Bill Text: CA AB2026 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Mobilehome parks: sales.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-05-29 - Read third time. Refused passage. (Ayes 26. Noes 34. Page 5354.). [AB2026 Detail]
Download: California-2013-AB2026-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 2026 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 23, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 5, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 21, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Stone
FEBRUARY 20, 2014
An act to amend Section 798.74 of the Civil Code, relating to
mobilehome parks.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2026, as amended, Stone. Mobilehome parks: sales.
Existing law authorizes the management of a mobilehome park to
require prior approval of a purchaser of a mobilehome that will
remain in the park. Existing law also prohibits management from
withholding approval if the purchaser has the ability to pay the rent
and charges of the park, except as specified. Existing law
authorizes management to require the purchaser to document the amount
and source of his or her gross monthly income or other means of
support but prohibits management from requiring personal income tax
returns as evidence. Existing law requires management, upon request
of any prospective homeowner who proposes to purchase a mobilehome
that will remain in the park, to inform that person of the
information that management will require to determine if the person
will be acceptable as a homeowner in the park. Existing law permits
the management or owner to be held liable for all damages if the
approval of a prospective homeowner is withheld for any unauthorized
reason.
This bill would require the purchaser to be presumed to have the
financial ability to pay the rent and charges of the park if he or
she has been approved for a loan to purchase the mobilehome that the
purchaser intends to occupy, or if the purchaser has not been
approved for a loan, based upon consideration of all information
provided by the purchaser regarding his or her assets and ability to
generate income demonstrating sufficient monthly income that meets or
exceeds the income standard disclosed by management. The bill would
prohibit that income standard from exceeding a multiplier of 3 times
the purchaser's income over the projected housing-related expenses to
be paid by the purchaser in connection with the proposed mobilehome
tenancy. The bill would prohibit management from withholding
approval on the basis that the prospective purchaser will not comply
with the rules and regulations of the park unless the prospective
purchaser has been evicted from the same park where he or she is
applying for residency or the determination is reasonably based upon
the prospective purchaser's prior tenancies within the 3 years
preceding the purchaser's application. The bill would also
prohibit management from withholding approval solely because the
purchaser owns another mobilehome or real property residence and from
requiring that the mobilehome being purchased be the sole residence
of the purchaser. The bill would require management, upon request, to
provide a prospective purchaser with a list of information that
management will require in order to determine if the person will be
acceptable as a homeowner in the park and a copy of the current
written procedures, standards, or requirements that will be used by
management to evaluate the purchaser's application. The bill would
require the management, if a prospective homeowner is denied approval
and if requested, to meet with the purchaser or homeowner at which
time the management would be required to reconsider the denial,
including any additional information relevant to the application
provided by the prospective homeowner.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 798.74 of the Civil Code is amended to read:
798.74. (a) The management may require the right of prior
approval of a purchaser of a mobilehome that will remain in the park
and that the selling homeowner or his or her agent give notice of the
sale to the management before the close of the sale. Approval shall
not be withheld if the purchaser has the financial ability to pay the
rent and charges of the park unless the management reasonably
determines that, based on the purchaser's prior tenancies, he or she
will not comply with the rules and regulations of the park. In
determining whether the purchaser has the financial ability to pay
the rent and charges of the park, the management shall not require
the purchaser to submit copies of any personal income tax returns in
order to obtain approval for residency in the park. However,
management may require the purchaser to document the amount and
source of his or her gross monthly income or means of financial
support, but in no event shall the income standard exceed a
multiplier of three times the purchaser's income over the projected
housing-related expenses to be paid by the purchaser in connection
with the proposed mobile home tenancy.
(b) For purposes of determining the prior approval of a purchaser
pursuant to this section, all of the following shall apply:
(1) A purchaser shall be presumed to have the financial ability to
pay the rent and charges of the park if the purchaser has been
approved by a state or federally chartered financial institution for
a loan to purchase the mobilehome that the purchaser intends to
occupy and written documentation confirming this fact has been
provided to management.
(2) If the purchaser has not been approved for a loan to purchase
the mobilehome pursuant to paragraph (1), the management shall
determine the purchaser's financial ability to pay the rent and
charges of the park based upon consideration of all information
provided by the purchaser regarding his or her assets and ability to
generate income, including, but not limited to, savings accounts,
certificates of deposit, stock portfolios, trust interests of which
the purchaser is the beneficiary, real property, and similar
financial assets that can be liquidated or sold. A purchaser who
demonstrates sufficient monthly income from all sources that meets or
exceeds the income standard established pursuant to subdivision (a)
shall be presumed to have the financial ability to pay the rent and
charges of the park.
(3) Management shall not withhold approval on the basis that the
purchaser will not comply with the rules and regulations of the park
unless either of the following apply:
(A) The prospective purchaser has been evicted from the same park
where he or she is applying for residency at any time preceding the
purchaser's application for tenancy.
(B) Management reasonably determines, based upon the prospective
purchaser's prior tenancies within the three years preceding the
purchaser's application, that the prospective purchaser will not
comply with the rules and regulations of the park. If management
withholds approval on this basis, it shall provide the prospective
purchaser with documentary evidence supporting this determination in
the written rejection of the purchaser's application pursuant to
subdivision (e).
(c) Management shall not withhold approval solely because the
purchaser owns another mobilehome or real property residence.
Management shall not require that the mobilehome that is the subject
of the purchase be the sole residence of the purchaser as a condition
of granting approval.
(d) Upon request of any prospective homeowner who proposes to
purchase a mobilehome that will remain in the park, management shall
provide that person with a list of the information management will
require in order to determine if the person will be acceptable as a
homeowner in the park, and a copy of the current written procedures,
standards, or requirements that will be used by management to
evaluate the purchaser's application, including, but not limited to,
minimum income standards that will be used to determine the purchaser'
s financial ability to pay the rent and charges of the park pursuant
to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b).
(e) Within 15 business days of receiving all of the information
requested from the prospective homeowner, the management shall notify
the seller and the prospective homeowner, in writing, of either
acceptance or rejection of the application, and
application. If the application is rejected, the management
shall provide the prospective homeowner, in writi ng,
the specific reason or reasons, if rejected.
reasons for rejection with reference to the applicable standard
or requirement disclosed pursuant to subdivision (d) upon which the
rejection was based. During this 15-day period the prospective
homeowner shall comply with the management's request, if any, for a
personal interview. If a prospective homeowner is denied approval,
within five business days of receiving the denial, the selling
homeowner and the prospective homeowner may request an
in-person a meeting with management. If
requested, the meeting shall take place within 10 business days, at
which time the management shall reconsider its denial, including the
consideration of any additional information relevant to the
application provided by the prospective homeowner. If the approval of
a prospective homeowner is withheld for any reason other than those
stated in this article, the management or owner may be held liable
for all damages proximately resulting therefrom.
(f) If the management collects a fee or charge from a prospective
purchaser of a mobilehome in order to obtain a financial report or
credit rating, the full amount of the fee or charge shall be credited
toward payment of the first month's rent for that mobilehome
purchaser. If, for whatever reason, the prospective purchaser is
rejected by the management, the management shall refund to the
prospective purchaser the full amount of that fee or charge within 30
days from the date of rejection. If the prospective purchaser is
approved by the management, but, for whatever reason, the prospective
purchaser elects not to purchase the mobilehome, the management may
retain the fee, or a portion thereof, to defray its administrative
costs under this section.
