Gov. urged to sign rent-control bill

Heidi Mauer doesn’t like politics. She nearly failed her high school government class.

But Mauer, 51, is one of hundreds of Ventura County residents who in recent weeks have blanketed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s office with letters and phone calls, urging him to sign a bill that would strengthen rent-control laws at mobile home parks across California.

“We do what we can -- write our public officials, stuff fliers into mailboxes,” said Mauer, a 25-year resident of Ojai Oaks Village Mobile Home Park. “I learned a lot of stuff I never wanted to know.”

The Ventura County coalition is part of an intense statewide lobbying effort urging Schwarzenegger to sign AB 1542, by Assemblywoman Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa).

Schwarzenegger has until Sunday to sign or veto the legislation, or allow it to become law by doing nothing. On Wednesday, the governor’s staff said he hadn’t taken a position on the bill, which pits park owners’ rights against laws that protect valuable affordable housing.

“He likes to sit down and review everything as he is preparing to go through all the bills,” said a spokeswoman, who did not want to be identified. “Until then, he’s undecided.”

Evans’ legislation would allow local governments to weigh in when a mobile home park owner seeks to subdivide a park property and convert lots to private ownership. Under current law, local regulatory bodies have little say over the merits of a park conversion.

It also would keep local rent-control ordinances in place for tenants who chose not to buy the lot under their mobile homes. Current law invalidates local rent ordinances once a single unit is converted to private ownership.

The bill is supported by a broad network of mobile home residents, local governments and poverty law advocates, who argue it is needed to preserve housing options for low- and moderate-income people, particularly seniors.

Last month, the state AARP chapter added the backing of its 3.2 million members, pointing out that more than 50% of mobile home residents are older than 50.

“Mobile homes have traditionally provided affordable housing to people who would normally be priced out of any type of ownership,” the AARP said in an appeal to Schwarzenegger.

But opposition has also been formidable.

Western Manufactured Housing Communities Assn., an industry group, has protested the proposed changes as unnecessary. The 1995 state legislation that permitted conversions balanced the rights of both park owners and tenants, said Catherine Borg, the group’s lobbyist.

A state rent-control measure would still apply to tenants who fall below certain income guidelines and choose not to buy, she said.

If AB 1542 becomes law, park owners fear that local governments will put so many restrictions on conversions that it will no longer be a viable business option, she said.

“In a lot of situations, it’s just not going to pencil out,” Borg said. “So the incentive to sell their land to the residents is not going to be there.”

The bill is also opposed by a state Realtors’ association and an alliance of park owners.

California has about 5,000 mobile home parks. About 150 are owned by resident or nonprofit associations that provide communal services. Fifty more parks are in the process of subdividing or have already done so.

Mobile home parks present a unique land-use issue because park owners charge rent for use of the lots but tenants typically own the unit.

Ventura County Supervisor Steve Bennett, who organized the local effort to pass AB 1542, said that distinction makes it critical for local governments to be able to review each conversion application.

“In every other subdivision issue, local government has the responsibility to review it,” he said. “This was taken away only for mobile home park conversions.”

For Mauer, it comes down to dollars and cents.

If the county’s rent control is invalidated, her $650 per month rent could climb to as high as $1,400 within four years, she said. As a clerical worker in an insurance office, she can’t afford such a hike.

“It’s great for park owners,” she said of conversions. “But it could throw a lot of people’s lives into turmoil.”

catherine.saillant@latimes.com