This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Floating Home Residency Law.

Unless the provisions or context otherwise requires, the following definitions shall govern the construction of this chapter.

“Management” means the owner of a floating home marina or an agent or representative authorized to act on his or her behalf in connection with matters relating to a tenancy in the floating home marina.

“Floating home” has the same meaning as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 18075.55 of the Health and Safety Code.

“Floating home marina” means an area where five or more floating home berths are rented, or held out for rent, to accommodate floating homes, but does not include a marina or harbor that satisfies all of the following:

homes.

“Rental agreement” means an agreement between the management and the homeowner establishing the terms and conditions of a tenancy. A lease is a rental agreement.

“Homeowner” means a person who owns or resides in a floating home which is in a floating home marina pursuant to a rental agreement with management.

“Change of use” means a use of the floating home marina for a purpose other than the rental, or the holding out for rent, of five or more floating home berths, and does not mean the adoption, amendment, or repeal of a floating home marina rule or regulation. A change of use may affect an entire floating home marina or any portion thereof. “Change of use” includes, but is not limited to, a change of the floating home marina or any portion thereof to a condominium, stock cooperative, or any form of ownership wherein spaces within the floating home marina are to be sold.

“Resident” means a homeowner or other person who lawfully occupies a floating home.

“Tenancy” means the right of a homeowner to the use of a berth within a floating home marina on which to locate, maintain, and occupy a floating home, and accessory structures or vessels, including the use of the services and facilities of the floating home marina.

Unless otherwise provided, the management shall make available to floating homeowners, upon request, copies of all notices required by this article and Article 3 (commencing with Section 800.30).

The rental agreement shall be in writing and shall contain, in addition to the provisions otherwise required by law to be included, all of the following:

specifying that it is the responsibility of the management to provide and maintain physical improvements in the common facilities in good working order and condition.

The rental agreement may include other provisions permitted by law, but need not include specific language contained in state or local laws not a part of this chapter.

months of the agreement from the corresponding terms or conditions that would be offered to the homeowner or homeowners on a month-to-month basis.

No rental agreement for a floating home berth shall contain a provision by which the homeowner waives his or her rights under any of the provisions of this chapter. Any waiver of these rights shall be deemed contrary to public policy and void.

On or before March 12, 1991, the management shall notify all floating homeowners, in writing, that a copy of the Floating Home Residency Law is available to them, upon request, from the management.

Each common area facility shall be open or available to residents at all reasonable hours, and the hours of the common area facility shall be posted at the facility.

A rule or regulation of the floating home marina may be amended at any time with the consent of a homeowner, or without his or her consent upon written notice to him or her of not less than six months. Written notice to a new homeowner, whose tenancy commences within the required period of notice, of a proposed amendment shall constitute compliance with this section where the written notice is given to him or her before the inception of his or her tenancy.

reasonable time, but not in a manner or at a time which would interfere with the resident’s quiet enjoyment.

under which the floating home marina operates, a change occurs to the lease under which the management is a lessee and that change could affect the homeowner, including the termination of the lease, litigation occurs regarding termination of the lease, or expiration of a use permit occurs, all homeowners shall be given written notice at least 30 days prior to the effective date of the change. Notification regarding the change of use of the floating home marina, or any portion thereof, shall be governed by subdivision (f) of Section 800.71. A prospective homeowner shall be notified prior to the inception of the tenancy.

The management of a floating home marina shall disclose, in writing, the name and address of the floating home marina owner upon the request of a homeowner.

marina may give a notice of belief of abandonment to the homeowner pursuant to this section only where the rent on the marina has been due and unpaid for at least 45 consecutive days and the marina management reasonably believes that the homeowner has abandoned the floating home. The date of termination of the lease shall be specified in the marina’s notice and shall be not less than 15 days after the notice is served personally or, if mailed, not less than 18 days after the notice is deposited in the mail.

This notice is given pursuant to Section 800.36 of the Civil Code concerning the floating home marina

leased by you at ________ (state location of the property by address or other sufficient description). The rent on this marina has been due and unpaid for 45 consecutive days and the marina believes that you have abandoned the floating home.

