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.
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