California Assembly Bill AB999 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 999AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 15, 2015 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 20, 2015 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 7, 2015 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Daly FEBRUARY 26, 2015 An act to amend  Section   Sections 798.56a and  798.61 of the Civil Code, relating to mobilehomes. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 999, as amended, Daly.  Abandoned mobilehomes:   Mobilehomes: salvage and  disposal. The Mobilehome Residency Law governs tenancies in mobilehome  parks, including, among other things, imposing   parks and, among other things, authorizes the management of a mobilehome park, under specified circumstances, to either remove the mobilehome from the premises and place it in storage or store the mobilehome on its site. Existing law provides the management with a warehouse lien for these costs and   imposes various duties on the management to enforce this lien. Existing law also imposes  various duties on the management of a mobilehome park when seeking to sell an abandoned mobilehome and its contents.  Existing law requires a court to enter a judgment of abandonment if the   criteria for abandonment has been satisfied and no party establishes an interest in the mobilehome at the hearing.  Existing law requires the management, under certain circumstances, to obtain a tax clearance certificate from the county tax collector of the county in which the mobilehome is located when selling an abandoned mobilehome. This bill would amend the Mobilehome Residency Law to  , among other things, authorize the management to enforce a warehouse lien and declare a mobilehome as salvage without requiring the management or other person enforcing the lien to obtain a tax   clearance certificate. The bill would require a court to enter a judgment of abandonment if, instead, the criteria for abandonment has been satisfied and no party establishes an interest in the mobilehome and tenders all past due rent and other charges. The bill would  authorize a procedure for the management of a mobilehome park to dispose of  or sell  an abandoned mobilehome and  to dispose of or sell  its contents without requiring the management to obtain a tax clearance certificate. This bill would require the management to notify the county tax collector in the county in which the mobilehome park is located and the Department of Housing and Community Development that management will  either enforce a warehouse lien and declare the   mobilehome as salvage or  dispose of an abandoned mobilehome and its contents pursuant to these provisions. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:  SECTION 1.   Section 798.56a of the   Civil Code   is amended to read:  798.56a. (a) Within 60 days after receipt of, or no later than 65 days after the mailing of, the notice of termination of tenancy pursuant to any reason provided in Section 798.56, the legal owner, if any, and each junior lienholder, if any, shall notify the management in writing of at least one of the following: (1) Its offer to sell the obligation secured by the mobilehome to the management for the amount specified in its written offer. In that event, the management shall have 15 days following receipt of the offer to accept or reject the offer in writing. If the offer is rejected, the person or entity that made the offer shall have 10 days in which to exercise one of the other options contained in this section and shall notify management in writing of its choice. (2) Its intention to foreclose on its security interest in the mobilehome. (3) Its request that the management pursue the termination of tenancy against the homeowner and its offer to reimburse management for the reasonable attorney's fees and court costs incurred by the management in that action. If this request and offer are made, the legal owner, if any, or junior lienholder, if any, shall reimburse the management the amount of reasonable attorney's fees and court costs, as agreed upon by the management and the legal owner or junior lienholder, incurred by the management in an action to terminate the homeowner's tenancy, on or before the earlier of (A) the 60th calendar day following receipt of written notice from the management of the aggregate amount of those reasonable attorney's fees and costs or (B) the date the mobilehome is resold. (b) A legal owner, if any, or junior lienholder, if any, may sell the mobilehome within the park to a third party and keep the mobilehome on the site within the mobilehome park until it is resold only if all of the following requirements are met: (1) The legal owner, if any, or junior lienholder, if any, notifies management in writing of the intention to exercise either option described in paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (a) within 60 days following receipt of, or no later than 65 days after the mailing of, the notice of termination of tenancy and satisfies all of the responsibilities and liabilities of the homeowner owing to the management