The floating home will be deemed abandoned within the meaning of Section 1951.2 of the Civil Code and your lease will terminate on ____ (here insert a date not less than 15 days after this notice is served personally or, if mailed, not less than 18 days after this notice is deposited in the mail) unless before that date the undersigned receives at the address indicated below a written notice from you stating both of the following:

marina.

You are required to pay the rent due and unpaid on this marina as required by the lease, and your failure to do so can lead to a court proceeding against you.Dated: ________________________________

requiring the homeowner to pay rent or quit as provided in Section 800.71 at any time permitted by that section, or affects the time and manner of giving any other notice required or permitted by law. The giving of the notice provided by this section does not satisfy the requirements of Sections 1161 and 1162 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

A floating home which is owned by a floating home marina shall be deemed abandoned according to the procedures and requirements of Section 1951.3.

The management shall give a homeowner written notice of any increase in his or her rent at least 30 days before the date of the increase, and the reason for the increase, including the basis for any calculation used in determining the amount of the increase.

A homeowner shall not be charged a fee for services actually rendered which are not listed in the rental agreement unless he or she has been given written notice thereof by the management, at least 60 days before imposition of the charge.

A homeowner shall not be charged a fee for keeping a pet in the floating home marina unless the management actually provides special facilities or services for pets. If special pet facilities are maintained by the management, the fee charged shall reasonably relate to the cost of maintenance of the facilities or services and the number of pets kept in the floating home marina.

of the rental agreement between management and the homeowner. The guest shall comply with the provisions of the rules and regulations of the floating home marina.

A homeowner shall not be charged a fee based on the number of members in his or her immediate family. As used in this section, the “immediate family” includes the homeowner and his or her spouse, their parents, and their children.

A homeowner shall not be charged a fee for the enforcement of any of the rules and regulations of the floating home marina.

Unless the homeowner specifically requests the service in writing from the management, a homeowner shall not be charged a fee for the entry, installation, hookup, or landscaping as a condition of tenancy except for an actual fee or cost imposed by a local governmental ordinance or requirement directly related to the occupancy of the specific berth where the floating home is located and not incurred as a portion of the development of the floating home marina as a whole. However, reasonable landscaping and maintenance requirements may be included in the floating home marina rules and regulations. The management shall not require a homeowner or

prospective homeowner to purchase, rent, or lease goods or services for landscaping from any person, company, or corporation.

Where the management provides both master meter and submeter service of utilities to a homeowner, for each billing period the cost of the charges for the period shall be separately stated along with the opening and closing readings for his or her meter. The management shall post in a conspicuous place, the prevailing residential utilities rate schedule as published by the serving utility.

12-consecutive-month period subsequent to the collection of the security deposit by the management, or upon resale of the floating home, whichever occurs earlier, the management shall, upon the receipt of a written request from the homeowner, refund to the homeowner the amount of the security deposit within 30 days following the end of the 12-consecutive-mon th period of prompt payment or the date of the resale of the floating home.

The management shall not acquire a lien or security interest, other than an interest arising by reason of process issued to enforce a judgment of any court, in a floating home located in the floating home marina unless it is mutually agreed upon by both the homeowner and management. Any billing and payment upon the obligation shall be kept separate from current rent.

The management shall permit meetings by homeowners or residents of a floating home in the marina, or any or all of them, relating to floating home living or social or educational purposes, including forums for or speeches of public officials or candidates for public office, to be held in any community facility if the meeting is held at reasonable hours and when the facility is not otherwise in use. The management’s private office is not to be considered a community facility unless so designated by the management.

The management shall meet and consult with the homeowners, upon written request, within 30 days of the request, either individually, collectively, or with representatives of a group of homeowners who have signed a request to be so represented on the following matters:

services, equipment or physical improvements.

