Governor's Rent Control Veto: AB 1542

Rent control veto upsets park residents
Some in Carson fear the governor's rejection will bring higher costs that will force them out of mobile homes.
By Gene Maddaus
Staff Writer, Daily Breeze

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill Friday to preserve rent control at subdivided mobile home parks, dashing hopes of park residents statewide who fear they will be forced from their homes by escalating rents.

The bill, AB 1542, was closely followed in Carson, where residents of two parks are battling condominium conversions.

"I can't believe it," said John Goolsby, president of the Colony Cove Rental Committee. "I just don't understand him going with the special interests and the park owners who are making sums of money."

Mobile home park residents generally own their homes but rent the land underneath it from the park owner. In most cities, the rents are strictly controlled by local ordinances.

In the last 10 years, park owners have discovered they can get around rent control by subdividing their parks and selling off the spaces to those residents who want to buy them. Once the park is converted, local rent control no longer applies to those residents who choose to keep renting.

"For many park owners it just seems criminal that cities are putting restrictions on the amount of rent we can require of residents," said Catherine Borg, the lobbyist for the Western Manufactured Housing Communities Association (WMA). Conversion, she said, "is an exit strategy so they can sell their property."

The bill, by Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, would have kept local rent control after a condo conversion took place. It was strongly opposed by WMA - which put out a "red alert" to its membership about the bill - and supported by the state AARP, the League of California Cities, the Golden State Manufactured-Home Owners League, and many cities including Carson and Los Angeles.

Busloads of seniors from parks around the state went to the Capitol to demonstrate on behalf of the bill. Park residents also wrote and called the Governor's Office.
"There have been hundreds if not thousands of cards and letters that have gone into the Governor's Office," said Maurice Priest, the chief lobbyist for the GSMOL.

In his veto message, the governor objected to the fact that local rent control ordinances protect all residents, regardless of income. Low-income mobile home residents are already protected under state law.

"It is unclear what state interest is served by the extension of rent control for those who do not have an economic disadvantage," Schwarzenegger said.

WMA argues that subdivision gives residents an investment opportunity. By buying the parcels underneath their mobile homes, they can enjoy the subsequent appreciation in land values. Some parks have converted on the initiative of residents.