SECTION 1. This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the “Post‑Disaster Mobilehome Park Community Resident Protections Act of 2026.”
Article 6.5 (commencing with Section 798.65) is added to Chapter 2.5 of Title 2 of Part 2 of Division 2 of the Civil Code, to read:
(a) (1) Once per week for the first four weeks after a park is damaged by a disaster, as defined in Section 798.64, resulting in one or more mobilehome units being rendered inaccessible to an existing mobilehome resident, management shall make a good faith effort to provide written status updates to the displaced residents of the park. Status updates shall include, but are not limited to, both of the following:
(A) How residents can update their contact information and how residents can contact the park management.
(B) Any relevant nonconfidential written or electronic updates sent to park management from federal, state, or local governments regarding the cleanup process and available resources or support for rebuilding and recovery, including any right-of-entry requirements that the park or residents may need to complete for debris removal to commence.
(2) Following the time period described in paragraph (1), management shall make a good faith effort to provide monthly written status updates to the displaced residents of the park until each displaced resident is allowed to return to occupying their mobilehome site or the mobilehome park receives final approval of a change of use, cessation of use, or closure pursuant to applicable law. Status updates shall include, but at the discretion of management are not limited to, all of the following:
(A) How displaced residents can update their contact information and how residents can contact the park management.
(B) Any relevant nonconfidential written and sent updates to the park from federal, state, or local governments regarding the cleanup process and available resources or support for rebuilding and recovery, including any right-of-entry requirements that the park or residents may need to complete for debris removal to commence.
(C) What actions have been taken and are planned to be taken toward debris removal, environmental remediation, or other park cleanup efforts, including expected timelines for initiation and completion.
(D) What actions have been taken and are planned to be taken toward evaluating the feasibility of rebuilding and reopening the park, including expected timelines for initiation and completion.
(E) When applicable, when and how the residents may gain access to their property postdisaster pursuant to subdivision (b).
(3) Management shall send status updates to the last known postal address of each resident of the park, or to an alternate postal address provided by the resident. If the resident has provided management with an electronic mail address and provided affirmative written consent to receive notices from management by electronic mail, management may send the status updates by electronic mail.
(4) If management does not have a postal address or electronic mail address for the resident, management shall make reasonable efforts to contact the resident and obtain their current postal address or electronic mail address. If management is unable to obtain a postal address or electronic mail address for a resident, management is not required to provide status updates to the resident pursuant to this subdivision, until the resident provides management with a postal address or electronic mail address.
(b) Management shall not restrict a resident of the park from accessing their mobilehome or mobilehome site during regular business hours to collect belongings or inspect the damage to their mobilehome on any date later than seven days after evacuation orders are officially lifted or downgraded by the local governing authority to resident-access only, whichever comes first. Management may impose restrictions on access to common areas of the park that do not limit the resident’s access to their mobilehome or mobilehome site.
(c) Any waiver of liability that management distributes to the residents of the park in order for residents to access the park and their mobilehome or mobilehome site pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be limited to immunity for harm resulting from the resident accessing the mobilehome, mobilehome site, or mobilehome park, including debris and dangerous materials present on the park’s common areas, roadways, and other mobilehome sites created by or arising from the disaster and shall not waive liability for any other type of harm.
(d) (1) Prior to initiating, or while actively pursuing if initiated before January 1, 2027, and a final approval has not been received from the legislative body or advisory agency, a change of use, cessation of use, or closure pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 65863.7 of the Government Code, management shall do at least all of the following:
(A) Reasonably evaluate the known and estimated costs for rebuilding and reopening the park, including, but not limited to, the infrastructure and financing. This subparagraph shall not be inclusive of individual costs to homeowners or their insurers for the replacement of units unless those units are owned by management.
(B) Identify all potential resources from the list provided in subdivision (e).
(2) Management shall submit documentation demonstrating completion of the evaluations and investigations required by paragraph (1) to the Department of Housing and Community Development, to the local jurisdiction in which the mobilehome park is situated, and to the residents of the mobilehome park.
(e) The Department of Housing and Community Development shall maintain a list of mobilehome-related programs and opportunities that could support rehabilitation or rebuilding of a mobilehome park affected by a disaster declaration. The list shall be made available on the Department of Housing and Community Development’s internet website.