Any collective meeting shall be conducted only after notice thereof has been given to all the requesting homeowners 10 days or more before the meeting.

reason specified in this article and upon the giving of written notice to the homeowner in the manner prescribed by Section 1162 of the Code of Civil Procedure, to remove the floating home from the floating home marina within a period of not less than 60 days, which period shall be specified in the notice. A copy of this notice shall be sent to the legal owner, as defined in Section 18005.8 of the Health and Safety Code, each junior lienholder, as defined in Section 18005.3 of the Health and Safety Code, and the registered owner of the floating home, if other than the homeowner, by United States mail within 10 days after notice to the homeowner, addressed to the legal owner, each junior lienholder, and the registered owner at their addresses, as set forth in the registration card specified in Section 18091.5 of the Health and Safety Code.

A tenancy shall be terminated by the management only for one or more of the following reasons:

No act or omission of the homeowner or resident shall constitute a failure to comply with a reasonable rule or regulation unless and until the management has given the homeowner written notice of the alleged rule or regulation violation and the homeowner or resident has failed to adhere to the rule or regulation within seven days. However, if a homeowner has been given a written notice of an alleged violation of the same rule or regulation on three or more occasions within a 12-month period after the homeowner or resident has violated that rule or regulation, no written notice shall be required for a

subsequent violation of the same rule or regulation.

Nothing in this subdivision shall relieve the management from its obligation to demonstrate that a rule or regulation has in fact been violated.

Payment by the homeowner prior to the expiration of the three-day notice period

shall cure a default under this subdivision.

until the time the tenancy is vacated.

required permits requesting a change of use have been approved by the local governmental board, commission, or body, the management shall give the homeowners six months’ or more written notice of termination of tenancy.

If the change of use requires no local governmental permits, then notice shall be given 12 months or more prior to the management’s determination that a change of use will occur. The management in the notice shall disclose and describe in detail the nature of the change of use.

shall be followed if the proposed change actually occurs.

The management shall set forth in a notice of termination the reason relied upon for the termination with specific facts to permit determination of the date, place, witnesses, and circumstances concerning that reason. Neither reference to the section number or a subdivision thereof nor a recital of the language of this article constitutes compliance with this section.

No tenancy shall be terminated for the purpose of making a homeowner’s berth available for a person who purchases a floating home from the owner of the floating home marina or his or her agent.

A homeowner shall give written notice to the management of not less than 60 days before vacating his or her tenancy.

The provisions of this article shall not affect any rights or proceedings set forth in Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 1159) of Title 3 of Part 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure except as otherwise provided in those sections.

A homeowner or his or her agent may advertise the sale or exchange of his or her floating home, or, if not prohibited by the terms of an agreement with the management, may advertise the rental of his or her floating home, by displaying a sign in the window of the floating home, or by a sign posted on the side of the floating home facing the dock or water or both, stating that the floating home is for sale or exchange or, if not prohibited, for rent by the owner of the floating home or his or her agent. The sign shall state the name, address, and telephone number of the owner of the floating home or his or her agent and may be at least 24 inches in

width and 18 inches in height.

marina.

unless the management performs a specific service in the sale. The management shall not impose a fee, other than for a credit check in accordance with subdivision (b) of Section 800.85, for an interview of a prospective homeowner.

The management shall not require the removal of a floating home from the floating home marina in the event of its sale to a third party during the term of the homeowner’s rental agreement.

the rent and charges of the floating home marina, the management shall not require the purchaser to submit copies of any personal income tax returns in order to obtain approval for residency in the floating home marina. However, management may require the purchaser to document the amount and source of his or her gross monthly income or means of financial support. If the ownership or management rejects a purchaser as a prospective homeowner, the ownership or management shall inform the selling homeowner in writing of its reasons for the rejection. If the approval of a purchaser is withheld for any reason other than those stated in this article, the management or owner may be held liable for all damages proximately resulting therefrom.

payment of the first month’s rent for that floating home purchaser. If, for whatever reason, the prospective purchaser is rejected by the management, the management shall refund to the prospective purchaser the full amount of that fee or charge within 30 days from the date of rejection. If the prospective purchaser is approved by the management, but, for whatever reason, the prospective purchaser elects not to purchase the floating home, the management may retain the fee, or a portion thereof, to defray its administrative costs under this section.

purchaser shall not have any rights of tenancy.

