Mobile Home Park Investing in California: Laws, Permits and Due Diligence

By Matthew Martinez, Founder, CEO & Managing Broker, Diamond Real Estate Group. California DRE #01869679.

A California mobile home park is a land-lease business run under its own set of laws. The Mobilehome Residency Law (Civil Code 798 and following) governs your relationship with homeowners who own their homes but rent your spaces. The Mobilehome Parks Act requires a permit to operate and subjects the park to state or local inspections. Many cities and counties also cap space-rent increases. Before you buy, underwrite the park against those three layers, and against the closure rules, which make changing the use slow and expensive.

This guide is for buyers of parks, not of individual homes. If you are buying a home inside a park, read our manufactured home buying guide instead.

The three layers of regulation at a glance

The Mobilehome Residency Law: what changes when you own the park

The Senate Housing Committee’s 2025 Mobilehome Residency Law handbook reprints the MRL with notes. Points that matter most when you underwrite a park:

• Written rental agreements. Section 798.15 requires a written agreement stating the term, rent and park rules, with the MRL text attached as an exhibit, plus an annual notice to homeowners. Under 798.18, homeowners must be offered a 12-month agreement, or another term by request or mutual agreement.
• Rent increases. Management must give at least 90 days’ written notice of any rent increase (798.30).
• Rule changes. A proposed rule amendment needs a meeting with homeowners on at least 10 days’ notice, then either homeowner consent or six months’ written notice before it takes effect. A rule that creates a new fee not in the rental agreement is void (798.25).
• Maintenance. Management must keep common facilities in good working order. A breakdown affecting health or safety must be fixed as soon as possible, and other repairs within 30 days unless circumstances justify more time (798.15(d), 798.24). Management is responsible for trimming or removing trees on spaces and in common areas, and for driveways it installed (798.37.5).
• Ending a tenancy. Under Civil Code 798.56, management may end a homeowner’s tenancy only for seven reasons: noncompliance with law after a government notice, substantial annoyance of other residents, certain convictions for acts on park premises, failure to follow a reasonable park rule after a seven-day notice, nonpayment of rent or charges after a three-day notice, condemnation, or a change of use of the park. HCD’s MRL FAQ adds that management may not end a tenancy to make room for a buyer or renter of its own (798.58), and must prove the grounds in court.
• Selling the park. If a qualifying resident organization has given you written notice that residents want to buy the park (renewed yearly), Civil Code 798.80 requires you to notify its officers at least 30 days and no more than one year before you list the park or offer it for sale. A violation doesn’t void the sale but exposes the seller to a lawsuit. Ask the seller whether it received such a notice.

HCD does not enforce the MRL itself; disputes are civil and generally go to court (HCD FAQ).

HCD permits to operate and park inspections

Health and Safety Code 18500 makes it unlawful to build a park, add lots, alter installations, or operate a park without a valid permit from the enforcement agency. HCD’s park operation page says a park must hold a permit to operate (PTO) before operating and must have an active PTO to collect rent. Applications filed more than 30 days after the due date draw penalties. A change of operator is filed with HCD, and entity owners must be registered with the California Secretary of State.

Inspections are a real cost line. HCD’s Mobilehome Park Maintenance task force briefing (September 11, 2026) reports that:

• HCD aims to inspect at least 5% of the parks under its jurisdiction each year.
• HCD enforces about 83% of parks statewide, and 52 local enforcement agencies handle the rest in their areas.
• Inspections cover common areas, buildings, utility systems, lots and the exterior of each home.
• 2026 priorities include parks with verified health and safety complaints and parks not inspected in seven years.
• In the first half of 2026, inspections found 4,230 park violations, most often exposed live electrical parts and unidentified lots. As of June 30, 2026, 39 parks had a suspended PTO.

In due diligence, ask the seller for the current PTO, the last inspection report and the correction record, and confirm with HCD or the local enforcement agency that nothing is open.

Local space-rent control: verified examples in Sonoma County

Rent rules are set city by city and county by county, and they change your income far more than state law does. Examples we have verified:

• Santa Rosa. City Code Chapter 6-66, enacted in 1993 and amended effective August 11, 2023, covers 16 parks with 2,154 spaces. Annual increases are capped at 70% of the change in the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward CPI. For the 12 months ending August 2025, CPI rose 2.5%, so the allowed increase was 1.75% (City of Santa Rosa). Check the city’s current announcement.
• Unincorporated Sonoma County. The county’s space rent stabilization ordinance covers month-to-month space tenants. Exemptions include agreements longer than 12 months, spaces built after January 1, 1990, spaces that are not the tenant’s principal residence, park-owned homes, and RVs in place under nine months.

