What are the rights of a resident whose new manufactured home has defects?

New mobilehome or manufactured home warranty complaints must be filed in writing with the dealer and manufacturer within the warranty period, by law, one year and ten days from the date of delivery or occupancy, whichever is earlier. This is necessary in order to preserve the purchaser’s rights under the warranty should litigation or a state Department of Housing (HCD) investigation not commence until after the warranty has expired. Accessories that were purchased with the home as a package are normally covered by the warranty. An installation problem may complicate warranty complaints. If the home was installed by a licensed contractor as arranged by the dealer, both the dealer and contractor may be responsible. If the homeowner hired the installer independently from the dealer sale, there may be an issue of whether the problem with the home results from faulty installation, and thus is only the responsibility of the installer, or results from manufacturing defects. If the dealer or manufacturer does not satisfactorily respond within a reasonable period of time after filing the complaint with them, the homeowner should contact HCD’s Office of the Mobilehome Ombudsman (800-952-5275) about filing a dealer complaint. Complaints about licensed contractor installers should be addressed to the Contractors State Licensing Board (800-321-2752 or www.cslb.ca.gov).

Recap:
● A warranty is good for 1 year and 10 days after date of delivery or occupancy.
● If the home was installed by an independent contractor, then problems may occur with identifying who is liable for defects