Landlord Atlas

California Mobile Home Park Laws

Verified August 18, 2026 All California topics →

California's Mobilehome Residency Law, Civil Code sections 798 to 798.88, governs tenancies in parks of two or more spaces where the resident owns the home and rents the space beneath it: management must give 90 days' written notice of a lot-rent increase, must offer every homeowner a rental agreement with a 12-month term, may end a tenancy only for one of seven listed reasons, and must give six months' notice of a closure once the local permits are approved, plus an impact report that can require paying a displaced resident the in-place market value of the home.

Cited to Cal. Civ. Code §§ 798–798.14 (Article 1, General) and 13 more sources · Verified August 18, 2026

There is no general statewide cap on lot rent; a narrow limit of 3 percent plus the change in the cost of living, or 5 percent, whichever is lower, reaches only parks that lie within and are governed by two or more incorporated cities, and it ends on January 1, 2030. Cities and counties may regulate lot rents, and many do. A rule violation carries a seven-day cure period and a three-day notice to pay may be served only after rent has been unpaid for five days. Residents have strong rights around the home itself: it may be sold in place, management may not take a commission or force the seller to use its agent, a for-sale sign is protected, and a buyer may be refused only on three grounds, with silence past the decision deadline counting as approval. When the park itself is sold, residents get advance notice but no right to buy, and only if they have first formed and registered a resident organization; the state housing department runs a complaint program for violations of the act, though it may not take part in rent disputes.

Governing actMobilehome Residency Law — Cal. Civ. Code §§ 798–798.88
Federal lender protections already required by state law5 of 8 (see the table)

Each row below is a state rule (with its citation) or an honest "no state rule" with what governs instead — lease terms and the general landlord-tenant law still apply where the park act is silent. This page covers a resident who owns the home and rents the lot; a home rented from the park is an ordinary California tenancy.

On this page: Scope · Lot rent, fees and utilities · Lease, rules and disclosure · Termination and eviction · Closure and change of use · Sale of the park · The resident's home · Federal lender protections · Common questions · Citations

A. Scope — who and what the act covers

Rule California law Source
State agency with a role in park tenancies Department of Housing and Community Development, through the Mobilehome Residency Law Protection Program The department takes homeowner complaints about violations of the Mobilehome Residency Law and refers the most severe to contracted nonprofit legal services providers, which may bring enforcement actions at no charge to the homeowner. The department does not arbitrate, mediate, negotiate or give legal advice in park rent disputes. The program is paid for by a $10 annual registration fee for each permitted lot, which management may pass on to homeowners only as a separate line item and not folded into rent. The program is set to end on January 1, 2027 unless the Legislature extends it. Cal. Health & Safety Code § 18800 (a), (b); Cal. Health & Safety Code § 18802; Cal. Health & Safety Code § 18804; Cal. Health & Safety Code § 18806
Resident may sue under the act Yes A homeowner or former homeowner may sue management to enforce rights under the act, including in small claims court. The prevailing party in any action arising out of the act is entitled to reasonable attorney's fees and costs, and a prevailing homeowner may be awarded up to $2,000 for each willful violation, at the court's discretion, or punitive damages instead of that penalty. A homeowner must give management 30 days' written notice before starting an action over a failure to maintain common-facility improvements or a reduction in service, but that step does not apply to personal injury or wrongful death claims. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.85; Cal. Civ. Code § 798.86 (a); Cal. Civ. Code § 798.84 (a), (f)
Minimum park size for the act to apply (lots) 2 lots A mobilehome park is an area of land where two or more mobilehome sites are rented, or held out for rent, to accommodate mobilehomes used for human habitation. The parallel definition in the Health and Safety Code uses the same two-lot test and also reaches land formerly held out for rent that was later converted to a subdivision, cooperative, condominium or other form of resident ownership. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.4; Cal. Health & Safety Code § 18214 (a)
Other size thresholds that switch rules on No state rule No lot-count threshold switches additional rules on. The two-space definition is the only size test in the general, rental-agreement, rules and fee articles; the one narrower class the act creates is defined by where the park sits, not by how many spaces it has. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.4; Cal. Civ. Code § 798.30.5 (h)(4)
Park-owned rental homes Ordinary landlord-tenant law applies The act runs to a homeowner's tenancy, which it defines as the right to use a site within a park on which to locate, maintain and occupy a mobilehome, site improvements and accessory structures. A rental of a home owned by the park is not that relationship and is governed by ordinary residential landlord and tenant law. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.12; Cal. Civ. Code § 798.9
RVs and park-model homes Included after a qualifying period Recreational vehicles are outside the definition of a mobilehome, with one exception: a trailer or recreational vehicle is treated as a mobilehome once it has occupied a park site for nine or more continuous months beginning on or after November 15, 1992. An older group is also covered — vehicles that occupied a site on November 15, 1992 under a rental agreement of one month or longer and had occupied a site before January 1, 1991. Trailers and recreational vehicles in parks governed by the separate recreational vehicle park occupancy law are excluded. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.3 (a), (b)(1)–(2)
Local rent regulation of park lots Local ordinances regulate lot rents in parts of the state State law leaves lot-rent regulation to cities and counties and says so expressly: nothing in the state's own narrow rent limit affects the authority of a local government to adopt or keep an ordinance, rule, regulation or initiative measure setting a maximum rent, and where a local measure is stricter it controls. Local mobilehome rent ordinances are in force in many California cities and counties. Two limits on those ordinances sit in the act itself. A space that is not the homeowner's principal residence, and that the homeowner has not rented to anyone else, is exempt from any local maximum-rent ordinance. And the long-standing exemption for leases longer than 12 months ended: that section was repealed on January 1, 2025, so a lease of any length is now subject to a local ordinance. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.30.5 (i)(1), (e)(3); Cal. Civ. Code § 798.21 (a); Stats. 2020, Ch. 35 (AB 2782)

