Mobile & Manufactured Home PARK MAINTENANCE, INSPECTIONS & SERVICES

1. How do residents get the park owner to fix the failing utility systems?

Contact the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) or local government, whichever has jurisdiction to inspect Mobile & Manufactured Home Parks. In more serious cases, residents may wish to consider legal counsel.

Recap:
● Contact the code enforcement agency -- either state Dept. of Housing or local health department.Is the park manager allowed to force residents to correct code violations to their homes and spaces before a scheduled inspection by the state Dept. of Housing?

2. Is the park manager allowed to force residents to correct code violations to their homes and spaces before a scheduled inspection by the state Dept. of Housing?

The state Department of Housing (HCD) operates a park inspection program with a goal of completing inspections in at least 5% of the parks in the state per year in order to assure that a reasonable level of health and safety is maintained in those parks.

The inspection includes the park common facilities, such as lighting, roads, clubhouse, utilities, and other facilities for which the park is responsible, as well as individual home site spaces, including the outside of the homes and accessory structures for which the homeowner is responsible.

HCD inspectors do not go inside a home unless requested to

do so by the homeowner.

Citations for violations, depending upon how serious, must either be corrected as soon as possible or within 30 to 60 days. Inspectors have the authority to extend the deadline for compliance if the situation warrants it.

Homeowners may appeal a citation to HCD if they feel it is

unwarranted. (HCD does not have authority to assess fines

against homeowners who do not comply.)

Recap:
● The park manager may urge residents to correct code violations on the outside of their homes or on their spaces, or else the resident may risk citation by HCD.

3. Which government agency is responsible for enforcement of health and safety regulations in my park?

In most cases, the California State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) has enforcement authority over mobilehome and RV parks.

However, there are cities and counties that maintain code

enforcement in their respective jurisdictions.

View the “Mobilehome and Special Occupancy (RV) Parks listing” at www.hcd.ca.gov to find out which agency is responsible for code enforcement in your park.

4. What is the difference between the Mobilehome Residency Law (MRL) and Title 25?

The MRL is the “landlord-tenant” law (Civil Code 798. et seq.)

for mobilehome park residency, governing rights of park

residents.

“Title 25”, a section of the California Code of Regulations,

governs the health and safety aspects of a mobilehome

park’s buildings, lot lines, and utilities infrastructure, to

name a few. Find Title 25 at www.hcd.ca.gov.

5. Can the park manager reduce or eliminate park services and amenities that resident have been paying for for years?

Yes, if the services or amenities are not guaranteed in a

signed rental or lease agreement.

However, if the services and amenities are part of a signed lease or rental agreement (Civil Code 798.15(f)), they may be eliminated with equal reduction in rent.

Recap:
● The park management can reduce or eliminate park features if they are not agreed upon in a signed lease or rental agreement.

6. Can the park owner or manager move lot lines without permission from residents whose spaces are affected?

Before moving a lot line, the management must obtain a permit from the enforcement agency, usually the Department of Housing (HCD), or a local agency, and verify that the park has obtained the consent of homeowners affected by the lot line change.

However, in some older parks there are no markers or

defined lot lines and no plot maps indicating where the lot

lines should be.

In cases where there is no documented evidence of original lot lines, HCD may not be able to determine that the lot line has been moved and that a permit is required. The issue then becomes a legal matter between the park management and the affected homeowners.

Recap:

● A permit is required from the state Dept. of Housing before the park moves lot lines.

● In old parks with no official lot line maps, moving lot lines may require legal or regulatory oversight.

7. Can the park manager force residents to pay for maintenance or removal of a tree on their space and for maintenance of their driveway?

It depends on the facts of the case. The “tree and driveway” issue has been subject to major debate for years. A 1992 Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) legal opinion characterized trees in mobilehome parks as fixtures belonging to the park owner, who is responsible for their maintenance.

However, HCD legal counsel also opined that this

responsibility could be delegated to the homeowner through

the rental agreement.

If the rental agreement requires the homeowner to be responsible for maintenance of the trees, then a 60-day notice probably does not have to be given, since it is already in the rental agreement.

If the rental agreement does not make the homeowner responsible for maintenance of the trees, then the park owner is responsible for maintenance or removal of a tree on the homeowner’s space only if it is a hazard or constitutes a health and safety violation, as determined by the enforcement/inspection agency (usually HCD). (Civil Code §798.37.5)

Homeowners may have to pay a fee for an inspection where there is a dispute between the park and the homeowner over the tree and where the homeowner requests an inspection by HCD or the local enforcement agency.

Inspectors have wide discretion in this regard, and if the

inspector does not find a violation, the homeowner may end

up having to pay to remove the tree anyway.

With regard to driveways, the park owner is responsible for maintenance unless the homeowner has damaged the driveway or the driveway was installed by the homeowner.

Legal counsel has suggested, however, that Civil Code Sec. 798.37.5(c) seems to leave open the question whether a current homeowner is responsible for maintenance of a driveway installed by a prior homeowner, arguing that such a prior installed fixture belongs to the park.

Recap:

● If the signed lease or rental agreement makes the homeowner responsible, then the homeowner must pay.

● If there is no stipulation of responsibility in the lease agreement, then the park is only responsible if it is a health and safety hazard.

● Driveways may be the responsibility of park unless the driveway was installed or damaged by the homeowner.

8. Is the resident or the park owner responsible for correcting pre-existing code violations on their space?

The resident is responsible. (Civil Code 798.36). Although the park operator is ultimately responsible for assuring that all citations on park property are corrected, the law does not require the park operator to pay for code violations involving the home or space except in rare instances.

The homeowner is primarily responsible for correcting any violations concerning the home or space on which he/she resides, including any pre- existing code violations after the sale of the home.

This is one of the reasons that real estate disclosure was

enacted in 2000 for mobilehome resales, although conditions

not known to the seller cannot be disclosed. (Civil Code

§1102.6d)

Recap:

● The homeowner is responsible for correcting any code violations in or on their home, space and accessory structures, including pre- existing code violations.

9. Does a resident need a permit from HCD to remodel their home, even though all the changes and upgrades are on the inside?

Homeowners need a permit from the state Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).

Only HCD, not local government, may issue permits for

alterations of a mobile home’s structural, fire safety,

electrical, plumbing or mechanical components.

The two offices that handle such permits are:

10. Is there financial assistance available to residents for correction of code violations on their homes?

Many local governments have rehabilitation or repair grants

for low income homeowners, including residents or owners

of mobilehomes, in some cases.

This money is made available through the CalHome program, operated by HCD, to local governments and non-profit organizations, as part of two housing bond issues approved by state voters in recent years.

However, application must be made through local government, and not all local jurisdictions have such programs. There are usually income and residency eligibility requirements.

Additionally, some jurisdictions do not consider

mobilehomes “real property” eligible for rehab funding or

may have restrictions on the kinds of repairs that will be

funded.

Contact the county housing agency for information on availability and eligibility.

Recap:

● The State passes money to the counties for home repair assistance to low-income mobilehome owners. Not all counties participate in this program. 

Call On Us Anytime To BE Your

Go To Guys

For Information & Knowledge about

MANUFACTURED  HOMES

 800 909-1110

JOHN ARENDSEN 760 815-6977

onthelevel@cox.net

 Scott Arendsen 760 415-1923

scottarendsen@mac.com 

 JANIS ARENDSEN 760 415-1982

 janlinden@mac.com