California mobilehome regulations every tenant and public agency should know

A trio of newly enacted statutes is reshaping the regulatory landscape for mobilehome parks across California, expanding tenant protections, modernizing notice requirements and imposing new disaster-response obligations that directly affect local governments and public agencies.

Assembly Bill 391

Assembly Bill 391 (Michelle Rodriguez, D-Ontario) amends Section 798.14 of the Civil Code to allow mobilehome park management to provide required notices to homeowners and residents electronically with affirmative written consent. This includes annual notices required by the Mobilehome Residency Law that must be delivered prior to Feb. 1.

Homeowners and residents may revoke their consent at any time, without any fee, charge, penalty or impact on their tenancy. Management must notify homeowners and residents of their right to revoke electronic notice consent.

Senate Bill 610

Senate Bill 610 (Sasha Renée Pérez, D-Pasadena) addresses disaster assistance for tenants, mobilehome parks and mortgages. This legislation requires public agencies to make habitability determinations and coordinate with state financial regulators in disaster response situations. The bill imposes a duty on landlords to remediate disaster damage within a reasonable time according to specified cleaning protocols.

In addition, this bill requires the landlord to return to the tenant any advance rental payments made by the tenant when the rental agreement is terminated due to damage or destruction of the property. It also requires management of a mobilehome park to return to the homeowner any advance rental payments made by the homeowner when the mobilehome tenancy is terminated due to damage or the destruction of the mobilehome park or any space as a result of a disaster. The bill discharges the tenant's or homeowner's obligation to pay rent during any period during which a tenant or homeowner is unable to occupy their rental unit due to a mandatory evacuation order pursuant to a disaster, as provided.

Assembly Bill 806

Assembly Bill 806 (Damon Connolly, D-San Rafael), amends California's Mobilehome Residency Law to protect residents' rights to install and use cooling systems in their mobilehomes. The law voids any rental agreement provisions or restrictions that prohibit cooling system installation, upgrade, replacement or use. It is unlawful for park management to restrict these activities or terminate tenancies based on cooling system usage.

Entities that willfully violate these provisions face liability for actual damages plus civil penalties up to $2,000 per violation. The law applies to all mobilehome parks, subdivisions, cooperatives, condominiums for mobilehomes and resident-owned mobilehome parks throughout California. Public agencies may receive complaints regarding violations and should be prepared to refer residents to appropriate enforcement mechanisms, as these Civil Code provisions are enforced through the courts rather than by administrative agencies.

These three pieces of legislation took affect Jan. 1, 2026, and represent significant changes to California mobilehome law. Public agencies must now comply with new requirements, particularly regarding disaster response protocols and habitability determinations under Senate Bill 610, recognition of electronic notice under Assembly Bill 391, and awareness of residents' cooling system rights under Assembly Bill 806. Local jurisdictions should review their policies, procedures and ordinances with legal counsel to ensure compliance with these new statutory requirements.