Your Rights Bytes #4 - Subleasong

Your Rights Bytes  #4 - Subleasing

Question:  Can the park prevent residents from subleasing their mobilehome?

Background: A MHP resident/homeowner contacted me to report that the park managers were avoiding their responsibility by not evicting a bad resident.  In this particular park where subletting was allowed, the bad resident happened to be the homeowner’s roommate.  The homeowner did not want the unforgiving task of kicking out the roommate so she demanded that the manager get the roommate out.  The manager told the homeowner that she alone was responsible for evicting her “tenant”.  The caller did not agree with the manager’s interpretation of the law and contacted me for clarification.  I gave her the same simple answer.  This is one of those cases where subleasing can be a nightmare for the resident.

In another case, a woman called me from a resident-owned MHP located in a Southern California coastal city.  This woman was renting her home to weekend vacationers which caused resentment among many neighbors.  In this particular park there was no prohibition on subleasing, and indeed some residents were quietly subletting their homes on long-term leases. However, this particular resident was registered as a “landlord” on Airbnb.com, and her tenants were short-term renters.  This created what was viewed as a stream of strangers who were using the park’s common amenities, such as the clubhouse and the pool, disrupting the other residents’ sense of community.  This resident asked me if it was “fair” for others to sublet their homes while it she was resented for subletting her home to “weekenders”; wasn’t it all “subletting” anyway?  Without all the facts of the case – and without looking at the HOA’s governing documents -- I told her that I could not answer that question, and yet furthermore it could be argued that renting her home to subletters did not give her the right to allow the subletters access to the common amenities.  I suggested that the matter should be brought before the HOA’s general membership for debate and vote.

Answer:  Yes. Most mobilehome parks have rules that prohibit homeowners from subleasing their mobilehomes, even in hardship cases. However, in cases of seniors who require medical convalescence away from their homes, they may sublet for up to one year. (Civil Code §798.23.5)

- Stephanie Reid, formerly on staff with the Senate Select Committee on Manufactured Home Communities