B. Lot rent, fees and utilities

Rule California law Source
Notice before a lot-rent increase 90 days Management must give a homeowner written notice of any rent increase at least 90 days before the date of the increase. The same 90-day notice applies to an increase taken under the state's narrow rent limit. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.30; Cal. Civ. Code § 798.30.5 (d)
How often rent may be raised No state rule State law sets no general limit on how often lot rent may be raised; the only statewide constraint is the 90-day notice before each increase. A limit of two increases in any 12-month period applies to the narrow class of parks that lie within, and are governed by, two or more incorporated cities. Where a city or county has adopted a mobilehome rent ordinance, that ordinance may set its own frequency limit. Applies only in part of the state: Two increases in any 12-month period, in parks located within and governed by the jurisdictions of two or more incorporated cities (§ 798.30.5(a)(2), (h)(4)). Local mobilehome rent ordinances may impose their own limits. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.30; Cal. Civ. Code § 798.30.5 (a)(2), (h)(4)
Statewide limit on lot-rent increases No state rule There is no general statewide limit on lot-rent increases. One narrow limit exists: in a park located within and governed by the jurisdictions of two or more incorporated cities, rent may not rise over any 12-month period by more than 3 percent plus the change in the cost of living, or 5 percent, whichever is lower, measured against the lowest rent charged in the previous 12 months, and that limit ends on January 1, 2030. It does not reach a new tenancy in which no homeowner from the prior tenancy remains, deed-restricted affordable spaces, student housing spaces, resident-owned parks, or spaces already covered by a stricter local measure. For most California parks the limit on increases, if any, comes from a city or county mobilehome rent ordinance. Applies only in part of the state: Percentage limit of 3 percent plus the change in the cost of living, or 5 percent, whichever is lower, on the lowest rent charged in the prior 12 months, in parks located within and governed by two or more incorporated cities; ends January 1, 2030 (§ 798.30.5). Elsewhere, city and county mobilehome rent ordinances set the limit where they exist. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.30.5 (a)(1), (b), (e), (h)(4), (i)(1), (j); Cal. Civ. Code § 798.30
How a resident can challenge an increase No state rule No state body reviews or approves a lot-rent increase. The state housing department's complaint program is expressly barred from arbitrating, mediating, negotiating or advising in park rent disputes. A homeowner's route is the local rent ordinance where one has been adopted, or the courts. Cal. Health & Safety Code § 18802; Cal. Civ. Code § 798.30; Cal. Civ. Code § 798.30.5 (i)(1)
Entrance fee prohibited Yes A homeowner may not be charged a fee for entry, installation, hookup or landscaping as a condition of tenancy. The one exception is an actual fee or cost imposed by a local ordinance or requirement that relates directly to occupancy of the specific site, and that was not incurred as part of developing the park as a whole. Management may not require a homeowner or prospective homeowner to buy, rent or lease landscaping, remodeling or maintenance goods or services from a named supplier. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.37
Exit or removal fee prohibited No state rule No section of the act bars a fee for removing a home from the park or for leaving the tenancy. What the act does bar is close by: management may not charge a transfer or selling fee as a condition of a sale within the park unless it performs a requested service, may not charge a buyer a fee as a condition of approval, and may charge a homeowner only rent, utilities and incidental reasonable charges for services actually rendered, so a fee for leaving that buys no service has no footing in the act. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.72 (a), (b); Cal. Civ. Code § 798.31
Undisclosed fees uncollectible Yes A homeowner may be charged only rent, utilities and incidental reasonable charges for services actually rendered. A charge for a service that is not listed in the rental agreement may not be imposed unless management has given at least 60 days' written notice, and every such fee must be stated separately on the billing, with an expiration date shown if the charge is time-limited. A change to the park rules that creates a new fee not expressly agreed in the written rental agreement is void and unenforceable. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.31; Cal. Civ. Code § 798.32 (a), (b); Cal. Civ. Code § 798.25 (e)
Utility billing rules Management may bill utilities separately from rent, but must reduce rent by the average amount it was charged for that service for that space over the preceding 12 months, and detailed billing, disclosure and pricing rules apply. Separately billed gas, electricity, water, cable television, refuse and sewer charges are not counted as rent or as a rent increase under a local rent ordinance, provided rent is reduced at the same time by the average amount management was charged for that service for that space in the preceding 12 months. Where management provides master-meter and submeter service it must show the charge with the opening and closing meter readings and post the serving utility's current residential rate schedule or its web address, and must name any third-party billing company on the bill. Submetered water billing is limited to volumetric usage calculated in one of the listed ways, a share of the purveyor's fixed charges, and an administrative fee capped at the lower of $4.75, adjusted annually for inflation, or 25 percent of the usage charge. Management must disclose a meter on a homeowner's site that also measures common-area service and either pay for that share or stop using the meter for it. At least 72 hours' written notice is required before a non-emergency utility interruption of more than two hours. A master-meter park must notify homeowners each year by February 1 about the California Alternate Rates for Energy discount and must pass the discount through in full. Where residents may not buy liquefied petroleum gas elsewhere, management may not sell it above 110 percent of the price it actually paid, and must post that price. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.41 (a), (d); Cal. Civ. Code § 798.40 (a)–(c); Cal. Civ. Code § 798.42 (a); Cal. Civ. Code § 798.43 (a); Cal. Civ. Code § 798.43.1 (a), (c); Cal. Civ. Code § 798.44 (a), (b)
Submetering required or regulated Yes Meters are not required, but the act regulates how a separately billed or submetered utility may be charged. The act does not require management to submeter any utility. It sets the rules that apply when management chooses to bill a utility separately or to provide master-meter and submeter service, and it says expressly that nothing in those sections requires a rental agreement to provide for separate billing. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.41 (a), (c); Cal. Civ. Code § 798.40 (a), (c)
Lot security deposit rules A deposit may be demanded only on or before initial occupancy and may not exceed two months' rent, on top of the first month's rent; it must be refunded after 12 consecutive months of prompt payment or on resale of the home. No further deposit may be demanded after initial occupancy. For deposits collected on or after January 1, 1989, once the homeowner has paid all rent, utilities and reasonable service charges within five days of the due date for any 12 consecutive months, or once the home is resold, whichever comes first, management must refund the deposit within 30 days of a written request. Management need not hold the deposit in an interest-bearing account or pay interest on it. Older deposits carry their own refund and escrow rules when the park is sold. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.39 (a), (b), (f)

