Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Mobile Home Rent Law Gets Tentative OK From Council

City Council members tentatively approved a new mobile home rent-control law Thursday, but the provisions do not completely satisfy local park owners or park residents.

Under the new law, a park owner who uses a lease prepared by the city will be allowed to raise space rents each year by an amount equivalent to the annual Social Security increase. The park owner also will be allowed to boost a space rent by 25% after a tenant sells his or her coach.

At Thursday’s meeting, some residents complained that these increases were too steep, while representatives of park owners argued that they were too small. City Council members will take a final vote on the measure in April.

“Nothing is going to make everybody happy,” said Councilman Joe Davies, who proposed the Social Security provision to replace a city staff suggestion that the annual rent hike be tied to the Los Angeles area’s Consumer Price Index.

“I think we all gain; we all give up a little,” Mayor Jim Ledford said. “I think it sets the stage for more cooperation between ownership and residents.”

The vote came after more than a year of heated debate concerning the need to overhaul the city’s mobile home rent-control ordinance adopted in 1985. The talks began after some residents complained about being locked into long-term leases that called for annual rent increases of up to 7%.

Under the new law, park owners who switch to the city’s lease will be eligible for financial incentives. These include the annual rate increase for residents without long-term leases and the 25% rent hike after a tenant sells his or her home. The city’s lease will cover periods of more than 12 months.

Park owners who do not use the city’s document would not be allowed to impose annual rent increases on tenants who do not have long-term leases. They could raise the rent only 10% after a home is sold. Either restriction could be appealed to the city’s mobile home rent review board, however.

Some residents said the prospect of a 25% rent increase will make it difficult to sell a mobile home.