What is a mobile home?
There are 5,246 mobile homes and RV parks in California, with a total of 453,163 spaces. 453,163 of those are mobile home spaces. Many people are facing eviction from a mobile home park in California.
A mobile home is a detached residential dwelling fabricated in a controlled environment. It can be moved from one place to another more easily than a site-built home- but it's not as easy as it seems and certainly not cheap. On average, it costs $5,000+ to relocate a mobile home and this doesn’t include any hookup charges or other costs that may come up. Most of the time, it's easier to leave the home behind when you move from the property than to try to move it.
Mobile homes come in a variety of sizes: single-wide, double-wide, and even triple-wide.
Manufactured homes can be set up just about anywhere. They can be on your land or in a mobile home park. If you decide to put your mobile home in a mobile home park, you will enter into a contract with the park's landlord. You will be required to pay a lot of rent to keep your mobile home in that space. If you violate the rental agreement's terms or don't pay rent as required, you may face eviction.
The coronavirus pandemic caused many homeowners to fall behind on their bills, including lot rent, so many of them in California are being evicted. If tenants do not move their mobile home off the property, they are penalized and their mobile homes are being treated as abandoned property. This is causing an uproar in the mobile home community, with many questioning the legality of what is being done. Many mobile home dwellers are calling for rent stabilization to prevent landlords from increasing the rent to an amount that renters can’t afford.
Things you need to know as a Californian mobile home resident
As a mobile home owner, you should know that some rights are unique to your situation- that is, owning the mobile home but renting the property. As a tenant, you are protected under the FHA, or Fair Housing Act, which means that you cannot be discriminated against due to the following:
- Sex
- Race
- Familial status
- Religion
- National origin
- Color
- Disability
Age is another factor where discrimination is not allowed, except for communities specifically designed for seniors 55+.
A few of the local regulations against discrimination protect individuals from being discriminated against due to the following:
- Gender identity
- Sexual orientation
- Income level
- Military history
That said, if you violate any portion of the rental agreement, you may face a legitimate eviction from a mobile home park in California. If you do receive an eviction notice, don’t panic. There are some things you can do.
It is also very important that you understand that landlords are subject to certain regulations as well. The specifics vary from one state to another, but the basics are as follows:
- They must keep the community safe and clean
- They cannot enter your home without permission
- They must ensure that water and other utilities are kept in working condition
Valid Reasons for Eviction from Mobile Home Parks in California
Eviction is a civil process in which a landlord legally removes a tenant from their rental property and can occur for a variety of reasons, including:
- Tenant not paying rent
- Violating the terms of the lease agreement
- Other situations, as permitted by law
Individual states and municipalities typically govern evictions. The landlord must inform the tenant that they are being evicted, specifying the reason for the eviction and the number of days before proceedings begin.
What can you do if being evicted?
The laws regulating tenant and landlord agreements are always changing. Therefore, you must keep up with them. One of the common reasons for eviction is the tenant not paying their rent.
The eviction ban in California is set to end on June 30. There are nearly 1.5 million tenants who are behind on rent payments—more than 600,000 of these worry that they will likely be evicted in the next two months. If there's one thing that has become clear throughout the pandemic, it's that there are some significant inequalities regarding housing security.
As mentioned, almost 1.5 million tenants in California are currently late on their rent payments, which is about 1 in 7 adult renters. Those who were hurt by the pandemic are much more likely to fall behind than those that have not.
Renters who had lost their employment in the month before this survey were 3 times more likely to be behind on lot rent. Low-income renters are 5 times more likely than high-income renters to be behind.
If you believe that laws are being violated, you may be able to file a complaint. Here’s how:
Go online to https://www.hcd.ca.gov/submit-a-complaint and follow the instructions. If you do not have access to a computer or internet, you can contact the office directly to get a printed form by calling (800) 952-8356 or writing: Mobile Home Assistance Center PO Box 278690 Sacramento, CA 95827.
If you wish, you may hire an attorney if you feel like your rights as a tenant have been violated. It is required that the owners of the mobile home park maintain the park and respect your rights. An attorney can be expensive, so you may wish to request legal aid to mitigate the out-of-pocket cost for you. Your income will be used to determine if you qualify. If your landlord has threatened to evict you or you need assistance understanding your rights, you may want to consult with an attorney.
Another option you might want to consider is to look into free housing help. Contact an attorney or your local housing authority to determine what type of assistance you qualify for.
For Landlords: Hiring Professional Landlord Eviction Services
If you are a landlord and have a tenant that you need to evict, you have options too. You can hire a professional landlord eviction service, and there are several advantages to doing so:
Advantages
They Understand the Process
As a landlord, you have not faced as many evictions as a professional service has. Therefore, you don’t have the experience they do and may not fully understand the process. They do and can handle the situation from beginning to end.
They Give You Peace of Mind
Eviction can be stressful, but a professional eviction service can help. California has many rules and laws that you must comply with to legally and quickly evict your tenant. Plus, it’s important to remember that the tenant has rights too.
They are more convenient
You are likely busy with other things and may not have the time to deal with an eviction. A professional eviction service is more convenient and can easily process a situation you may be putting off.
They Take Care of the Details
There are lots of legalities involved in tenant eviction. For example, you must give notice and allow them time to fix the situation. You must file a case with the court with an eviction notice and request a hearing if they do not. If you miss anything, the judge may rule in favor of the tenant. If you hire a professional eviction service, you won’t have to worry about this.
It’s also important to understand that there are some disadvantages of hiring a Professional Landlord Eviction Service as well, including:
Disadvantages
They may charge high fees
They may charge you fees to evict your tenant that seem to be high. However, since it’s a one-time service and it helps you get rid of a problem tenant without hassle, it may be worth it. You may be able to negotiate a lower fee.
The process may take longer
They likely have a large caseload and may not work as quickly as you would like. After all, you want your problem tenant removed from the manufactured home as quickly as possible- but in order for it to be legal, there is a process and regulations that must be followed.
Further resources
Find out your rights as a mobile home park resident here:
https://www.hcd.ca.gov/your-rights-as-a-mobilehome-park-resident
Assistance center:
https://www.hcd.ca.gov/mobilehome-assistance-center
https://www.hcd.ca.gov/your-rights-as-a-mobilehome-park-resident
Handbook: 2022 California Mobilehome Residency Law: https://mobilehomes.senate.ca.gov/sites/mobilehomes.senate.ca.gov/files/2022_mrl_pdf.pdf
Housing California Eviction Protections:
https://www.housing.ca.gov/#evictionprotections
Conclusion
The moratorium on evictions expires on June 30, 2022. Therefore, there will likely be an uptick in evictions. The coronavirus pandemic has led to many tenants being behind on their bills, including rent. If you feel that you are facing eviction, the time to seek help is now.
It's important to remember that laws are always changing, and it's important to take the time to familiarize yourself with them so that you can be protected and avoid an illegal eviction- or even fight a legal one. We are often given donations from people who are having difficulty with the land owner or management of the park. We step in and deal with them and have the home removed from the property before an eviction is enforced.