State law adds two exemptions you will see in rent rolls. A rental agreement longer than 12 months can be exempt from local rent control if it meets Civil Code 798.17’s conditions. A space that isn’t the homeowner’s principal residence, and isn’t rented out, is generally exempt under 798.21, with a notice-and-response process before you change rent on that basis (HCD FAQ; MRL handbook). In Napa County and other areas, call the city or county housing office for the ordinance that applies; our Napa County mobile homes and Sonoma County mobile homes pages cover the local inventory.

Closure and change of use

• Impact report. Before converting a park to another use (other than a subdivision under the Subdivision Map Act), or closing it, the owner must file a report on the impact on displaced residents with the city or county, under Government Code 65863.7. The report must include a replacement and relocation plan.
• In-place value. If a displaced resident can’t get adequate housing in another park, the owner must pay the home’s in-place market value, set by a state-certified appraiser assuming the park continues, at the owner’s cost. This does not apply to disaster-related closures.
• Notice to residents. Each resident gets the report at least 60 days before the hearing, and any resident may request a hearing on its sufficiency.
• Approval. The city or county must consider whether the change would cause or contribute to a shortage of low- and moderate-income housing, and may impose mitigation conditions. Local rules can go further than the state minimum.
• Tenant notice. Under Civil Code 798.56, management must give at least 60 days’ notice before appearing to request change-of-use permits, then at least six months’ notice of termination after permits are approved, or 12 months’ notice if no local permits are required.

Due diligence checklist for a park acquisition

• Permits and inspections: current PTO, last maintenance inspection, open violations, and whether HCD or a local agency enforces.
• Rent roll and agreements: each space’s agreement type (month-to-month, 12-month, long-term), rent, last increase notice, and which spaces claim exemptions. Ask for estoppel certificates where practical.
• Local ordinance: the allowed annual increase, petition rights and any pending changes.
• Park-owned homes: count them separately from spaces leased to homeowners.
• Infrastructure: water, sewer, electrical and roads. Inspection results often point to the costliest repairs.
• Environmental and title: order a Phase I (what it covers) and a preliminary title report.
• Resident organization notices: any 798.80 notice from residents and any pending litigation.
• Valuation: build net operating income on rents the ordinance actually allows. Our NOI and cap rate guides explain the math.

Questions people ask

Is a mobile home park a good investment in California?

That depends on the park’s rents, local ordinance, infrastructure and inspection record. State law limits evictions and rule changes, and many cities cap rent increases. We don’t forecast returns.

What permit does a mobile home park need?

A valid permit to operate from the enforcement agency, which is HCD for most parks. HCD says a park needs an active PTO to collect rent, and a change of operator is filed with HCD.

Can I raise space rents to market when I buy a park?

Not freely. You must give 90 days’ written notice of any increase, and local ordinances such as Santa Rosa’s Chapter 6-66 or unincorporated Sonoma County’s cap increases on covered spaces. Check every space’s agreement and exemptions.

Can I evict homeowners to redevelop the park?

Only through the change-of-use process: an impact report under Government Code 65863.7, a local hearing and approval, possible mitigation, and the notice periods in Civil Code 798.56. Management can’t end a tenancy to make room for its own buyer or renter.

Who inspects mobile home parks in California?

HCD inspects most parks; 52 local enforcement agencies handle parks in their areas. HCD’s maintenance program aims to inspect at least 5% of its parks each year and covers common areas, utilities, lots and home exteriors.

Do I have to tell residents if I sell the park?

Only if a qualifying resident organization has notified you in writing that residents want to buy, renewed each year. Then Civil Code 798.80 requires written notice to its officers at least 30 days and no more than one year before listing or offering the park.

Can I use a 1031 exchange to buy a mobile home park?

A park held for investment may qualify as like-kind real property, but confirm your facts, including any park-owned homes, with a tax advisor and qualified intermediary. Our 1031 exchange guide covers the deadlines.

Sources & notes

1. California Senate Housing Committee, 2025 Mobilehome Residency Law handbook: Civil Code 798.15, 798.18, 798.21, 798.24, 798.25, 798.30, 798.37.5.
2. Civil Code 798.56 (grounds and change-of-use notice) and 798.80 (park sale notice).
3. HCD, Mobilehome Residency Law rights and obligations FAQ.
4. Health and Safety Code 18500 and HCD, Park Operation (permits to operate).
5. HCD, MPM Inspection Task Force briefing, September 11, 2026 (January–June 2026 data).
6. Government Code 65863.7: closure and conversion impact report.
7. City of Santa Rosa, Mobilehome Parks (Chapter 6-66) and Sonoma County mobilehome space rent stabilization.

Statute text was reviewed through public mirrors and the Senate handbook; confirm current wording on leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. Local allowed increases change each year; check the city or county figure. General information, not legal, tax or lending advice. Updated November 2026. Primary sources are linked in this guide.

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