Petition Seeks Vote Over Rent Controls

Supporters of an statewide initiative that would leave mobile home rent controls up to park owners instead of local and state government turned in nearly 600,000 signatures to place the item on the November ballot, organizers said Tuesday.

More than 15,000 of the initiative’s supporters are from Ventura County, local elections officials said.

Paul Kradin) of Californians for Mobile Home Fairness said hundreds of petitions were turned in Monday to elections officials in each of the state’s 58 counties.

“We feel confident that with the number of signatures collected, the initiative will qualify for the ballot,” he said.

If approved by voters, the mobile home initiative would invalidate all existing state rent-control laws and prohibit new ones.

More importantly for Ventura County mobile home residents, the initiative would limit local rent subsidies--which would be administered by park owners--to no more than 10% of residents and allow for annual rent increases equal to the cost of living.

Almost half of Ventura County’s mobile home park residents receive some form of rent subsidy, according to park owners.

The initiative itself and the campaign by its supporters have drawn criticism from mobile home park residents, who fear the park owners would eventually price them out of their homes.

There are 105 mobile home parks scattered across Ventura County, and more than 10,000 coaches, according to the state division of codes and standards, which regulates mobile homes.

About 385,000 valid signatures of registered voters are needed for the initiative to qualify for the fall ballot. It will take several weeks for elections officials around the state to certify the signatures.