manufactured homes. As a result of abuses, the Golden State Manufactured-home Owners League (GSMOL) championed laws and California legislators adopted laws to partially protect the rights of home owners. These laws became consolidated in the MRL, generally California Civil Code Sections 798 and 799.

Park residents must enforce the MRL by standing up for their rights. They may ultimately need to go through the civil courts. To succeed, they must know the contents of the MRL.

Copyright - Carl Eric Leivo, PH.D.
First image courtesy of stockimages at freedigitalphotos.net.

Resident Right to Organize, Meet and Post Signs

Important rights that the Residency Law protects include those to meet and form organizations. Park rules, rental agreements and managers must allow residents to:

• Meet in the park at reasonable hours and in a reasonable manner;
• Meet in the clubhouse when it’s not being used;
•  Invite public officials, candidates, or representatives of homeowner associations to speak; and 
• Talk and distribute information to home owners, door-to-door for noncommercial purposes at reasonable hours and in a reasonable manner.

One or more park residents can host resident organization meetings in the Park clubhouse. Park managers cannot charge home owners a cleaning deposit before the event. All home owners should be allowed to attend. Guests from outside the park may attend. Resident organizations must adhere to vehicle parking restrictions and maximum occupancy restrictions.

In general, park managers cannot require the meeting organizers to obtain liability insurance. If alcoholic beverages are served, managers may require a liability insurance binder or park rules may prohibit consumption of alcoholic beverages. 

Residents may post political campaign signs in the window or on the side of their homes. The size may not exceed six square feet. Political signs generally may be put up ninety days prior to an election and taken down fifteen days after the election.

Civil Code Section 798.51.

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Copyright - Carl Eric Leivo, Ph.D.

Management Meetings with Residents

Does the park manager have to meet with a resident if they send a written request for a meeting? Yes/No/Maybe

The correct answer is yes.  Residents can request that park managers meet with them. Upon receiving a written request, managers must meet with residents according to the Residency Law. The meeting may be with one resident, a group of residents or representatives.

Can a park resident speak in behalf of their neighbor at a meeting with a manager? Yes/No/Maybe

The correct answer is maybe. Residents can appoint someone to represent them at a meeting with the manager. They must sign a written representation request.

Are the main reasons to have a meeting between residents and park managers violations of the Mobilehome Residency Law, rent control or other state and local laws? Yes/No/Maybe

The correct answer is no. Open communication between park managers and residents can resolve many issues. In addition to state and local laws, meetings between park managers and residents often address:

• Concerns regarding park rules;
• Maintenance of physical improvements in the park;
• Additions, alterations or deletion of services, equipment or physical improvements; and
•  Rental agreements.

Does the Residency Law require managers to meet with residents within 30 days of receiving a written request? Yes/No/Maybe

The correct answer is yes. The Residency Law requires that park managers must meet with residents within 30 days of receiving a written request. Managers must also provide notices to home owners ten or more days before meetings.

Civil Code Section 798.53.

Copyright - Carl Eric Leivo, Ph.D.

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Rental Agreement

Home owners must sign a lease agreement in order to occupy a space in a land-lease park.
Rental agreements list: 

• The term of the tenancy;
• The space rent;
• Park rules and regulations;
• Physical improvements and common facilities that the park will provide and maintain;
• The time frame to repair facilities if they break down or deteriorate, usually 30 days;
• Physical improvements to be provided to the homeowner during their tenancy;
• Services to be provided to the homeowner during the term of tenancy and the fees, if any, to be charged for those services; and
• All other provisions governing the tenancy.

The text of the Mobilehome Residency Law should be incorporated in the rental agreement by reference.

Civil Code Section 798.15

Copyright - Carl Eric Leivo, Ph.D.

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Month-to-Month Versus Long Term Rental Agreements

Question: While it may be best to get a long term lease for an apartment, should manufactured home owners sign long term leases?

Answer: Manufactured home owners in jurisdictions that have adopted rent control ordinances may want month-to-month tenancies. The Mobilehome Residency Law protects the rights of home owners to seek the protections of local government rent control ordinances. Home owners who sign long term rental agreements with terms of over twelve months fall outside of local rent control protections.

Question: How is a long term lease defined?

Answer: Long term leases have a term of 12-months or longer.

Question: How do buyers, who will become new park residents know that a long term lease will exempt them from space rent control?

Answer: The first sentence of long term rental agreements must state that space rents will be exempt from local rent control ordinances. Home owners have at least thirty days to review the rental agreement before signing.  After signing a long-term agreement, home owners may void the agreement by giving the park management a written notice within 72 hours.

Question: What if the park manager only offers long term leases?

Answer: New and current home owners may reject long term rental agreements offered by park management. The Residency Law entitles home owners to accept rental agreements for a term of twelve months or less including a month-to-month agreement. Short term agreement rental rates, terms, service charges, utility rates, rules and conditions must be the same as those offered under the long term rental agreement. Park managers may offer gifts, other than rental rate reductions, to home owners who execute long term rental agreements.

Question: What if a home owner's long term lease is about to expire? Do they have to sign an extension of the new long term lease?

Answer:      Any provisions of space rent control ordinances do not apply during the term of long term rental agreements and any extensions. Long term agreements may not have automatic extension clauses according to the Residency Law. Home owners may decide not to extend the long term agreement. The last rental rate charged for the space becomes the base rent under the space rent control ordinance.

Civil Code Sections 798.17 & 798.18.

Copyright - Carl Eric Leivo, Ph.D.

Government Fees

Local governments may charge space rent control administration costs to manufactured home owners. Park management collects the fees and sends it to the local government. If the government fee is increased or decreased, the park must increase or decrease the fee it collects. The fee should be separately stated on home owner’s bills. If the fee has a time limit, the expiration date shall be stated on the initial notice and each billing.

The space rent control fee does not include any: 

• Costs imposed on the park owner or management by a court;
• Application fees or other costs that park management normally pays under the local rent control ordinance; and
• Taxes imposed upon the park.

Civil Code Section 798.49.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at freedigitalphotos.net
Copyright - Carl Eric Leivo, Ph.D.

Park Rules

Park owners and managers may create park rules and provide copies to residents. In order to amend park rules, managers must first schedule a meeting with residents. Home owners should receive a notice from management ten or more days before the meeting. The notice should list the proposed amendments and state the date, time and location of the meeting. Six months after the meeting the amendment may be implemented with or without the home owners’ consent. If park rules need to be changed to comply with a change in government law or regulation, managers can make the change by providing home owners a sixty day written notice.

Park managers may implement and amend separate recreational facility regulations without home owner consent. Managers must provide home owners a sixty day written notice of new recreational facility regulations.

Any change in park rules that creates a new fee is unenforceable. Home owners must agree to fees in written rental agreements.

Any rules unilaterally adopted by park management that denies home owners their right to trial by jury or mandates binding arbitration is void and unenforceable.

Civil Code Sections 798.25 & 798.25.5.

Copyright - Carl Eric Leivo, Ph.D.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.