C. Lease, rules and disclosure

Rule California law Source
Written lease Required The rental agreement must be in writing and must contain the term of the tenancy and the rent, the park rules, a copy of the text of the act as an exhibit, the responsibility for maintaining common facilities and the timeframes for repair, a description of the physical improvements to be provided, a list of the services included in the rent and their fees, any provision allowing a reasonable maintenance charge after 14 days' written notice, all other terms of the tenancy, and a prescribed notice. Management must return a signed copy to the homeowner within 15 business days. A waiver of rights under the act is void as contrary to public policy. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.15 (a)–(i); Cal. Civ. Code § 798.16 (b); Cal. Civ. Code § 798.19
Minimum lease term that must be offered 12 months A homeowner must be offered a rental agreement for a term of 12 months, a shorter period if the homeowner asks for one, or a longer period if both sides agree. During the first 12 months the rent, utility and incidental service charge terms may not differ from what would be offered on a month-to-month basis, and an agreement of 12 months or less may not automatically extend beyond 12 months at the sole option of either side. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.18 (a)–(c)
Notice to end a tenancy without cause No state rule There is no notice period to end a lot tenancy without cause, because there is no route to end one without cause. Management may not terminate or refuse to renew a tenancy except for one of the seven reasons listed in the act. The act also bars ending a tenancy in order to free the space for someone who is buying or renting a home from the park owner. The 60-day notice that accompanies a termination is part of the for-cause process, not a no-cause notice period. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.55 (b)(1); Cal. Civ. Code § 798.58
Notice before park rules change 180 days Before amending the park rules, management must give all homeowners at least 10 days' written notice of a meeting and then meet and consult with them. After that meeting the amendment may be applied to a homeowner with that homeowner's consent, or without consent on written notice of not less than six months, shown here as 180 days. Two shorter periods apply: rules for recreational facilities, and rules amended because a statute, ordinance or government regulation changed, take not less than 60 days' written notice. A rule adopted unilaterally without the required consent or notice is void and unenforceable, and a rules change that creates a new fee not expressly agreed in the written rental agreement is void. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.25 (a), (b), (d), (e); Cal. Civ. Code § 798.25.5
Disclosure document A disclosure document with state-prescribed contents Management must give a prospective homeowner a written Mobilehome Park Rental Agreement Disclosure Form, whose contents are set out in the statute, at least three days before a rental agreement is signed, and must keep it current each year or after a material change in park conditions. Separately, the rental agreement itself must carry a notice in wording the act prescribes and must attach a copy of the text of the act, and management must tell all homeowners and prospective homeowners the nature of the zoning or use permit the park operates under, including any renewal or expiration date, with written notice within 30 days of a change. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.75.5; Cal. Civ. Code § 798.15 (c), (i); Cal. Civ. Code § 798.27 (a), (b)
Residents' right to meet and organize Yes No rental agreement, rule or regulation may deny residents the right to assemble peacefully in the park at reasonable hours for any lawful purpose, to invite public officials and candidates in, or to canvass and distribute materials on mobilehome living. Political campaign signs of up to six square feet are protected. A resident prevented from exercising these rights may sue to stop enforcement of the rule or policy. Management must also meet and consult with homeowners within 30 days of a written request on park rules, maintenance standards, services, rental agreements offered to existing residents, utility billing and common area hours. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.51 (a)(1), (e); Cal. Civ. Code § 798.52; Cal. Civ. Code § 798.53 (a)(1)
Owner entry onto the lot or into the home No right of entry to the home or an enclosed accessory structure without the resident's prior written consent, which the resident may revoke in writing at any time; entry onto the land is allowed for limited purposes at reasonable times. Management may come onto the land the home sits on to maintain utilities, trees and driveways, to maintain the premises under the park rules where the resident has failed to do so, and to protect the park, at any reasonable time, but not in a manner or at a time that interferes with the resident's quiet enjoyment. Management may enter the home or an enclosed accessory structure without prior written consent only in an emergency or where the resident has abandoned it. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.26 (a), (b)
Retaliation prohibited Yes The Mobilehome Residency Law has no retaliation section of its own. The retaliation rule comes from the general residential statute in the same code, Civil Code § 1942.5, which bars a lessor from raising rent, cutting services or seeking to recover possession within 180 days after a tenant's good-faith complaint about habitability, a complaint to a public agency, or a lawful organizing activity, and which California courts have applied to park space tenancies. The act's own just-cause list separately confines the reasons a tenancy may be ended, and the act protects the right to meet and organize. Cal. Civ. Code § 1942.5; Cal. Civ. Code § 798.55 (b)(1); Cal. Civ. Code § 798.51