No rental or sale agreement shall contain a provision by which the purchaser or homeowner waives his or her rights under this article. Any waiver thereof shall be deemed contrary to public policy and shall be void and unenforceable.

An heir or joint tenant who gains ownership of a floating home in the floating home marina through the death of the owner of the floating home who is a homeowner shall have the right to sell the floating home to a third party in accordance with this article, but only if all the homeowner’s responsibilities and liabilities to the management regarding rent, utilities, and reasonable maintenance of the floating home and its premises which have arisen after the transfer of ownership to the heir or joint tenant have been satisfied up until the date the floating home is resold.

Any legal owner or junior lienholder who forecloses on his or her security interest in a floating home located in a floating home marina shall have the right to sell the floating home within the floating home marina to a third party in accordance with the provisions of this article, but only if all the homeowner’s responsibilities and liabilities to the management regarding rent, utilities, and reasonable maintenance of a floating home and it’s premises are satisfied by the foreclosing creditor through the date the floating home is resold.

The management (1) shall not prohibit the listing or sale of a used floating home within the floating home marina by the homeowner, or an agent of the homeowner other than the management, (2) nor require the selling homeowner to authorize the management to act as the agent in the sale of a floating home as a condition of approval of the buyer or prospective homeowner for residency in the floating home marina.

entering into any written listing agreement for the sale of the marina, or making any offer to sell the marina to any party. An offer to sell a marina shall not be construed as an offer under this subdivision unless it is initiated by the marina owner or his or her agent.

resident organization shall be made prior to a written listing or offer to sell the marina by the marina owner, and the resident organization shall give subsequent notice once each year thereafter that the marina residents are interested in purchasing the marina.

section affects the ability of a licensed real estate broker to collect a commission pursuant to an executed contract between the broker and the floating home marina owner.

shareholder of the transferring corporation.

In any action arising out of the provisions of this chapter the prevailing party shall be entitled to reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. A party shall be deemed a prevailing party for the purposes of this section if the judgment is rendered in his or her favor or where the litigation is dismissed in his or her favor prior to or during the trial, unless the parties otherwise agree in the settlement or compromise.

In the event a homeowner or former homeowner of a floating home marina is the prevailing party in a civil action against the management to enforce his or her rights under the provisions of this

chapter, the homeowner, in addition to damages afforded by law, may, in the discretion of the court, be awarded an amount not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500) for each willful violation of those provisions by the management.

As used in this article:

A resident may advertise the sale or exchange of his or her floating home or, if not prohibited by the terms of an agreement with the management or ownership, may advertise the rental of his or her floating home by displaying a sign in the window of his or her floating home stating that the floating home is for sale or exchange or, if not prohibited, for rent by the owner of the floating home or his or her agent. The sign shall state the name, address, and telephone number of the owner of the floating home or his or her agent, and shall be 24 inches in width and 18 inches in length.

The ownership or management shall not show or list for sale a floating home owned by a resident without first obtaining the resident’s written authorization. The authorization shall specify the terms and conditions regarding the showing or listing.

The ownership or management shall not require the removal of a floating home from a cooperative or condominium in the event of its sale to a third party.

The ownership or management may require the right to prior approval of the purchaser of a floating home that will remain in the cooperative or condominium for floating homes and that the selling resident or his or her agent give notice of the sale to the ownership or management before the close of the sale. Approval cannot be withheld if the purchaser has the financial ability to pay the fees and charges of the cooperative or condominium unless the ownership or management reasonably determines that, based on the purchaser’s prior residences, he or she will not comply with the rules and regulations of the cooperative or

condominium.

No agreement shall contain any provision by which the purchaser waives his or her rights under this article. Any waiver thereof shall be deemed contrary to public policy and void and unenforceable.

This chapter applies only to the relationship between the management and the homeowners and residents of floating home marinas. Nothing in this chapter affects residential use of tide and submerged lands, including the public trust doctrine or any legislative grant of tide and submerged lands to a public entity, or the administration of these lands by the State Lands Commission or a legislative grantee. In addition, this chapter does not supplant, lessen, modify, or otherwise affect past or future regulation of floating homes or floating home marinas by the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission pursuant to the McAteer-Petris

Act.