(f) (1) A local government shall not provide an approval under subdivision (e) of Section 65863.7 of the Government Code, unless the management has complied with the requirements of paragraph (2) of subdivision (d).
(2) The Department of Housing and Community Development shall not issue or amend a parks operation permit requested by the management until it has received documentation pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (d).
(3) The local jurisdiction in which the park is situated shall not issue any discretionary or ministerial permit, entitlement, map, or other approval authorizing a change in use, redevelopment, grading, demolition, construction, or conditional use permit to the management, unless management has provided documentation demonstrating completion of the evaluations and investigations required pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (d).
(g) In any jurisdiction where a mobilehome park is located, if the park is damaged or destroyed in a disaster, as defined in Section 798.64, resulting in one or more mobilehome units being rendered inaccessible to an existing mobilehome resident, the jurisdiction with enforcement power may require debris removal, and require complete soil sampling in accordance with postdisaster debris removal, testing for metals and combustion-related contaminants, including lead, arsenic, antimony, mercury, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and other constituents of concern, using analytical methods and health-based screening criteria recognized by the Department of Toxic Substances Control and the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and asbestos surveys, abatement, and clearance testing performed in accordance with state law and applicable local air district requirements. Only the enforcing jurisdiction may level fines for clean up in the event that the mobilehome park owner fails to comply with its ordinance requiring postdisaster debris removal for commercial properties.
(h) This section does not preempt any local ordinance from providing additional protections for homeowners or residents of mobilehome parks or imposing additional obligations on management.
(i) (1) A resident organization or any displaced resident of a mobilehome park that was damaged by a disaster, as defined in Section 798.64, may bring a civil action against management that willfully fails to comply with this article.
(2) Actions for willful violations of this article may be brought in the name of the people of the State of California by the Attorney General, or by the district attorney, county counsel, or city attorney of the location in which the violation occurred.
(3) Any court of competent jurisdiction may grant relief that it finds necessary to enforce this article, including the issuance of an injunction.
(j) (1) Management shall not be considered in violation of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) if, within seven days of receiving written notice from a displaced resident, a compliant status update has been provided to residents identified in the notice.
(2) Management shall not be considered in violation of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) if, within 30 days of receiving written notice from a displaced resident given within 30 days after a status update was due, a compliant status update has been provided to residents identified in the notice.
(3) Management shall not be considered in violation of paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) if, within 30 days of receiving written notice from a displaced resident given within 30 days after any required documentation was due, a compliant documentation has been provided to residents identified within the notice.
Section 65863.7 of the Government Code is amended to read:
(a) (1) (A) Prior to the conversion of a mobilehome park to another use, except pursuant to the Subdivision Map Act (Division 2 (commencing with Section 66410)), or prior to closure of a mobilehome park or cessation of use of the land as a mobilehome park, the person or entity proposing the change in use shall file a report on the impact of the conversion, closure, or cessation of use of the mobilehome park. The report shall include a replacement and relocation plan that adequately mitigates the impact upon the ability of the displaced residents of the mobilehome park to be converted or closed to find adequate housing in a mobilehome park.
(B) (i) If the proposed closure, cessation, or change of use is related to damage or destruction by a disaster, as described in subdivision (k), the impact report described in subparagraph (A) shall also include a technical service inspection report from the Department of Housing and Community Development that identifies the observed conditions within the park. Technical service has the same meaning as in Section 1002 of Title 25 of the California Code of Regulations.
(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, management, as defined in Section 798.2 of the Civil Code, is the person or entity proposing the change in use for purposes of preparing the impact report required by this section and is required to take steps to mitigate the adverse impact of the change as may be required in subdivision (e).
(2) (A) If a displaced resident cannot obtain adequate housing in another mobilehome park, the person or entity proposing the change of use shall pay to the displaced resident the in-place market value of the displaced resident’s mobilehome.
(B) For the purposes of this paragraph, except as specified in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (e), in-place market value shall be determined by a state-certified appraiser with experience establishing the value of mobilehomes. The appraisal shall be based upon the current in-place location of the mobilehome and shall assume the continuation of the mobilehome park.