D. Termination and eviction

Rule California law Source
Just cause required to end a tenancy Yes A tenancy may be ended only for one or more of seven listed reasons. Management must state the reason with specific facts showing the date, place, witnesses and circumstances; citing a section number or repeating the words of the statute is not enough. Any agreement by which a homeowner gives up rights under the act is void. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.56 (a); Cal. Civ. Code § 798.55 (b)(1); Cal. Civ. Code § 798.57
Grounds for termination
  • Failure to comply with a local ordinance or a state law or regulation on mobilehomes, within a reasonable time after the homeowner receives a notice of noncompliance from the government agency.
  • Conduct on the park premises that is a substantial annoyance to other homeowners or residents.
  • Conviction for prostitution, for certain assault, lewd conduct or arson offenses under the Penal Code, or for a felony controlled substance offense, where the act was committed on the park premises.
  • Failure to comply with a reasonable park rule that is part of the rental agreement.
  • Nonpayment of rent, utility charges or reasonable incidental service charges.
  • Condemnation of the park.
  • Change of use of the park or any part of it.
A conviction ground does not end the tenancy if the convicted person permanently leaves the home and does not move back in. For the nonpayment and change-of-use grounds, the park must hold a valid permit to operate. 		Cal. Civ. Code § 798.56 (a)(1)–(7), (c)
Notice for nonpayment of lot rent 3 days The amount must first have been unpaid for at least five days from its due date, not counting the due date. Only then may management serve a three-day written notice to pay or vacate. That notice must carry a warning in 12-point boldface type at the top saying which numbered three-day notice it is within the last 12 months. Paying before the three days run out cures the default. A copy goes to the legal owner, each junior lienholder and the registered owner within 10 days, and any of them may cure within 30 days of that mailing, though not more than twice in a 12-month period. The three-day notice may be served at the same time as the 60-day termination notice. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.56 (a)(5)(A)–(D); Cal. Civ. Code § 798.55 (b)(1), (c)
Notice for a rule or lease violation 7 days Nothing a homeowner or resident does counts as failing to comply with a park rule unless management has given written notice of the alleged violation and the homeowner has not corrected it within seven days. Management still has to show that the rule was in fact violated. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.56 (a)(4)
Repeat-violation rule After written notice of violating the same park rule on three or more occasions within a 12-month period, no further written notice is required before management acts on a later violation of that same rule. Separately, after three notices to pay rent or vacate within a 12-month period, no further three-day notice is required for a later nonpayment. Where the three-notice threshold is passed on nonpayment, each of the earlier notices must have carried the required boldface warning, and management then gives written notice to remove the home within not less than 60 days, with copies to the legal owner, each junior lienholder and the registered owner by certified or registered mail within 10 days. Even then a legal owner, junior lienholder or registered owner who has not been sent such a notice in the preceding 12 months, has not already cured a default in that period, and is not a financial institution or mobilehome dealer may cure within 30 days, which cancels the removal notice. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.56 (a)(4), (a)(5)(E)–(F)
Time to sell or remove the home after termination 60 days A termination notice must give the homeowner not less than 60 days to sell or remove the home, and the choice between the two belongs to the homeowner. Management may not require the home to be taken out of the park when it is sold to a third party during the rental agreement term or within those 60 days. The homeowner pays past due rent and utilities on the sale, and a resident who stays in the park after the notice remains subject to the act and to park rules, including maintenance of the space. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.55 (b)(1), (b)(2), (e); Cal. Civ. Code § 798.73
Abandoned-home procedure Yes A home counts as abandoned only if all four things are true: no rent has been paid for the site for the preceding 60 days, it is unoccupied, a reasonable person would believe it abandoned, and it is not permanently affixed to the land. Management must post a notice of belief of abandonment on the home for not less than 30 days and mail copies by registered or certified mail to the homeowner, any known registered owner and any known holder of a security interest. After that, management petitions the superior court for a judgment of abandonment. Only with a judgment may management sell the home at public sale or dispose of it, each on its own notice and accounting steps, and anyone with a right to possession may recover the home by paying the rent and charges due. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.61 (a)(1), (b), (c)–(f)
Mediation or dispute-resolution requirement On a homeowner's written request, management must meet and consult within 30 days, individually, collectively, or with a representative the homeowners have chosen, about park rule interpretation and enforcement, maintenance standards for trees, driveways and improvements, changes to services or facilities, rental agreements offered to existing residents, utility billing and charges, and common area hours. The meeting may be held in person or remotely. Management must offer in-person and telephone options and must use the method the homeowners asked for if it offered that method. A collective meeting needs 10 days' notice to everyone who requested it, and language interpreters must be allowed. This is a consultation duty, not a dispute-resolution step that gates an eviction: no mediation or similar process is required before management ends a tenancy or brings an unlawful detainer action. The only step the act puts ahead of a court case runs the other way, requiring a homeowner to give 30 days' notice before suing over common-facility maintenance or a reduction in service. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.53 (a)–(d); Cal. Civ. Code § 798.60; Cal. Civ. Code § 798.84 (a)

