BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE S
Charles M. Calderon, Chairman B
1995-96 Regular Session
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SB 1585
Senator Craven
As amended on March 14, 1996
Hearing Date: March 19, 1996
Civil Code
GEH:cb
mobilehome residency law
- age requirements -
HISTORY
Source: Western Mobilehome Association
Related Pending Legislation: SB 2097 (Haynes); AB 2646
(Granlund)
KEY ISSUE
1. should it be made easier to establish seniors-only
mobilehome parks, by updating the cross-reference to
federal fair housing laws in the state Mobilehome
Residency Law?
PURPOSE
The purpose of this bill is to make it easier to establish
seniors-only mobilehome parks by updating the
cross-reference to federal fair housing laws in the state
Mobilehome Residency Law.
Existing law: Under the Unruh Civil Rights Act (Civil Code
?51 et. seq.), business establishments, including housing
facilities, are generally prohibited from discriminating on
the basis of age (See Marina Point, Ltd. v. Wolfson (1982)
SB 1585 (Craven)
Page 2
30 Cal.3d 72). However, Sections 51.2, 51.3 and 51.4 in
the Act allow business establishments to establish and
preserve housing for senior citizens, if that housing meets
a number of conditions. These conditions are stricter than
the conditions under the federal fair housing laws
discussed below.
The definition of "housing" and "dwelling" under the Unruh
Civil Rights Act explicitly excludes mobilehomes. As a
result, the legality of "seniors-only" mobilehome parks is
governed by the Mobilehome Residency Law (MRL) (See Colony
Cove Associates v. Brown (1990) 220 Cal.App.3d 195). Under
the MRL, mobilehome parks may impose age requirements on
residency in the park, provided that the requirements
comply with the provisions of the federal Fair Housing
Amendments Act (FHAA) of 1988 (Public Law 100-430).
The federal FHAA makes it generally unlawful to
discriminate in the sale or rental of housing on the basis
of "familial status." However, like the Unruh Civil Rights
Act, the FHAA contains an exemption for housing for older
persons.
Under the federal FHAA, a housing facility may discriminate
on the basis of age if they are intended and operated for
occupancy by persons 62 and older, if at least 80 percent
of the occupied units are occupied by at least one person
who is 62 years and the housing facility publishes and
adheres to policies and procedures that demonstrate the
intent to be operated for occupancy by persons 62 years and
older.
Under the federal FHAA as it existed until December of
1995, if the housing facility is intended and operated for
occupancy by persons 55 and older, there was one more
requirement, in addition to the ones applicable to 62 and
older parks. That additional requirement is that the
housing facility must provide significant facilities and
services specifically designed to meet the physical or
social needs of older persons, unless the provisions of
such significant facilities and services is not practicable
and it is necessary to provide important housing
opportunities for older persons.
Three months ago, President Clinton signed H.R. 66, which
SB 1585 (Craven)
Page 3
repealed the requirement that 55 and over housing
facilities provide significant facilities and services
specifically designed to meet the needs of older persons.
(Public Law 104-76).
Proposed legislation: This bill amends the state
Mobilehome Residency Law to strike out the reference to the
prior version of the federal Fair Housing Amendments Act,
which required 55 and over housing facilities like
mobilehome parks to provide significant facilities and
services specifically designed to serve older persons.
Instead, the bill inserts a reference to the current
version of the federal FHAA which does not require 55 and
over housing facilities like mobilehome parks to provide
significant facilities and services specifically designed
to serve older persons.
The bill contains an urgency clause and a declaration that
"in oder to conform state requirements for senior
mobilehome parks to changes in federal law which were
recently enacted by Congress, it is necessary that this act
take effect immediately."
COMMENT
1. Federal fair housing laws and seniors-only mobilehome
parks
a) The ill-fated "significant facilities and services
requirement"
According to the sponsors of the bill, the Western
Mobilehome Association, the "significant facilities
and services" requirement of the federal FHAA was very
controversial. It took over five years for HUD to
promulgate draft regulations, and when they came out,
they required 55 and over facilities to provide many
of the same things nursing homes are required to
provide. Thousands of seniors expressed their concern
that the requirement would force seniors-only housing
to close throughout the country. Many seniors were
offended by the regulations' apparent assumption that
all seniors required nursing home-like facilities.
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The final version of the regulations were finally
issued in September of 1995. Although the final
regulations were much less burdensome, by time they
were issued, there was significant momentum to repeal
the requirement altogether, which was accomplished by
the beginning of December.
b) The MRL's cross-reference to the federal statute
It seems highly unlikely that, even without this
bill, the state Department of Employment and Housing
would take enforcement actions against seniors-only
mobilehome parks which violated the old federal law.
However, the state law's reference to Public Law
100-430 technically does require adherence to the old
"significant facilities and services" requirement. As
a result, private litigants could successfully
convince a court that a park would have to comply with
that outmoded requirement.
It should be noted that this bill is not required
to avoid federal preemption. As it did with the Unruh
Civil Rights Act, the Legislature could consciously
decide to be more stringent than federal law, by, for
example, requiring 55 and over mobilehome parks to
provide "significant facilities and services."
However, the Legislature has already decided to exempt
mobilehome parks from the stricter requirements of the
Unruh Civil Rights Act, and to require such parks only
to meet the minimum requirements of the federal FHAA.
Since those federal requirements have now changed, it
would be consistent for the requirements of MRL to be
adjusted accordingly.
Support: Western Mobilehome Association; California
Mobilehome Parkowners Alliance
Opposition: None known
Prior Legislation: AB 2244 (1993) Chaptered
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