The park owner is planning a “condo-conversion”. Will homeowners who can’t afford to either buy their lot, or pay the higher rents once the park loses rent control protection, be economically evicted?

Not necessarily. A growing number of mobilehome park owners have been utilizing a special provision of the state’s Subdivision Map Act to convert their parks to “resident owned condominiums” or “subdivisions”, thus exempting the converted parks from local rent control after the sale of the first lot. Condominium interests in mobilehome park spaces must be offered to renting homeowners, and low-income homeowners who cannot afford to buy can continue to rent their spaces under a statute which limits rent increases, including “pre-conversion” pass-through fees, to the Consumer Price Index or less. (Govt. 66427.5(f)(2)) However, non-purchasing residents who are not low-income lose rent control protection upon the conversion and may have their rents increased to higher “market levels”. The state’s Mobilehome Park Resident Ownership Program (MPROP) provides limited financial assistance to low-income residents to help them buy their interests in resident-owned condo parks, and some local governments may also have financing to assist some as well.

Recap:
● Low-income renters keep rent control protections.
● Low-income buyers may qualify for state and local financial assistance