E. Closure and change of use

Rule California law Source
Notice before closure or change of use 6 months Six months or more written notice of termination is required once all needed permits for the change of use have been approved by the local board, commission or body. Where the change of use needs no local permits, the notice is 12 months or more before management determines that the change will occur, and it must describe the nature of the change in detail. Separately, management must give homeowners at least 60 days' written notice before appearing before the local body to request the permits. A change of use may not be used to end a tenancy unless the park holds a valid permit to operate. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.56 (a)(7)(B)(i)
Variants (by trigger or park size)
  • Change of use that requires local permits: At least 60 days before management appears before the local body, then six months or more after the permits are approved (Management must also tell anyone moving in before the change that a permit request is pending or has been granted, and must follow the act's ordinary termination notice rules if the change actually happens).
  • Change of use that requires no local permits: 12 months or more before management determines that the change of use will occur (The notice must disclose and describe in detail the nature of the change of use).
  • Condemnation of the park: Not less than 60 days to sell or remove the home (Condemnation is a separate ground for ending a tenancy and does not carry the six-month or 12-month change-of-use periods).
  • Closure, cessation or change of use caused by a disaster: The same six-month or 12-month periods, with the impact report still required (The impact report requirement still applies and a technical inspection report is added, but the duty to pay a displaced resident the in-place market value of the home does not apply where the closure follows damage or destruction by a disaster. Where a destroyed park is rebuilt on the same site, management must offer previous homeowners a renewed tenancy on substantially the same terms, by certified mail at least 240 days before reopening, with 60 days for the homeowner to accept).
A change-of-use notice given before January 1, 1980 that met the requirements then in effect remains valid. 		Cal. Civ. Code § 798.56 (a)(6), (a)(7)(A)–(E); Cal. Gov. Code § 65863.7 (k); Cal. Civ. Code § 798.62 (a)
Relocation payment required Yes The duty is conditional but it is set by state law, not left to local choice: if a displaced resident cannot obtain adequate housing in another mobilehome park, the person or entity proposing the change of use must pay that resident the in-place market value of the home. It does not apply where the closure, cessation or change of use follows damage or destruction of the park by a disaster. The local body may also require other steps to mitigate the effect of the closure as a condition of approving the change. Cal. Gov. Code § 65863.7 (a)(2)(A), (e)(2), (k)
Relocation amounts
  • In-place market value of the home, where the resident cannot obtain adequate housing in another park: The home's in-place market value, set by a state-certified appraiser experienced in valuing mobilehomes; there is no fixed sum or state schedule — Paid by the person or entity proposing the change of use, who also pays for the appraisal. The appraisal is based on the home's current in-place location and assumes the mobilehome park continues, so it is not discounted for the closure itself.
This is the only money figure the state sets, and it is a valuation rather than a fixed amount. A local government may impose more stringent requirements. 		Cal. Gov. Code § 65863.7 (a)(2)(A)–(C), (l)
Who pays relocation The park owner The statute puts the cost on the person or entity proposing the change in use, which is normally the park owner, and that person also pays for the appraisal. Two situations shift who that is: where the closure results from a local government not renewing a permit or from another zoning or planning decision, the local government is treated as the party proposing the change; where an enforcement agency suspends the park's permit to operate, the park owner is. Cal. Gov. Code § 65863.7 (a)(2)(A), (i), (j)
Notice to a government body on closure Yes Before a park is converted, closed or taken out of use, the party proposing the change must file a report with the local advisory agency or legislative body on the effect of the change, including a replacement and relocation plan that adequately mitigates the effect on displaced residents' ability to find adequate housing in a mobilehome park. A copy goes to a resident of each home at least 60 days before the hearing, and where the report is filed before closure it goes out at the same time as the change notice. Management must also give homeowners at least 60 days' written notice before appearing before the local body to request change-of-use permits. Residents may ask for a hearing on whether the report is sufficient. The requirement does not apply where the closure results from an order for relief in bankruptcy. Cal. Gov. Code § 65863.7 (a)(1)(A), (b), (c), (d), (f); Cal. Civ. Code § 798.56 (a)(7)(A), (b)

