California Mobile Home Parks

California MHP Rent Stabilization Ordinances (RSO aka SRSO)

California RSOs aka SRSOs (Space Rent Stabilization Ordinances) are NOT to be confused with Rent Control for home and apartment renters. When you see or hear the term “Rent Stabilization Ordinance” being used by residents of mobile/manufactured home parks in California, they do not include home or apartment renters. The laws are distinctly different between renters of homes and apartments vs. renters of mobile/manufactured home spaces and are usually not interchangeable.

Many mobile/manufactured home owners rent the land that the home occupies. For a homeowner, this is not the best situation to be in, especially in a park that is owned by a predatory company. Typically, under the predatory owner business model, as space rents increase above Fair Market Rates (FMRs), your mobile/manufactured home will depreciate in value (loss in equity) while the land value appreciates (gain in equity). The general industry rule of thumb is that for every $10 per month space rent increase, you lose $1,000 in mobile home equity.

Note: The number of spaces for each city or county does not take into account those spaces that have been “leased up” and are no longer protected by an SRSO. Our data is obtained from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), Codes and Standards Automated System (CASAS), and reflects total numbers for parks and spaces. In some instances, we may have received more accurate data from other resources.

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Nolo: California Rent Control Laws

Tuesday, November 15, 2022 – City-by-city rent control rules in California, with information on other protections for tenants.

Note: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, over 150 cities and counties enacted local emergency tenant protection ordinances - some of which included temporary bans on rent increases (e.g., Alameda, Pomona, Los Angeles). As of November 2022, 40+ of these local ordinances remain in effect. The chart below does not include these emergency ordinances, so you should check your local city and county directly.

Property Subject to Rent Control

Rent control laws apply to typical rental units, like apartments within a complex. But not all rentals in California are subject to rent control. A 1995 state law, the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, says that local rent-control regulation doesn't apply to single family homes, condominiums, and units built after February 1, 1995 (many ordinances also exempt properties built after the ordinance's effective date). The Costa-Hawkins Act also allows "vacancy decontrol" of rent-controlled units, meaning landlords can raise rents to market levels when tenants move out (voluntarily or after being evicted for rent nonpayment).

Other properties that may be exempt from rent control (depending on local regulation) include owner-occupied buildings with no more than three or four units , short-term rentals (think Airbnb), government-subsidized tenancies (Berkeley and San Francisco excluded), and detached ("granny") units that could not be sold independent of the main house.

Here is a chart of California cities and counties with rent control laws and a synopsis of what those laws say. Information about limits on evictions and other protections for renters is below the chart. Keep in mind the chart provides only summaries of the law, and the full law may contain important additional details that impact your situation.

Nolo: Tenant Protections Chart for California

Consumer Price Index (CPI) U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics

All Urban Consumers, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California

• Jan 2017 through Dec 2023
• Jan 2007 through Dec 2016
• Jan 1997 through Dec 2006

The last column uses an example (not included in the Bureau of Labor Statistics data) of mobile home space rent starting at $450 per month in the year 1997 and currently (Jul 2023) at $922 per month. The difference in space rent is a 100% increase based on the yearly average CPI which is normally the maximum allowable increase under most California Mobile Home Park Rent Stabilization Ordinances (RSOs).

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index, Los Angeles Area
Western Information Office, 90 7th Street, Suite 14-100, San Francisco, California 94103

CPI Line Chart 1997-2023
Los Angeles, San Francisco, West Urban, City Average