California Mobilehome Homeowners: Rent Increases and Evictions
Updated: June 3, 2013
What are the requirements governing rent increases by mobilehome park owners or management in jurisdiction without rent control?
The Mobilehome Residency Law allows mobilehome park owners or management to increase rents. However, the park must provide a ninety-day notice prior to any increase. Cal. Civil Code § 798.30. California courts strictly enforce this notice requirement. See, e.g., Rich v. Schwab, 162 Cal. App. 3d 739, 743 (1984) (holding that a landlord’s insufficient notice is a “nullity for all purposes”). The rent increase notice does not need to contain an explanation. However, the park owner or management may only charge mobilehome owners for “rent, utilities, and incidental reasonable charges for services actually received.” Cal. Civil Code § 798.31.
City or county governments may impose rent control restrictions and differing notice requirements for rent increases. A tenant, therefore, can only determine whether a rent increase notice is valid by looking at local rent control ordinances.
What are the grounds for eviction from or termination of tenancy in a mobilehome park?
Park owners or management may only terminate a mobilehome owner’s tenancy for the following reasons:
- failure to comply with a local ordinance or state law or regulation within a reasonable time after receiving a noncompliance notice from a governmental agency;
- “substantial annoyance” within the park premises to other residents;
- conviction for prostitution or a felony for controlled substance in the park;
- failure to comply with a reasonable park rule included in a rental agreement;
- nonpayment of rent, utility charges or reasonable incidental service charges for a period of five or more days from the due date (provided that the homeowner subsequently receives a three-day written notice to pay the amount due);
- condemnation of the park; and
- change of use of the park or any portion thereof, meaning that the entire park, “or a functional part of it, is no longer used as a mobilehome park”. Keh v. Walters, 55 Cal. App. 4th 1522, 1532 (1997).
(Cal. Civil Code § 798.56)
What are the requirements for an eviction notice for a mobilehome resident?
Where a park owner or manager seeks to terminate a tenancy, the mobilehome owner must receive a minimum of sixty days’ written notice to sell or remove the home from the park. See Cal. Civil Code § 798.55. The form of the notice must comply with Cal. Code of Civil Procedure § 1162. The park owner or management must send a copy of the notice to the legal owner, each junior lienholder and the registered owner of the mobilehome. The notice must contain a statement of the reason(s) for the termination with specific facts such as date, place, witnesses, and circumstances.