F. Sale of the park

Rule California law Source
Residents must be told the park is for sale Yes The duty is real but conditional, and residents must switch it on themselves. It is owed only to a resident organization the homeowners have formed as a nonprofit corporation, stock cooperative corporation or similar entity for the purpose of converting the park to condominium or stock cooperative ownership and of buying the park. The owner need not give notice unless that organization has first given the owner or manager the names and addresses of its president, secretary and treasurer, told the owner or manager in writing that residents are interested in buying the park before any listing or offer and once each year after that, and given written notice within five days of any change in those officers. Where no qualifying organization has registered, no notice is owed. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.80 (a), (b)
What triggers the notice Not less than 30 days and not more than one year before the owner enters a written listing agreement with a licensed real estate broker for the sale of the park, or offers to sell the park to any party. The window is both a floor and a ceiling. An offer counts only if the park owner or the owner's agent started it, so an unsolicited approach from a buyer does not trigger the notice. Notice goes by first-class mail or personal delivery to the president, secretary and treasurer of the resident organization. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.80 (a)
Residents' purchase right Notice of the sale only California gives residents advance notice of an intended sale and nothing more. There is no right to match a third-party offer, no exclusive period to negotiate, no deadline for residents to respond, and no duty on the owner to consider or answer a resident offer. A separate rule points the other way and is sometimes confused with a purchase right: a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after January 1, 2006 may not give management a right of first refusal over the homeowner's own home when it is offered for sale, although the parties may still agree to one separately for separate consideration. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.80 (a); Cal. Civ. Code § 798.19.5
Time for residents to respond No state rule The section that sets the park-sale notice rules contains no response window. Because the mechanism is notice only, there is nothing residents must answer within a fixed time. The 30-day to one-year window in the statute limits when the owner may list or offer the park, not how long residents have. What governs instead is ordinary contract negotiation between the owner and any resident organization that wants to make an offer. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.80
Resident-association threshold No state rule No share of homeowners is specified. The park-sale notice section sets requirements about the form of the organization rather than its size: it must be formed by homeowners in the park as a nonprofit corporation, a stock cooperative corporation or a similar entity for the purpose of converting the park to condominium or stock cooperative ownership and of buying it, and it must have registered its officers with the owner. How many homeowners must join is left to the organization's own formation documents. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.80 (a), (b)
Transfers exempt from the sale rules
  • Sale or other transfer by a park owner who is a natural person to a relative within the Probate Code's intestate succession list.
  • Transfer by gift, devise or operation of law.
  • Transfer by a corporation to an affiliate.
  • Transfer by a partnership to any of its partners.
  • Conveyance resulting from judicial or nonjudicial foreclosure of a mortgage or deed of trust on the park, or a deed given in lieu of foreclosure.
  • Sale or transfer between or among joint tenants or tenants in common who own the park.
  • Purchase of the park by a government entity under its powers of eminent domain.
The corporate exception is broad: an affiliate means any shareholder of the transferring corporation, any entity it owns or controls directly or indirectly, or any entity controlled directly or indirectly by any of its shareholders. 		Cal. Civ. Code § 798.80 (e)(1)–(7)
Residents may assign the right to a nonprofit or municipality No state rule The park-sale notice section is the provision that would carry a right to hand the purchase opportunity to a nonprofit or a local government, and it contains none, nor does any other section of the transfer article. Because residents receive notice only and not a purchase opportunity, there is nothing to assign. A resident organization may of course bring in a nonprofit or public partner on its own terms. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.80
Penalty for violating the sale rules A sale made without the required notice cannot be undone: the statute expressly preserves the validity of title. The remedy is a civil action against the seller by homeowner residents or the resident organization, which carries reasonable attorney's fees and costs to the prevailing party and up to $2,000 for each willful violation at the court's discretion, or punitive damages instead of that penalty. The listing broker's right to a commission under a signed contract with the park owner is also preserved. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.80 (c), (d); Cal. Civ. Code § 798.85; Cal. Civ. Code § 798.86 (a), (b)