for the 90 days preceding the mailing of the notice of termination of tenancy and then continues to satisfy these responsibilities and liabilities as they accrue from the date of the mailing of that notice until the date the mobilehome is resold. (2) Within 60 days following receipt of, or no later than 65 days after the mailing of, the notice of termination of tenancy, the legal owner or junior lienholder commences all repairs and necessary corrective actions so that the mobilehome complies with park rules and regulations in existence at the time the notice of termination of tenancy was given as well as the health and safety standards specified in Sections 18550, 18552, and 18605 of the Health and Safety Code, and completes these repairs and corrective actions within 90 calendar days of that notice, or before the date that the mobilehome is sold, whichever is earlier. (3) The legal owner, if any, or junior lienholder, if any, complies with the requirements of Article 7 (commencing with Section 798.70) as it relates to the transfer of the mobilehome to a third party. (c) For purposes of subdivision (b), the "homeowner's responsibilities and liabilities" means all rents, utilities, reasonable maintenance charges of the mobilehome and its premises, and reasonable maintenance of the mobilehome and its premises pursuant to existing park rules and regulations. (d) If the homeowner files for bankruptcy, the periods set forth in this section are tolled until the mobilehome is released from bankruptcy. (e)    (1)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including, but not limited to, Section 18099.5 of the Health and Safety Code, if neither the legal owner nor a junior lienholder notifies the management of its decision pursuant to subdivision (a) within the period allowed, or performs as agreed within 30 days, or if a registered owner of a mobilehome, that is not encumbered by a lien held by a legal owner or a junior lienholder, fails to comply with a notice of termination and is either legally evicted or vacates the premises, the management may either remove the mobilehome from the premises and place it in storage or store it on its site. In this case, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the management shall have a warehouse lien in accordance with Section 7209 of the Commercial Code against the mobilehome for the costs of dismantling and moving, if appropriate, as well as storage, that shall be superior to all other liens, except the lien provided for in Section 18116.1 of the Health and Safety Code, and may enforce the lien pursuant to Section 7210 of the Commercial Code either after the date of judgment in an unlawful detainer action or after the date the mobilehome is physically vacated by the resident, whichever occurs earlier. Upon completion of any sale to enforce the warehouse lien in accordance with Section 7210 of the Commercial Code, the management shall provide the purchaser at the sale with evidence of the sale, as shall be specified by the Department of Housing and Community Development, that shall, upon proper request by the purchaser of the mobilehome, register title to the mobilehome to this purchaser, whether or not there existed a legal owner or junior lienholder on this title to the mobilehome.  (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the management of a mobilehome park obtains title to a mobilehome after enforcing the warehouse lien and obtains approval from Department of Housing and Community Development to designate the mobilehome for salvage, management or any other person enforcing this warehouse lien shall not be required to obtain a tax clearance certificate, as set forth in Section 5832 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, provided that management notifies the county tax collector in the county in which the mobilehome is located, as well as the Department of Housing and Community Development of management's intent to enforce a warehouse lien and apply to have the mobilehome designated for salvage. The written notice shall be sent to the county tax collector and the Department of Housing and Community Development no less than 10 days prior to the intended date of the sale to enforce the lien against the mobilehome. The notice shall be sent by first class mail, postage prepaid.  (f) All written notices required by this section  , except the notice in paragraph (2) of subdivision (e),  shall be sent to the other party by certified or registered mail with return receipt requested. (g) Satisfaction, pursuant to this section, of the homeowner's accrued or accruing responsibilities and liabilities shall not cure the default of the homeowner.  SECTION 1.   SEC. 2.  Section 798.61 of the Civil Code is amended to read: 798.61. (a) (1) As used in this section, "abandoned mobilehome" means a mobilehome about which all of the following are true: (A) It is located in a mobilehome park on a site for which no rent has been paid to the management for the preceding 60 days. (B) It is unoccupied. (C) A reasonable person would believe it to be abandoned.  (D) It is not permanently affixed to the land.  (2) As used in this section: (A) "Mobilehome" shall include a trailer coach, as defined in Section 635 of the Vehicle Code, or a recreational vehicle, as defined in Section 18010 of the Health and Safety Code, if the trailer coach or recreational vehicle also satisfies the requirements of paragraph (1), including being located on any site within a mobilehome park, even if the site is in a separate designated section pursuant to Section 18215 of the Health and Safety Code. (B) "Abandoned mobilehome" shall include a mobilehome that is uninhabitable because of its total or partial destruction that cannot be rehabilitated, if the mobilehome also satisfies the requirements of paragraph (1). (C) "Dispose" or "disposal" shall mean the removal and destruction of an abandoned mobilehome from a mobilehome park, thus making it unusable for any purpose. (b) After determining a mobilehome in a mobilehome park to be an abandoned mobilehome, the management shall post a notice of belief of abandonment on the mobilehome for not less than 30 days, and shall deposit copies of the notice in the United States mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the homeowner at the last known address and to any known registered owner, if different from the homeowner, and to any known holder of a security interest in the abandoned mobilehome. This notice shall be mailed by registered or certified mail with a return receipt requested. (c) (1) Thirty or more days following posting pursuant to subdivision (b), the management may file a petition in the superior court in the county in which the mobilehome park is located, for a judicial declaration of abandonment of the mobilehome. A proceeding under this subdivision is a limited civil case. Copies of the petition shall be served upon the homeowner, any known registered owner, and any known person having a lien or security interest of record in the mobilehome by posting a copy on the mobilehome and mailing copies to those persons at their last known addresses by registered or certified mail with a return receipt requested in the United States mail, postage prepaid. (2) To dispose of an abandoned mobilehome pursuant to subdivision (f), the management shall also do all of the following: (A) Declare in the petition that the management will dispose of the abandoned mobilehome, and therefore will not seek a tax clearance certificate as set forth in Section 5832 of the Revenue and Taxation Code. (B) Declare in the petition whether the management intends to sell the contents of the abandoned mobilehome before its disposal. (C) Notify the county tax collector in the county in which the mobilehome park is located and the Department of Housing and Community Development of the declaration that management will dispose of the abandoned mobilehome by sending a copy of the petition by first class mail. (d) (1) Hearing on the petition shall be given precedence over other matters on the court's calendar. (2) If, at the hearing, the petitioner shows by a preponderance of the evidence that the criteria for an abandoned mobilehome has been satisfied and no party establishes an interest therein at the  hearing,   hearing and tenders all past due rent and other charges,  the court shall enter a judgment of abandonment, determine the amount of charges to which the petitioner is entitled, and award attorney's fees and costs to the petitioner. For purposes of this subdivision, an interest in the mobilehome shall be established by evidence of a right to possession of the mobilehome or a security or ownership interest in the mobilehome. (3) A default may be entered by the court clerk upon request of the petitioner, and a default judgment shall be thereupon entered, if no responsive pleading is filed within 15 days after service of the petition by mail. (e) To sell an abandoned mobilehome, the management shall do all of the following: (1) (A) Within 10 days following a judgment of abandonment, the management shall enter the abandoned mobilehome and complete an inventory of the contents and submit the inventory to the court. (B) During this period the management shall post and mail a notice of intent to sell the abandoned mobilehome and its contents under this section, and announcing the date of sale, in the same manner as provided for the notice of determination of abandonment under subdivision (b). The management shall also provide notice to the county tax collector in the county in which the mobilehome park is located and the Department of Housing and Community Development. (C) At any time prior to the sale of an abandoned mobilehome or its contents under this section, any person having a right to possession of the abandoned mobilehome may recover and remove it from the premises upon payment to the management of all rent or other charges due, including reasonable costs of storage and other costs awarded by the court. Upon receipt of this payment and removal of the abandoned mobilehome from the premises pursuant to this paragraph, the management shall immediately file an acknowledgment of satisfaction of judgment pursuant to Section 724.030 of the Code of Civil Procedure. (2) Following