Is a mobilehome park cooperative subject to the Davis-Stirling Act?

The Davis-Stirling Act was specifically designed to apply to housing cooperatives, and in many cases it will be clear that the Act applies to those cooperatives. However, there will be some cases where the answer may be unclear. There is no doubt that a cooperative can be a common interest development (“CID”) that is governed by the Act. The term “common interest development” was defined to include “stock cooperatives.” (Civ. Code §4100(d)) A stock cooperative is a kind of CID where a corporation owns all of the real property and shareholders have a right of exclusive occupation of part of the property (i.e., a designated lot). [See Civ. Code §4190 (defining “stock cooperative”).] However, there is a potential technical complication. The law also says that before any housing association may be considered a CID governed by the Davis-Stirling Act, it must also have recorded a “declaration.” (Civ. Code §4200) If a mobile home community fits the definition of a “stock cooperative” and has a recorded declaration (as specified in Civil Code Section 4250), then it is nearly certain that it is governed by the Davis-Stirling Act. But if a stock cooperative does not have a recorded declaration that satisfies Section 4250, then there is an unanswered legal question about whether the Act applies.

Recap:
● A co-op can be a CID that is governed by Davis-Stirling, however, not all cases are clear. See an attorney.