G. The resident's home

Rule California law Source
Right to sell the home in place Yes Management may not require a home to be taken out of the park when it is sold to a third party during the rental agreement term, or within the 60 days following a termination notice. Management may also not prohibit the listing or sale of a used home in the park by the homeowner, an heir, a joint tenant or a personal representative, or their agent. Removal may be required only in the narrow upgrade situations the act lists, and management must give notice specifying the condition that permits it. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.73; Cal. Civ. Code § 798.81
Park may not take a commission on the sale Yes Management may not charge a transfer or selling fee as a condition of a sale within the park unless it performs a service in the sale, and it may not perform such a service unless the homeowner asks for it in writing. It may not charge a buyer a fee as a condition of approval for residency unless it performs a specific service in the sale, and may not charge for an interview beyond a credit check. Management may also not require the seller to appoint management, or any named broker or dealer, as agent as a condition of resale or of approving the buyer. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.72 (a), (b); Cal. Civ. Code § 798.81
Park may screen the buyer Yes Management may require the right of prior approval of a prospective buyer of a home that will remain in the park. The selling homeowner or their agent must tell management about the sale before it closes. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.74 (a), (b)(1)
Buyer-approval standard and deadline Approval may be withheld only on three grounds: management reasonably determines from the buyer's prior tenancies that they will not comply with park rules; the buyer does not have the financial ability to pay the rent, estimated utilities and other park charges; or the buyer committed fraud, deceit or concealment of material facts during the application. Management has 15 days from notice of the sale to give the seller and the buyer its customary approval standards, including the minimum credit score it requires, and a list of every document it will need, and 15 business days after receiving all requested information to accept or reject in writing. If it misses that deadline the application counts as approved. Management may ask a buyer to document the amount and source of gross monthly income or means of support, but may not demand documents beyond the list it disclosed, and may not require copies of personal income tax returns. A buyer rejected for financial ability may submit further asset information, including savings, certificates of deposit, stock portfolios, trust interests, real property and similar assets that can be sold, which management must weigh alongside gross monthly income, though it may also consider liabilities. A credit-report fee is credited toward the first month's rent, refunded in full within 30 days if the buyer is rejected, and partly retainable for administrative costs if the buyer is approved but does not go ahead. Management may be liable to the selling homeowner for damages caused by not following these rules. Age-based rules for housing for older persons remain permitted where they comply with the federal Fair Housing Act. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.74 (b)(2), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g); Cal. Civ. Code § 798.75 (d)
Home may not be rejected for age, size or style alone Yes Age and width appear in the statute, but never on their own. Each removal ground pairs an age threshold, and in two cases a width, with a separate finding that the home does not meet the health, safety or construction standards of the Health and Safety Code, confirmed by an inspection by the appropriate enforcement agency. The remaining ground, that the home is significantly rundown or in disrepair, is judged on its general condition and its acceptability to the health and safety of occupants and the public, and the statute says expressly that this is decided exclusive of the home's age. Management bears the burden of showing the condition and must give notice specifying it. Style is not a ground at all. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.73 (b), (c), (d), (e)
Park may require repairs before sale Yes Repairs may be required, but only within tight limits. They must concern the home, its appurtenances or an accessory structure that management does not own or install; they must rest on a local ordinance, a state statute or regulation, or a park rule implementing one of those; and they must relate to the exterior. Management may not require repairs or improvements to the park space or to property it owns, except for damage caused by the homeowner or the homeowner's agent. On request, management must give a written summary of the required repairs within 15 business days, with specific references to the park rules, local ordinances and state provisions it relies on, and if it does not, it gives up the right to require repairs other than those a local ordinance or statute requires on health and safety grounds. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.73.5 (a), (b); Cal. Civ. Code § 798.83
Right to post a For Sale sign Yes A homeowner, or an heir, joint tenant or personal representative who takes ownership on the owner's death, or their agent, may advertise a sale or exchange with one sign in the home's window, one on the side of the home facing the street, or one in front of the home facing the street. The sign must state the owner's or agent's name, address and telephone number, and its face may not exceed 24 inches wide by 36 inches high. Permitted designs are H-frame, A-frame, L-frame or the generally accepted yard-arm type, set perpendicular to but not extending into the street, and management may require a step-in L-frame. Leaflet tubes or holders may be attached. One open house sign is also allowed where the park permits open houses, and the park may set reasonable rules on how they are run. Advertising a rental is permitted unless the rental agreement prohibits it. Cal. Civ. Code § 798.70 (a)

H. The eight federal lender protections — which ones California law already requires

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac require eight tenant site lease protections in every manufactured housing community loan they buy. Where state law already requires a protection of every park, a resident has it whether or not the park has agency financing. California law requires 5 of 8. All 50 states are compared in our research study, including the 2018 federal survey baseline.

