EVICTION FOR LATE PAYMENT OF RENT
Q. Due to increased medical and utility costs, and the fact I have had to change jobs, I have been late paying my park rent a number of times over the past couple years, but the manager has always accepted it. We now have a new manager who says, because I have been late in paying the rent three times in the last year, he is refusing to accept my rent and they are going to evict me. Can the park evict me even though my rental history shows I always end up paying the rent?
A. Yes. The Mobilehome Residency Law (MRL) gives homeowners five days from the due date to pay the monthly rent and a 3-day notice thereafter to pay the rent (in 3 days) or be subject to termination of tenancy in 60 days. If a homeowner pays the rent within the 3-day grace period, the 60-day termination of tenancy is voided. However, the homeowner can only pay the rent late in this fashion twice in a 12-month period. Despite the fact past managers have been forgiving, if a homeowner is late a third time within the 12-month timeframe, the new management can refuse to accept the late rent and proceed with eviction. MRL Section 798.56(e)(1) has a specific boldface warning notice about this “three strikes” provision.
EVICTION FOR RULE VIOLATIONS
Q. Last month my neighbor received an eviction notice which indicated that she was in violation of park rules, without any other explanation, and that she has 60 days to move herself and her home out of the park. The management refuses to discuss the eviction with her and returned her rent check for this month. What does she do?
A. The first step is to seek advice from an attorney, or a mobilehome advocacy group that can refer her to counsel familiar with these kinds of cases. MRL Sections 798.55 and 798.56 govern termination of tenancy in a mobilehome park. In a mobilehome park, your tenancy can only be terminated for just cause, meaning they can only terminate you for seven specified reasons in the code, including violation of a park rule or regulation. The management must also give you a 60-day notice, but if you refuse to move after the 60-day period, the park management has to take you to court in what is known as an unlawful detainer action, similar to other residential tenancies. There you have the opportunity to tell the judge your side of the story. If you are evicted, depending upon the court, you may be required to pay the management’s attorney fees, in addition to having to leave the park. In this case of termination for a rule violation, the homeowner may have a good defense because the code requires management to specify the rule broken and particular circumstances of where and when, and they first have to give you seven days to correct the rule violation. If you can show the court they didn’t follow these requirements or give you that opportunity to conform within seven days, the park cannot proceed with termination. However, if you violate the rule more than twice in a 12-month period, on the third violation, the management may proceed with termination despite the fact you have cured the violation (Sec. 798.56d), a sort of “3 strikes and you’re out” provision. If the management refuses to accept the resident’s check for rent, the resident should put the rent money in a trust or escrow account at a bank so the resident can later show good faith to the court in trying to pay the rent. Termination of tenancy (eviction) in a mobilehome park is a vitally important matter because a resident can lose their home, so they should not waste time seeking legal help.
TERMINATION AT END OF RENTAL AGREEMENT’S TERM
Q. My 5-year lease ends in three months. The park manager told me that the park will not renew it or offer any further rental agreements after that time and that my tenancy will be terminated. Can he end my tenancy in the park by refusing to enter into a new rental agreement?
A. No, not if you are a homeowner. Under the Mobilehome Residency Law, homeowners normally rent under a month-to-month or 12-month rental agreement or long-term lease of more than one year, such as 10 years. When the term of the rental agreement is up, the management cannot arbitrarily evict the homeowner but must offer a twelve-month or lesser term (month-to-month) as requested by the homeowner. Residents who own their mobilehomes in the park have just cause eviction and cannot be evicted because their lease has expired, or for no reason, but only because they have not paid the rent, or have violated park rules or regulations, etc. (see Section 798.56 – Mobilehome Residency Law). However, if the resident is a tenant who rents the mobilehome from the park owner, i.e. where the park owns the home, such a tenancy would be governed by conventional landlord-tenant law. In that case, the park can terminate the tenancy without a reason with a 30-day notice.
TENANT RIGHTS IN PARK-OWNED MOBILEHOMES
Q. In my mobilehome park, some mobilehomes are owned by the park and rented-out like apartments. One of my neighbors, an elderly woman, has rented a home from the park for more than 10 years. She has always paid her rent on time but recently received a 60-day eviction notice for no reason. Is the park in violation of the Mobilehome Residency Law (MRL) for not providing a reason to evict her?
A. Probably not. In mobilehome parks, generally speaking, the Mobilehome Residency Law’s protections only apply to homeowners who own their own homes and rent their spaces, not to tenants who rent park- or management-owned mobilehomes. Certain sections of the MRL do apply specifically to both homeowners and “residents,” such as Section 798.51, which gives both homeowners and residents the right to meet in the park community or clubhouse during reasonable hours. However, the MRL’s “just cause” eviction provisions do not apply to residents who rent park-owned homes, and they would be, instead, subject to the requirements of conventional landlord-tenant law. In such a case, resident-tenants living in the home for less than a year would be entitled to a 30-day notice of termination; those living there more than a year, a 60-day notice.
PARK CLOSURE
Q. The park has given us notice that the owner will close the park in one year. All residential tenancies will be terminated and homeowners must remove their mobilehomes from the park. Don’t residents, some of whom have lived here for more than 25 years and have no where to go, have any rights to be compensated for being dislocated?
A. Mobilehome owners do have rights in terms of the 6-months’ or one-year notice requirements under the Mobilehome Residency Law (Civil Code) and potential relocation assistance under the Government Code. Civil Code Section 798.56 (g) provides that where no city permits are required to close or convert the park to another use, the park must at least give residents a one-year written notice of termination of tenancy. But if local permits are required, which is usually the case, the park must give residents a 15-day written notice that park management will appear before a local board or planning commission to request permits for a change of use. At the same time, in accordance with Section 798.56 (h), the park must notice the impact report requirements of Government Code Section 65863.7 and only after approval of all permits by the city could the park then give the residents a 6-month notice of termination. Government Code Section 65863.7 provides that upon the closure or conversion of a mobilehome park to another use the park must render an impact report to the city on the effect the conversion will have on the residents’ dislocation and their ability to find alternative housing. The city must then hold a hearing on the impact report and may require the park to pay the reasonable costs of relocation to displaced residents as a condition for obtaining various permits to convert the park and develop the land for another use. Usually this takes several hearings and a number of months. What actual relocation assistance is afforded to residents is determined by the city, usually the planning commission or a delegated committee or agency of the commission. Often local governments will have a mobilehome park conversion ordinance which parallels the requirements of Government Code Section 65863.7 and fills in the details of what kind of relocation assistance may be required by the city, whether it is actual relocation of the mobilehome or a buy-out of the home, and how the mobilehome is to be valued for these purposes. If the park is to be subdivided into individual parcels, as may be the case, for example, where stick-built housing will replace the park, and where a tentative or final map is required, the city may impose even more stringent relocation requirements under Government Code Section 66429.4. In the final analysis, through the hearing process, local officials are the final arbiters of any relocation assistance to which displaced mobilehome owners may be entitled. Park residents, who are affected by park closure, should therefore establish and maintain contact with local officials, including city council members, city planning commission members, and staff at the city planning or building department.
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