the judgment of abandonment, but not less than 10 days following the notice of sale specified in paragraph (1), the management may conduct a public sale of the abandoned mobilehome, its contents, or both. The management may bid at the sale and shall have the right to offset its bids to the extent of the total amount due it under this section. The proceeds of the sale shall be retained by the management, but any unclaimed amount thus retained over and above the amount to which the management is entitled under this section shall be deemed abandoned property and shall be paid into the treasury of the county in which the sale took place within 30 days of the date of the sale. The former homeowner or any other owner may claim any or all of that unclaimed amount within one year from the date of payment to the county by making application to the county treasurer or other official designated by the county. If the county pays any or all of that unclaimed amount to a claimant, neither the county nor any officer or employee of the county is liable to any other claimant as to the amount paid. (3) Within 30 days of the date of the sale of the abandoned mobilehome and its contents, the management shall submit to the court an accounting of the moneys received from the sale and the disposition of the money and the items contained in the inventory submitted to the court pursuant to paragraph (1). (4) The management shall provide the purchaser at the sale of an abandoned mobilehome with a copy of the judgment of abandonment and evidence of the sale, as shall be specified by the Department of Housing and Community Development or the Department of Motor Vehicles, which shall register title in the abandoned mobilehome to the purchaser upon presentation thereof. The sale shall pass title to the purchaser free of any prior interest, including any security interest or lien, except the lien provided for in Section 18116.1 of the Health and Safety Code, in the abandoned mobilehome. (f) To dispose of an abandoned mobilehome, the management shall do all of the following: (1) (A) Within 10 days following a judgment of abandonment, the management shall enter the abandoned mobilehome and complete an inventory of the contents and submit the inventory to the court. (B) During this period the management shall post and mail a notice of intent to dispose of the abandoned mobilehome and its contents under this section, and announcing the date of disposal, in the same manner as provided for the notice of determination of abandonment under subdivision (b). The management shall also provide notice to the county tax collector in the county in which the mobilehome park is located and the Department of Housing and Community Development. (C) At any time prior to the disposal of an abandoned mobilehome or its contents under this section, any person having a right to possession of the abandoned mobilehome may recover and remove it from the premises upon payment to the management of all rent or other charges due, including reasonable costs of storage and other costs awarded by the court. Upon receipt of this payment and removal of the abandoned mobilehome from the premises pursuant to this subparagraph, the management shall immediately file an acknowledgment of satisfaction of judgment pursuant to Section 724.030 of the Code of Civil Procedure. (2) Following the judgment of abandonment, but not less than 10 days following the notice of disposal specified in paragraph (1), the management may dispose of the abandoned mobilehome. (3) (A) Within 30 days of the date of the disposal of an abandoned mobilehome and its contents, the management shall submit to the court, the county tax collector in the county in which the mobilehome park is located, and the Department of Housing and Community Development a statement that the abandoned mobilehome and its contents were disposed with supporting documentation. (B) Within 30 days of the date of the disposal of an abandoned mobilehome or the date of the sale of its contents, whichever date is later, the management shall submit to the court, the county tax collector in the county in which the mobilehome park is located, and the Department of Housing and Community Development an accounting of the moneys received from the sale and the disposition of the money and the items contained in the inventory submitted to the court pursuant to paragraph (1) and a statement that the abandoned mobilehome was disposed with supporting documentation.  (4) The management shall obtain a salvage title from the Department of Housing and Community Development prior to disposal.  (g) Notwithstanding any other law, the management shall not be required to obtain a tax clearance certificate, as set forth in Section 5832 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, to  either  dispose of an abandoned mobilehome and  sell  its  contents, or dispose of an abandoned mobilehome and its contents.   contents pursuant to subdivision (f). However, any sale pursuant to this section   shall be subject to the tax clearance certificate requirements of Section 18092.7 of the Health and Safety Code.