Mobilehome
Rent Stabilization
Yountville Town Council
August 4, 2026
Presented by:
Gary B. Bell, Town Attorney
COLANTUONO, HIGHSMITH & WHATLEY, PC
7/27/2026 © 2026 Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley, PC 1
Rent Control vs. Rent Stabilization
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Both regulate rental prices and limit the
amount and frequency in which a landlord
can increase rent.
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Mobilehome Tenancies
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State law treats mobilehome tenancies
differently than other residential tenancies:
• Mobilehome Residency Law (1978)
• Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act (1995)
• Tenant Protection Act (2019)
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Mobilehome Residency Law (1978)
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• Regulates rental agreements, rules enacted by park
management, termination of tenancy, and
authorized fees and charges.
• Previously exempted all “new construction” after
1990 from local mobilehome rent stabilization laws.
• SB 940 (2022) now limits “new construction”
exemption to first 15 years.
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Mobilehome Residency Law (1978)
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• Generally does not restrict initial base rent or
subsequent rent increases.
• Limited Exception: AB 978 (2022) imposed 5% cap
on rent increases in qualifying mobilehome parks
“located within and governed by the jurisdictions of
two or more incorporated cities.”
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Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act
(1995)
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• Prohibits municipalities from adopting new vacancy
control ordinances (requiring new tenancies be
subject to prior tenancies’ rent amount). Establishes
vacancy decontrol (allowing market-rate rent for
new tenancies).
• Exempts units first occupied after February 1, 1995
from local rent control.
• Does not apply to mobilehome tenancies.
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Tenant Protection Act (2019)
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• Limits annual rent increase to 5% + percentage change in the cost of living or 10%, whichever is lower.
• Regulates how and when a residential tenant may be
evicted for “just cause.”
• Applies to some, but not all, mobilehome tenancies:
Rented mobilehomes are included; owned
mobilehomes with ground leases are not.
• Local jurisdictions can adopt stricter protections.
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Local Control
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Approximately 104
jurisdictions in California
have adopted some form
of mobilehome rent
control.
Local Control
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• Local ordinances often include:
• A percentage cap on annual rent increases
• A process for park owners to petition to exceed the cap to receive a “fair return” on investment
• A mechanism to pass-through utility costs and spread the amortized costs of communal capital improvements
• A framework for tenants to dispute rent increases or agree to increases that exceed the cap (avoiding the petition process) • Advanced notice requirements before rent can be increased Birkenfeld v.
City of
Berkeley
(1976)
17 Cal.3d 129
7/27/2026 © 2026 Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley, PC 10 • Upheld the City of Berkeley’s power to
adopt a rent control ordinance.
• “The fact that the [rent control
ordinance imposes] certain burdens
upon landlords can hardly be deemed
a ground for holding the legislation
invalid. It is of the essence of the
police power to impose reasonable
regulations upon private property
rights to serve the larger public good.”
(Birkenfeld v. City of Berkeley (1976) 17 Cal.App.3d
129, 146.)
Kavanau v.
Santa Monica
Rent Control
Board
(1997)
16 Cal.4th 761
7/27/2026 © 2026 Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley, PC 11 “Rent control laws must be reasonably
calculated to provide landlords with a
just and reasonable return on their
property. In order to satisfy this
standard, rent control laws incorporate
any of a variety of formulas for
calculating rent ceilings. Rent control
agencies are not obligated by either
the state or federal Constitution to fix
rents by application of any particular
method or formula.”
(Kavanau v. Santa Monica Rent Control Board
(1997) 16 Cal.4th 761, 768.)
Kavanua v.
Santa Monica
Rent Control
Board
(1997)
7/27/2026 © 2026 Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley, PC 12 • May not “indefinitely freeze” rents.
• When “base rent” is tied to specific date,
should permit adjustments for units with
artificially low rents at that time.
• Should also permit individualized rent
adjustments in “appropriate cases” even if
base rent was not artificially low.
• Procedures to obtain a rate adjustment must
not be prohibitively burdensome or cause
more delay than is practically necessary.
• May delegate process to hearing officers.
• Landlord should not have to prove building
code compliance for adjustment.
(Kavanau, supra, 16 Cal.4th at pp. 772-773.)
Just and Reasonable Return
7/27/2026 © 2026 Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley, PC 13 • Key takeaway: Ordinance cannot prevent a landlord from making “a just and reasonable return” on their
investment.
• Can presume landlord’s net operating income at time rent control begins provides a fair and reasonable return and then adjust for inflation.
• But must give landlords a mechanism to exceed the
standard cap based upon a showing that it does not
permit a fair return.
Administering an Ordinance
7/27/2026 © 2026 Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley, PC 14 • Town staff will be point of contact for:
• Questions from landlords and tenants
• Petitions for additional rent increases from landlords • Procedural complaints or substantive challenges to rent increases from tenants
• Appeals after a rent increase petition is approved or denied • May designate staff or appoint an outside hearing officer to conduct hearings
• May require a petitioner to pay costs of a hearing officer and adopt administrative fees for staff time
• May enforce Code violations like any other YMC Chapter Dispute Resolution
7/27/2026 © 2026 Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley, PC 15 • May allow landlord and tenants to submit settlement
offers to potentially avoid hearing
• Settlement incentive: If settlement offer is not accepted, and the rejecting party fails to obtain a more favorable decision at the hearing, the rejecting party must pay other party’s legal costs incurred after time of offer.
• May provide a hearing process for resolving tenant claims that landlord has:
• Violated the ordinance
• Engaged in retaliation
• Reduced services to an extent justifying a rent decrease Practical Considerations & Risks
7/27/2026 © 2026 Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley, PC 16 • Be thoughtful about hearing officer qualifications
• Neutrality – landlord vs. tenant advocacy background
• Experience with financial appraisal, rental issues, dispute resolution • Do not want hearing to be cost prohibitive
• Additional administrative burden and cost
• Educational outreach and community input
• Create template notices, petition forms, cost recovery agreements • Must ensure adequate due process
• Exposes Town to potential “takings” claims if owner is denied their requested increase
• Town involvement in civil disputes between landlord/tenant Next Steps
7/27/2026 © 2026 Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley, PC 17 • Receive direction from Council on whether to proceed
with additional information gathering and/or prepare an ordinance for consideration
• As an initial step, likely worth gathering information on need for rent control/stabilization in Town to help guide the Council’s decisionmaking process
7/27/2026 © 2026 Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley, PC 18 QUESTIONS?
THANK YOU
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Gary Bell
[email protected]
www.chwlaw.us