ProtectionCalifornia lawBasis
One-year renewable lease term unless there is good cause for non-renewal Required A homeowner must be offered a rental agreement for a term of 12 months, a shorter term on request, or a longer term by agreement, and a tenancy may be ended by management only for the reasons the act lists. (Cal. Civ. Code § 798.18; Cal. Civ. Code § 798.56)
30-day written notice of rent increases Required Management must give written notice of any rent increase at least 90 days before it takes effect, more than the 60 days this protection asks for. (Cal. Civ. Code § 798.30)
5-day grace period for rent payments and the right to cure defaults on rent payments Partly The right to cure is there: rent must be unpaid for at least five days from its due date before management may serve the three-day notice to pay or vacate, and payment before the three-day period expires ends the matter. The act sets no grace period before a late charge may be added, so the five-day-grace half of the protection is not met by statute. (Cal. Civ. Code § 798.56)
Right to sell the manufactured home without having to first relocate it out of the community Required Management may not require a home to be removed from the park when it is sold to a third party during the rental agreement term or within the 60 days after a termination notice, and the listed exceptions require an enforcement agency inspection finding or a demonstrated rundown condition (Cal. Civ. Code § 798.73). (Cal. Civ. Code § 798.73)
Right to sell the manufactured home in place within 30 days after eviction by the community owner Required A termination notice must give the homeowner not less than 60 days to sell or remove the home at the homeowner's own election, and a sale in place during that window is protected, which exceeds the 30 days the protection calls for (Cal. Civ. Code §§ 798.55(b)(1), 798.73). (Cal. Civ. Code § 798.55; Cal. Civ. Code § 798.73)
Right to sublease or assign the pad site lease for the unexpired term to the new buyer of the home without unreasonable restraint Partly California does not give a right to assign the unexpired lease term to the buyer; it reaches a similar result by a different route, limiting refusal of a buyer to three grounds and treating management's silence past the decision deadline as approval, with the buyer signing a new rental agreement rather than taking an assignment (Cal. Civ. Code §§ 798.74(c), 798.74(e)(3), 798.75). (Cal. Civ. Code § 798.74; Cal. Civ. Code § 798.75)
Right to post "For Sale" signs that comply with the community's rules Required A homeowner may display one for-sale sign in the window, on the side facing the street, or in front of the home, of a stated size and design, plus one open house sign where the park permits open houses (Cal. Civ. Code § 798.70(a)). (Cal. Civ. Code § 798.70)
Right to receive at least 60 days' notice of a planned sale or closure of the community Partly Closure notice far exceeds 60 days, at six months after permits are approved or 12 months where no permit is needed, plus 60 days before the permit hearing; but notice of a planned sale can be as little as 30 days and is owed only to a resident organization that has registered its officers and stated its interest in writing, so residents in a park without one receive no sale notice (Cal. Civ. Code §§ 798.56(a)(7), 798.80). (Cal. Civ. Code § 798.56; Cal. Civ. Code § 798.80)

Notes and caveats

Common questions: California mobile home park law

Each answer is the verified value from the tables above, restated as a direct answer. Free to quote with a link to this page.

How much notice must a California park give before raising lot rent?
90 days. Management must give a homeowner written notice of any rent increase at least 90 days before the date of the increase.
Is there a limit on how much lot rent can go up in California?
California sets no state rule on this. There is no general statewide limit on lot-rent increases.
Can a California park owner end a lot tenancy without cause?
No — a California park may end a lot tenancy only for a listed cause. A tenancy may be ended only for one or more of seven listed reasons.
How much notice must a California park give before closing or changing use?
6 months. Six months or more written notice of termination is required once all needed permits for the change of use have been approved by the local board, commission or body.
Does a California park have to pay residents' relocation costs when it closes?
Yes — California law requires a relocation payment when a park closes or changes use. The duty is conditional but it is set by state law, not left to local choice: if a displaced resident cannot obtain adequate housing in another mobilehome park, the person or entity proposing the change of use must pay that resident the in-place market value of the home.
Do California residents get a chance to buy the park when it is sold?
Residents get notice of the sale only. California gives residents advance notice of an intended sale and nothing more.
Can a California resident sell the home in place without moving it out of the park?
Yes — a California resident may sell the home in place. Management may not require a home to be taken out of the park when it is sold to a third party during the rental agreement term, or within the 60 days following a termination notice.

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, California Mobile Home Park Laws (verified August 18, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/mobile-home-parks/california/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified).

Citations

Every row above links the section it rests on. This topic covers all 50 states; the topic hub compares them side by side.