Santa Cruz County — Mobile Home Park Rent Adjustment

District-by-District Scope

No Chapter 13.32 Zoning Districts

Chapter 13.32 does not establish R-1, commercial, agricultural, coastal, overlay, or other zoning districts. It contains no district-specific permitted-use list, lot-area rule, setback, height limit, FAR, parking ratio, or design-review threshold.

Accordingly, district-by-district development standards are not found in source materials for this rent-adjustment chapter. Parcel-specific questions about Santa Cruz County Development Standards, Santa Cruz County Design Review, or Santa Cruz County Overlay Districts should be verified with the jurisdiction.

General Rent Adjustments

The maximum allowable increase is the amount by which the calculated base rent plus permitted adjustments differs from the resident’s current monthly rent. An owner cannot charge more than that general-adjustment amount unless another Chapter 13.32 procedure expressly permits it. § 13.32.030(C), (G)

Permitted general-adjustment components include:

• Property-tax changes: The difference between taxes payable for calendar year 1981 and taxes payable for the calendar year before the current anniversary date may be allocated per space. § 13.32.030(D)(2)
• CPI: The owner may add no more than 50% of the specified CPI percentage change, multiplied by base rent. § 13.32.030(D)(3)
• Capital-improvement return: A reasonable return may apply to qualifying capital improvements at the Board of Supervisors’ annually established rate. The return begins when the improvement is operational and available for residents and ends with the applicable amortization period. § 13.32.030(D)(4)
• Government-required service charges: Legally imposed and actually billed governmental fees, bonds, and assessments may be allocated per space to the extent they are not reimbursed. Ordinary common-area utility costs are excluded. § 13.32.030(D)(6)
• Space fee: The owner may pass through the space fee established under the chapter. § 13.32.030(D)(7)

A reduction or elimination of services requires a corresponding rent reduction equal to the resulting cost savings; that savings is subtracted from base rent. § 13.32.030(D)(1)

Capital Improvements and Pass-Throughs

A qualifying capital improvement is new construction or replacement of an old improvement, not routine maintenance or repair. It must primarily benefit most residents, serve a functional resident purpose, have a life expectancy of at least five years, be treated as a capital asset for tax purposes, and be permanently fixed or relatively immobile. § 13.32.020; § 13.32.030(D)(5)(a)–(f)

Eligible examples can include a clubhouse, laundry or common-area facility, pool, street, driveway, gate, common-area lighting, retaining wall, utility infrastructure, sprinkler system, or comparable upgrade primarily benefiting residents. Routine patching, seal coats, slurry seals, landscaping maintenance, and ordinary repairs do not qualify. § 13.32.030(D)(5)(c), (j)

Only 50% of actual net eligible capital cost may be passed through. The ordinary formula divides that portion by affected spaces and then by 120 months; the charge begins at each affected resident’s first anniversary date after the improvement becomes operational and available. § 13.32.030(D)(5)(g)

A single project exceeding 5% of current monthly rent, excluding capital pass-throughs, requires approval by residents of 50% plus one of park spaces. The combined capital pass-through may not exceed 10% without the same approval, and no more than one over-5% project may be passed through in a 12-month period. § 13.32.030(D)(5)(h)

For a required vote, each affected space receives one written ballot. The ballot must identify the improvement and monthly charge’s beginning and ending dates, be mailed first class, and allow at least 20 days after postmark to vote. § 13.32.030(D)(5)(i)

Charges That Cannot Be Shifted

Debt-service costs and interest from borrowing or refinancing cannot be passed through. § 13.32.030(D)(8)

Maintenance and repair costs cannot be passed through as capital improvements. Replacement costs also cannot be passed through when replacement was required because the owner failed to maintain common facilities in working order. Insured repairs and replacements are likewise not capital improvements. § 13.32.030(D)(5)(c)–(e)

A utility readiness-to-serve charge may be passed through only at the same rate the utility charges a comparable customer class, and only if eligible residents receive the lifeline discount they would receive as direct utility customers. § 13.32.030(D)(9)

Notice, Records, and Resident Review

A general-adjustment notice must use the Chapter 13.32 form and show the dollar figures and calculations producing the final rent computation. A notice not on that form is invalid. § 13.32.030(E)–(F)

The owner must provide residents 90 days’ written notice before the general adjustment takes effect. § 13.32.030(F)

