Governor Schwarzenegger: Protect Affordable Mobile Home Housing

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Noreen Evans
Member
California State Assembly

Hundreds of thousands of seniors and working families who rent spaces in mobile home parks across California live in fear they will lose their homes. Fortunately the Governor has the chance to put their fears to rest by signing legislation that I authored, Assembly Bill 1542.

Mobile home parks provide valuable affordable housing. An alternative to conventional home ownership, they are an anomaly because most residents own their mobile home, but rent the space upon which the home is situated. And, although these homes are called “mobile,” in reality they are difficult and costly to move. This helps explain why over 100 communities across the state have adopted rent control ordinances to keep rents affordable.

Recently, however, mobile home park owners have discovered a loophole in state law that allows them to convert one or more of their spaces to condominium ownership and avoid the application of local rent control on the remaining rental spaces. This is a particularly severe problem in communities where land values are high. Conversions maximize profits for park owners, while forcing seniors and working families out of their homes with no other local place to go.

AB 1542 closes the loophole in state law by keeping local rent control in place upon conversion. It also enables local governments in jurisdictions with rent control ordinances to review and approve applications to convert mobile home parks, just as they now do with applications to convert to a non-residential use.

Current law was written to provide mobile home park residents the opportunity to buy the land on which they live. AB 1542 does not change that. In fact, my legislation preserves the current law exempting conversion from local oversight if 2/3 of the park residents sign a petition in favor of the conversion. AB 1542 is written to strike a balance between an outright ban on conversions and no regulation at all. It simply provides that if a park is subdivided and converted to resident ownership, the current residents who do not or cannot buy their space are protected by local rent control until the time that they move out. Upon a change in residency, the park owner would then have the right to raise the rent on the space.

Under current law, condominium conversions divide residents into winners and losers. Winners are the residents who can afford to purchase their spaces. Losers are the lower income residents who can’t afford to buy and are often forced out of their homes because of the conversion. AB 1542 allows residents to buy their spaces without hurting their neighbors.

AB 1542 awaits the Governor’s signature or veto. This is a very real opportunity for him to make a difference for hundreds of thousands of Californians who will lose their homes if park conversions continue. Right now, there are roughly 40 pending mobile home park conversions across California. If the Governor vetoes this bill, many more will surely occur and put our seniors and working families out on the street.