Watsonville Municipal Code Art. 6 Temporary Rental of Mobile Homes in Mobile Home Parks

The City finds that various Mobile home parks prohibit the owner of a Mobile home from renting it for any period of time, and that such non-rental rules from time to time impose hardships on owners of Mobile homes who are unable to reside in their Mobile homes, but are held liable for the space rental and upkeep of their Mobile home while it is vacant and until the Mobile home can be sold or otherwise re-occupied. It is the purpose of this Article to alleviate hardships on such owners who are unable to reside in their Mobile homes by allowing the temporary rental of the Mobile home for a reasonable period required for the owner to sell or re-occupy the Mobile home.

(§ 1, Ord. 1018-96 C-M, eff. November 15, 1996)

No owner of a Mobile home occupying a rental space in a Mobile home Park shall rent the home except under the following conditions:

(a) The home may be rented for one year only.

(b) The owner is unable to occupy the home by reason of (1) illness, (2) death, or (3) absence from the area for other than vacation reasons.

(c) The owner has resided in the home for at least a one-year period prior to the vacancy that necessitates renting the home and no longer meets the rules of occupancy of the park by reason of a change in circumstances (i.e., the birth of a child in a senior only Mobile home park, etc.).

(d) The owner or person in a fiduciary capacity who has received ownership of, or the possessory rights to, a Mobile home through probate, bankruptcy, foreclosure, or the owner’s incapacity, and procedures require time to arrange for the sale of the home or to arrange for occupancy of the home by the owner.

(e) For purposes of this section, “renter” refers to the person or persons who pay rent to the Mobile home owner in exchange for the temporary right to reside within the subject Mobile home (and the related right to occupy the space upon which the Mobile home is located), but not as a co-occupant with the owner. Any renter of a Mobile home must meet all the rules of occupancy of the Mobile home park in which the Mobile home is located with the exception of any rule which directly or indirectly prohibits, in conflict with this Article, the temporary rental of a Mobile home. Prior to the Mobile home renter’s taking occupancy, that renter and the Mobile home owner shall provide the Park Owner with:

(1) The true names and date of birth, for senior parks only, of all intended occupants and their residential phone number;

(2) Business telephone numbers for all adult occupants who have such numbers;

(3) An agreement signed by all adult occupants which reads as follows:

I have received copies of the Park Rules. I understand that the Park Owner may directly enforce this within agreement against me without giving up any rights against the Mobile home owner.

(f) Such temporary rentals authorized by this Article are subject in each case to notification by the owner of the home to the Park Owner, the Homeowners’ Representative, and the City Manager, specifying that the following conditions have been met:

(1) The rent charged for the home shall be no greater than the Homeowner’s total out of pocket cost of ownership, including space rent and surcharges, reasonable allowance for home maintenance, insurance, mortgage payments if any, and a Home Management Agents’ fee if any.

(2) The Park Owner shall comply with Section 11-3.140 when attempting to represent the Homeowner during the sale or rental of the Homeowners Mobile home.

(3) A copy shall be attached of a written rental agreement signed by the Renter showing a maximum of one-year duration and rent to be charged, shall be provided as an attachment to the notification.

(4) The notification shall contain the name of the licensed real estate agent handling the sale, and, in the case of absence due to illness, the name and telephone number of the attending physician.

(5) The rental time period may be extended for a maximum of one year upon the approval of any two of the Park Owner, Homeowners Representative, and the City Manager upon written presentation of reasonable evidence that the vacancy is indeed temporarily necessary, and that a reasonable sales effort is being made.

(6) Any further extensions of the temporary rentage, beyond two (2) years may be granted only through arbitration under Sec. 11-3.515.

(§ 1, Ord. 1018-96 C-M, eff. November 15, 1996)