Within five business days after a resident’s written request, the owner must make available relevant property-tax bills, government-charge bills, insurance information, and capital-improvement cost and depreciation records. § 13.32.030(H)

The required notice states that residents representing at least 25% of park spaces may challenge all or part of the adjustment by filing a petition with the Mobilehome Commission within 45 days after the notice’s postmark. The notice also encourages residents and owners to meet and confer first. § 13.32.030(F)

Special Rent Adjustments

An owner seeking more than the general-adjustment formula allows may petition a Hearing Officer for a special rent adjustment based on a claim that the general procedure does not provide a just and reasonable return. § 13.32.040(A)

The special-adjustment framework uses net operating income—gross income less operating expenses—and generally treats 1979 as the base year. Base-year net operating income is rebuttably presumed to have provided a just and reasonable return. § 13.32.040(B)(1), (4), (C)

The chapter identifies both allowable and excluded operating expenses. Mortgage principal and interest, depreciation, avoidable expense increases, penalties, reimbursed expenses, and most legal fees are excluded. § 13.32.040(B)(3)(i)

Ownership Transfers and New or Long-Term Spaces

Sale or other lawful transfer of a mobile home does not reset the maximum rent. The same protection applies to replacement of the home, subject to the limited exception for prior individualized concessions not generally available to comparable residents. § 13.32.070(A)–(B)

For a space constructed on or after January 1, 1983, Chapter 13.32 does not regulate the initial rent. Later rent adjustments are regulated, and the first occupancy year is the base year. § 13.32.100

A recreational-vehicle or trailer-park space is covered if residents have continuously lived there for nine months or more after January 1, 1980. Its base rent is the rent charged on January 1, 1999. § 13.32.102

Administration and Posting

The Mobile and Manufactured Home Commission annually recommends a reasonable capital-improvement return rate after at least one public hearing. The Board of Supervisors acts by November 1 for a rate effective the following January 1; an owner seeking that rate must submit supporting data by July 1. § 13.32.092

Park owners must permanently post Chapter 13.32 and printed public notices in the park office or another public-access location. They must also report changes in ownership, management representatives, and coach-space count to designated County staff as they occur. § 13.32.090

Checklist

• Confirm the park and space are within the unincorporated areas of Santa Cruz County and meet the chapter’s mobile-home-park definitions. § 13.32.010; § 13.32.020
• Identify the resident’s disclosed anniversary date and ensure only one general adjustment is made in the calendar year. § 13.32.020; § 13.32.030(A)–(B)
• Calculate the adjustment from base rent using only permitted components. § 13.32.020; § 13.32.030(C)–(D)
• Reduce base rent for any service reduction or elimination by the documented cost savings. § 13.32.030(D)(1)
• Confirm any capital project satisfies the eligibility, voting, amortization, and percentage-limit rules. § 13.32.030(D)(5)
• Use the mandatory notice form, include calculations, and mail it at least 90 days before the increase takes effect. § 13.32.030(E)–(F)
• Make required supporting records available within five business days of a written resident request. § 13.32.030(H)
• Preserve rent protections upon sale, transfer, or replacement of a mobile home. § 13.32.070

Risks & Ambiguities

Plain-English Summary

If you own a mobile home in a covered unincorporated County park, the park owner generally cannot simply choose a new space rent. The owner must use the chapter’s formula, give a detailed 90-day notice, and support charges such as taxes or qualifying capital work; selling or replacing your home normally does not erase the protected maximum rent. § 13.32.030; § 13.32.070

Source References

• Santa Cruz County Code, Mobile Home Rent Adjustment Ordinance — § 13.32.010
• Santa Cruz County Code, definitions — § 13.32.020
• Santa Cruz County Code, general rent adjustments, notice, records, and capital pass-throughs — § 13.32.030
• Santa Cruz County Code, special rent adjustments — § 13.32.040
• Santa Cruz County Code, transfers of ownership — § 13.32.070
• Santa Cruz County Code, annual capital-return recommendation and Board action — § 13.32.092
• Santa Cruz County Code, ordinance posting — § 13.32.090
• Santa Cruz County Code, new spaces and RV/trailer spaces — § 13.32.100; § 13.32.102
• Santa Cruz County Code, severability — § 13.32.120