to bill a homeowner separately for utility service fees and charges assessed by the utility for services provided to or for spaces in the park. Any separately billed utility fees and charges shall not be deemed to be included in the rent charged for those spaces under the rental agreement, and shall not be deemed to be rent or a rent increase for purposes of any ordinance, rule, regulation, or initiative measure adopted or enforced by any local governmental entity which establishes a maximum amount that a landlord may charge a tenant for rent, provided that at the time of the initial separate billing of any utility fees and charges the rent chargeable under the rental agreement or the base rent chargeable under the terms of a local rent control provision is simultaneously reduced by an amount equal to the fees and charges separately billed. The amount of this reduction shall be equal to the average amount charged to the park management for that utility service for that space during the 12 months immediately preceding notice of the commencement of the separate billing for that utility service.
Utility services to which this section applies are natural gas or liquid propane gas, electricity, water, cable television, garbage or refuse service, and sewer service.
(b) This section does not apply to rental agreements entered into prior to January 1, 1991, until extended or renewed on or after that date.
(c) Nothing in this section shall require rental agreements to provide for separate billing to homeowners of fees and charges specified in subdivision (a).
(d) Those fees and charges specified in subdivision (a) shall be separately stated on any monthly or other periodic billing to the homeowner. If the fee or charge has a limited duration or is amortized for a specified period, the expiration date shall be stated on the initial notice and each subsequent billing to the homeowner while the fee or charge is billed to the homeowner.
(Amended by Stats. 1992, Ch. 338, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 1993.)
798.42. The management shall provide, by posting notice on the mobilehomes of all affected homeowners and residents, at least 72 hours’ written advance notice of an interruption in utility service of more than two hours for the maintenance, repair, or replacement of facilities of utility systems over which the management has control within the park, provided that the interruption is not due to an emergency. The management shall be liable only for actual damages sustained by a homeowner or resident for violation of this section.
“Emergency,” for purposes of this section, means the interruption of utility service resulting from an accident or act of nature, or cessation of service caused by other than the management’s regular or planned maintenance, repair, or replacement of utility facilities.
(Added by renumbering Section 798.29.5 by Stats. 2009, Ch. 558, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2010.)
798.43. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), whenever a homeowner is responsible for payment of gas, water, or electric utility service, management shall disclose to the homeowner any condition by which a gas, water, or electric meter on the homeowner’s site measures gas, water, or electric service for common area facilities or equipment, including lighting, provided that management has knowledge of the condition.
Management shall disclose this information prior to the inception of the tenancy or upon discovery and shall complete either of the following:
(1) Enter into a mutual written agreement with the homeowner for compensation by management for the cost of the portion of the service measured by the homeowner’s meter for the common area facilities or equipment to the extent that this cost accrues on or after January 1, 1991.
(2) Discontinue using the meter on the homeowner’s site for the utility service to the common area facilities and equipment.
(b) On and after January 1, 1994, if the electric meter on the homeowner’s site measures electricity for lighting mandated by Section 18602 of the Health and Safety Code and this lighting provides lighting for the homeowner’s site, management shall be required to comply with subdivision (a).
(Amended by Stats. 1993, Ch. 147, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1994.)
798.43.1. (a) The management of a master-meter park shall give written notice to homeowners and residents on or before February 1 of each year in their utility billing statements about assistance to low-income persons for utility costs available under the California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) program, established pursuant to Section 739.1 of the Public Utilities Code. The notice shall include CARE information available to master-meter customers from their serving utility, to include, at a minimum: (1) the fact that CARE offers a discount on monthly gas or electric bills for qualifying low-income residents; and (2) the telephone number of the serving utility which provides CARE information and applications. The park shall also post the notice in a conspicuous place in the clubhouse, or if there is no clubhouse, in a conspicuous public place in the park.
(b) The management of a master-meter park may accept and help process CARE program applications from homeowners and residents in the park, fill in the necessary account or other park information required by the serving utility to process the applications, and send the applications to the serving utility. The management shall not deny a homeowner or resident who chooses to submit a CARE application to the utility himself or herself any park information, including a utility account number, the serving utility requires to process a homeowner or resident CARE program application.
(c) The management of a master-meter park shall pass through the full amount of the CARE program discount in monthly utility billings to homeowners and residents who have qualified for the CARE rate schedule, as defined in the serving utility’s applicable rate schedule. The management shall notice the discount on the billing statement of any homeowner or resident who has qualified for the CARE rate schedule as either the itemized amount of the discount or a notation on the statement that the homeowner or resident is receiving the CARE discount on the electric bill, the gas bill, or both the electric and gas bills.
(d) “Master-meter park” as used in this section means “master-meter customer” as used in Section 739.5 of the Public Utilities Code.
(Added by Stats. 2001, Ch. 437, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2002.)
798.44. (a) The management of a park that does not permit mobilehome owners or park residents to purchase liquefied petroleum gas for use in the mobilehome park from someone other than the mobilehome park management shall not sell liquefied petroleum gas to mobilehome owners and residents within the park at a cost which exceeds 110 percent of the actual price paid by the management of the park for liquefied petroleum gas.
(b) The management of a park shall post in a visible location the actual price paid by management for liquefied petroleum gas sold pursuant to subdivision (a).
(c) This section shall apply only to mobilehome parks regulated under the Mobilehome Residency Law. This section shall not apply to recreational vehicle parks, as defined in Section 18215 of the Health and Safety Code, which exclusively serve recreational vehicles, as defined in Section 18010 of the Health and Safety Code.
(d) Nothing in this section is intended to abrogate any rights a mobilehome park owner may have under Section 798.31 of the Civil Code.
(e) In addition to a mobilehome park described in subdivision (a), the requirements of subdivisions (a) and (b) shall apply to a mobilehome park where requirements of federal, state, or local law or regulation, including, but not limited to, requirements for setbacks between mobilehomes, prohibit homeowners or residents from installing their own liquefied petroleum gas supply tanks, notwithstanding that the management of the mobilehome park permits mobilehome owners and park residents to buy their own liquefied petroleum gas.
(Amended by Stats. 2009, Ch. 558, Sec. 7. Effective January 1, 2010.)
ARTICLE 4.5. Rent Control [798.45 — 798.49]
(Article 4.5 added by Stats. 1989, Ch. 412, Sec. 2.)
798.45. Notwithstanding Section 798.17, “new construction” as defined in Section 798.7, shall be exempt from any ordinance, rule, regulation, or initiative measure adopted by any city, county, or city and county, which establishes a maximum amount