Mobilehome Residency Law Protection Act.

The Mobilehome Residency Law governs the terms and conditions of residency in mobilehome parks. That law, among other things, requires the rental agreement between the management of a mobilehome park and the homeowner to be in writing and to contain specified terms and provisions, requires the management to meet and consult with homeowners, either individually, collectively, or with representatives of a group of homeowners, on specified matters within 30 days of a written request to do so, and prohibits management from terminating or refusing to renew tenancy within a park, except for specified reasons and upon giving written notice to the homeowner. This bill would enact the Mobilehome Residency Law Protection Act. Beginning July 1, 2020, the bill would establish the Mobilehome Residency Law Protection Program within the Department of Housing and Community Development, pursuant to which the bill would require the department to provide assistance in resolving and coordinating the resolution of complaints from homeowners relating to the Mobilehome Residency Law, as provided. The bill would require the department to refer matters within its jurisdiction to its Division of Codes and Standards and authorize it to refer matters not within its jurisdiction to the appropriate enforcement agency. The bill would require the department to select complaints for evaluation under the program, as provided. The bill would require the department to contract with one or more qualified and experienced nonprofit legal services providers and, if a complaint submitted to the program is not resolved during a 25-day period for negotiation between management and the complaining party, the bill would require the referral of complaints selected for evaluation to an appropriate enforcement agency or one of those nonprofit legal services providers, as provided. The bill would require management to provide specified information to the department within 15 business days from the postmark date or electronic transmission of a request for that information and require the imposition of a noncompliance citation of $250 for each failure to comply. Beginning January 1, 2019, the bill would require the department to assess upon, and collect from, the management of a mobilehome park subject to the Mobilehome Residency Law an annual registration fee of $10 for each permitted mobilehome lot located within the mobilehome park, to be paid at the time of payment of the annual operating fee imposed under the Mobilehome Parks Act. The bill would authorize management to pass this fee on to the homeowners within the mobilehome park. The bill would require that all moneys collected pursuant to its provisions be deposited into the Mobilehome Dispute Resolution Fund, which this bill would establish, and make those moneys available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for purposes of implementing the Mobilehome Residency Law Protection Act, as provided. The bill, on January 1, 2023, would require the department to submit a written report to the Legislature outlining data collected from the program and make that report available on its Internet Web site. The bill would require that the data collected include specified information. The bill would also require the department to additionally report certain information to a task force convened pursuant to specified law to provide input to the department on the conduct and operation of a certain mobilehome park maintenance inspection program. The bill would repeal the Mobilehome Residency Law Protection Act as of January 1, 2024. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 18502 of the Health and Safety Code proposed by SB 46 to be operative only if this bill and SB 46 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.