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City of Santa Ana Mobile Home Parks <br />Assessment of Existing Conditions and Policy Options <br />May 21, 2019 <br />Options/Tools for City Council and Tenants <br />Mobile homes represent the largest sector of non -subsidized and non -covenanted <br />affordable housing in the United States, yet often with few protections. While residents <br />may own their own mobile home, they lease the land upon which it is fixed, making <br />them both owners and tenants at the same time. This puts mobile home owners in a <br />tenuous position, particularly those on a fixed income. To mitigate the impacts of rent <br />increases on mobile home owners, and maintain affordability, there are various options <br />and tools for City Council consideration. The options fall into three strategies: <br />1. Regulation of rents as affordable housing; <br />2. Ensuring residents have a say in how the park they live in is improved, and an <br />avenue for making complaints if it is not being taken care of properly; and <br />3. A path towards resident ownership. <br />The strategies are discussed in greater detail below. If City Council is interested in any <br />of these options, further research and study will be required to confirm conformance <br />with local laws and determine the City's ability to implement the proposed regulations. <br />Regulation of Rents as Affordable Housing <br />Mobile home parks are affordable by design and can play an integral role in a <br />community's overall housing stock. Rent stabilization ordinances are the predominate <br />form of local ordinance governing mobile home parks. Parameters may be set <br />governing the amount of increase and conditions under which rents may be increased <br />on a regular and ongoing basis. Space rents may also be regulated at the time of sale <br />of the mobile home through the use of a Vacancy Control Ordinance, and at the time of <br />park closure through a Relocation Fee Ordinance. Currently 101 jurisdictions in <br />California have some form of a rent stabilization ordinance that includes one or all of <br />the above options. Each of these ordinances is discussed in greater detail below along <br />with special considerations with age restricted mobile home parks as a form of <br />affordable housing. <br />i1ri <br />65A-19 <br />