2022 California Code
Civil Code - CIV
DIVISION 2 - PROPERTY
PART 2 - REAL OR IMMOVABLE PROPERTY
TITLE 2 - ESTATES IN REAL PROPERTY
CHAPTER 2.5 - Mobilehome Residency Law
ARTICLE 6 - Termination of Tenancy
Section 798.56a.

798.56a. (a) Within 60 days after receipt of, or no later than 65 days after the mailing of, the notice of termination of tenancy pursuant to any reason provided in Section 798.56, the legal owner, if any, and each junior lienholder, if any, shall notify the management in writing of at least one of the following:

(1) Its offer to sell the obligation secured by the mobilehome to the management for the amount specified in its written offer. In that event, the management shall have 15 days following receipt of the offer to accept or reject the offer in writing. If the offer is rejected, the person or entity that made the offer shall have 10 days in which to exercise one of the other options contained in this section and shall notify management in writing of its choice.

(2) Its intention to foreclose on its security interest in the mobilehome.

(3) Its request that the management pursue the termination of tenancy against the homeowner and its offer to reimburse management for the reasonable attorney’s fees and court costs incurred by the management in that action. If this request and offer are made, the legal owner, if any, or junior lienholder, if any, shall reimburse the management the amount of reasonable attorney’s fees and court costs, as agreed upon by the management and the legal owner or junior lienholder, incurred by the management in an action to terminate the homeowner’s tenancy, on or before the earlier of (A) the 60th calendar day following receipt of written notice from the management of the aggregate amount of those reasonable attorney’s fees and costs or (B) the date the mobilehome is resold.

(b) A legal owner, if any, or junior lienholder, if any, may sell the mobilehome within the park to a third party and keep the mobilehome on the site within the mobilehome park until it is resold only if all of the following requirements are met:

(1) The legal owner, if any, or junior lienholder, if any, notifies management in writing of the intention to exercise either option described in paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (a) within 60 days following receipt of, or no later than 65 days after the mailing of, the notice of termination of tenancy and satisfies all of the responsibilities and liabilities of the homeowner owing to the management for the 90 days preceding the mailing of the notice of termination of tenancy and then continues to satisfy these responsibilities and liabilities as they accrue from the date of the mailing of that notice until the date the mobilehome is resold.

(2) Within 60 days following receipt of, or no later than 65 days after the mailing of, the notice of termination of tenancy, the legal owner or junior lienholder commences all repairs and necessary corrective actions so that the mobilehome complies with park rules and regulations in existence at the time the notice of termination of tenancy was given as well as the health and safety standards specified in Sections 18550, 18552, and 18605 of the Health and Safety Code, and completes these repairs and corrective actions within 90 calendar days of that notice, or before the date that the mobilehome is sold, whichever is earlier.

(3) The legal owner, if any, or junior lienholder, if any, complies with the requirements of Article 7 (commencing with Section 798.70) as it relates to the transfer of the mobilehome to a third party.

(c) For purposes of subdivision (b), the “homeowner’s responsibilities and liabilities” means all rents, utilities, reasonable maintenance charges of the mobilehome and its premises, and reasonable maintenance of the mobilehome and its premises pursuant to existing park rules and regulations.

(d) If the homeowner files for bankruptcy, the periods set forth in this section are tolled until the mobilehome is released from bankruptcy.

(e) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including, but not limited to, Section 18099.5 of the Health and Safety Code, if neither the legal owner nor a junior lienholder notifies the management of its decision pursuant to subdivision (a) within the period allowed, or performs as agreed within 30 days, or if a registered owner of a mobilehome, that is not encumbered by a lien held by a legal owner or a junior lienholder, fails to comply with a notice of termination and is either legally evicted or vacates the premises, the management may either remove the mobilehome from the premises and place it in storage or store it on its site. In this case, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the management shall have a warehouse lien in accordance with Section 7209 of the Commercial Code against the mobilehome for the costs of dismantling and moving, if appropriate, as well as storage, that shall be superior to all other liens, except the lien provided for in Section 18116.1 of the Health and Safety Code, and may enforce the lien pursuant to Section 7210 of the Commercial Code either after the date of judgment in an unlawful detainer action or after the date the mobilehome is physically vacated by the resident, whichever occurs earlier. Upon completion of any sale to enforce the warehouse lien in accordance with Section 7210 of the Commercial Code, the management shall provide the purchaser at the sale with evidence of the sale, as shall be specified by the Department of Housing and Community Development, that shall, upon proper request by the purchaser of the mobilehome, register title to the mobilehome to this purchaser, whether or not there existed a legal owner or junior lienholder on this title to the mobilehome.

(2) (A) Notwithstanding any other law, if the management of a mobilehome park acquires a mobilehome after enforcing the warehouse lien and files a notice of disposal pursuant to subparagraph (B) with the Department of Housing and Community Development to designate the mobilehome for disposal, management or any other person enforcing this warehouse lien shall not be required to pay past or current vehicle license fees required by Section 18115 of the Health and Safety Code or obtain a tax clearance certificate, as set forth in Section 5832 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, provided that management notifies the county tax collector in the county in which the mobilehome is located of management’s intent to apply to have the mobilehome designated for disposal after a warehouse lien sale. The written notice shall be sent to the county tax collector no less than 30 days after the date of the sale to enforce the lien against the mobilehome by first class mail, postage prepaid.

(B) (i) In order to dispose of a mobilehome after a warehouse lien sale, the management shall file a notice of disposal with the Department of Housing and Community Development in the form and manner as prescribed by the department, no less than 30 days after the date of sale to enforce the lien against the mobilehome.

(ii) After filing a notice of disposal pursuant to clause (i), the management may dispose of the mobilehome after obtaining the information required by applicable laws.

(C) (i) Within 30 days of the date of the disposal of the mobilehome, the management shall submit to the Department of Housing and Community Development all of the following information required for completing the disposal process:

(I) Photographs identifying and demonstrating that the mobilehome was uninhabitable by the removal or destruction of all appliances and fixtures such as ovens, stoves, bathroom fixtures, and heating or cooling appliances prior to its being moved.

(II) A statement of facts as to the condition of the mobilehome when moved, the date it was moved, and the anticipated site of further dismantling or disposal.

(III) The name, address, and license number of the person or entity removing the mobilehome from the mobilehome park.

(ii) The information required pursuant to clause (i) shall be submitted under penalty of perjury.

(D) For purposes of this paragraph, “dispose” or “disposal” shall mean the removal and destruction of an abandoned mobilehome from a mobilehome park, thus making it unusable for any purpose and not subject to, or eligible for, use in the future as a mobilehome.

(f) All written notices required by this section, except the notice in paragraph (2) of subdivision (e), shall be sent to the other party by certified or registered mail with return receipt requested.

(g) Satisfaction, pursuant to this section, of the homeowner’s accrued or accruing responsibilities and liabilities shall not cure the default of the homeowner.

(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 714, Sec. 2. (SB 944) Effective January 1, 2017.)