(C) The person or entity proposing the change of use shall pay for an appraisal specified in subparagraph (B) and shall include the appraisal in the report specified in paragraph (1).
(D) This paragraph shall not apply when the proposed closure, cessation, or change of use is related to damage or destruction by a disaster, as defined in Section 798.64 of the Civil Code.
(b) The person proposing the change in use shall provide a copy of the report to a resident of each mobilehome in the mobilehome park at least 60 days prior to the hearing, if any, on the impact report by the advisory agency, or if there is no advisory agency, by the legislative body.
(c) When the impact report is filed prior to the closure or cessation of use, the person or entity proposing the change shall provide a copy of the report to a resident of each mobilehome in the mobilehome park at the same time as the notice of the change is provided to the residents pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (g) of Section 798.56 of the Civil Code.
(d) When the impact report is filed prior to the closure or cessation of use, the person or entity filing the report or park resident may request, and shall have a right to, a hearing before the legislative body on the sufficiency of the report.
(e) (1) Before the approval of any change of use, the legislative body, or its delegated advisory agency, shall do all of the following:
(A) Review the report and any additional relevant documentation. If the proposed closure, cessation, or change of use is related to damage or destruction by a disaster, as defined in Section 798.64 of the Civil Code, additional relevant documentation shall include documentation demonstrating management’s compliance with the requirements of subdivision (d) of Section 798.65 of the Civil Code.
(B) Make a finding as to whether or not approval of the park closure and the park’s conversion into its intended new use, taking into consideration both the impact report as a whole and the overall housing availability within the local jurisdiction, will result in or materially contribute to a shortage of housing opportunities and choices for low- and moderate-income households within the local jurisdiction. The finding shall also consider the costs of closure or conversion to the residents of the park for which closure or conversion is sought.
(2) The legislative body, or its delegated advisory agency, may require, as a condition of the change, the person or entity proposing the change in use to take steps to mitigate any adverse impact of the conversion, closure, or cessation of use on the ability of displaced mobilehome park residents to find adequate housing in a mobilehome park.
(f) If the closure or cessation of use of a mobilehome park results from the entry of an order for relief in bankruptcy, the provisions of this section shall not be applicable.
(g) The legislative body may establish reasonable fees pursuant to Section 66016 to cover any costs incurred by the local agency in implementing this section and Section 65863.8. Those fees shall be paid by the person or entity proposing the change in use.
(h) This section is applicable to charter cities.
(i) This section is applicable when the closure, cessation, or change of use is the result of a decision by a local governmental entity or planning agency not to renew a conditional use permit or zoning variance under which the mobilehome park has operated, or as a result of any other zoning or planning decision, action, or inaction. In this case, the local governmental agency is the person proposing the change in use for the purposes of preparing the impact report required by this section and is required to take steps to mitigate the adverse impact of the change as may be required in subdivision (e).
(j) This section is applicable when the closure, cessation, or change of use is the result of a decision by an enforcement agency, as defined in Section 18207 of the Health and Safety Code, to suspend the permit to operate the mobilehome park. In this case, the mobilehome park owner is the person proposing the change in use for purposes of preparing the impact report required by this section and is required to take steps to mitigate the adverse impact of the change as may be required in subdivision (e).
(k) This section, except paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), is applicable when the closure, cessation, or change of use is the result of damage or destruction of the mobilehome park by a disaster as defined in Section 798.64 of the Civil Code.
(l) This section establishes a minimum standard for local regulation of the conversion of a mobilehome park to another use, the closure of a mobilehome park, and the cessation of use of the land as a mobilehome park and shall not prevent a local agency from enacting more stringent measures.
The Legislature finds and declares that Section 2 of this act adding Article 6.5 (commencing with Section 798.65) to Chapter 2.5 of Title 2 of Part 2 of Division 2 of the Civil Code and Section 3 of this act amending Section 65863.7 of the Government Code address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair as that term is used in Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution. Therefore, Sections 2 and 3 of this act apply to all cities, including charter cities.
SEC. 5. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
Bill text is the chaptered version from LegiScan (California Legislature); spacing is normalized. Code section text in a bill is the text that bill chaptered, not necessarily the law in effect today. Not legal advice.