Article 1. General Requirements of California Health And Safety Code >> Division 13. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 7. >> Article 1.

It shall be unlawful for any person to act as a licensee within this state without having first procured a license or temporary permit issued by the department pursuant to this chapter, or when a license or temporary permit has been canceled, suspended, revoked, invalidated, expired, or the terms and conditions of an agreement for a stipulated penalty entered into pursuant to Section 18064.5 have not been fulfilled.

(a) The department shall not issue a manufacturer, distributor, or dealer license to any applicant therefor who does not have an established place of business.
  (b) In the case of a dealer or distributor, the established place of business shall have an office located within the State of California. In the case of a manufacturer, the established place of business shall have a manufacturing area defined by department regulations situated on the same property. When a room or rooms in a hotel, roominghouse, apartment house building, or a part of any single-unit or multiple-unit dwelling house is used as an office or offices of an established place of business, the room or rooms shall be devoted exclusively to, and occupied for, the office or offices of the licensee, shall be located on the ground floor, and shall provide a direct entrance into the room or rooms from the exterior of the building.
  (c) The established place of business shall be open for inspection of the premises, pertinent records, and manufactured homes, mobilehomes, or commercial coaches by any department representative during business hours. If records are kept at a location other than the principal dealer business location, that other location shall be open for inspection of the premises and pertinent records during normal business hours.

(a) (1) If the manufacturer, distributor, or dealer changes the site or location of his or her established place of business, the manufacturer, distributor, or dealer shall immediately, upon making the change, so notify the department. If a manufacturer, distributor, or dealer for any reason whatsoever, ceases to be in possession of an established place of business from and on which he or she conducts the business for which the manufacturer, distributor, or dealer is licensed, he or she shall immediately notify the department and, upon demand by the department, shall deliver to the department the manufacturer's, distributor's, or dealer's license and all relevant records in his or her possession.
  (2) The department may place a manufacturer, distributor, or dealer license on an inactive status upon application of the licensee. An inactive license shall remain valid for six months or for the remaining term of the original license, whichever is less.
  (b) If the dealer changes to, or adds, another franchise for the sale of new manufactured homes, mobilehomes, or commercial coaches, or cancels, or, for any cause whatever, otherwise loses a franchise for the sale of new manufactured homes, mobilehomes, or commercial coaches, he or she shall immediately so notify the department.
  (c) A dealer's established place of business shall have posted in a place conspicuous to the public the license issued by the department to the dealer and to each salesperson employed by the dealer.
  (d) (1) Notwithstanding Section 18050 and this section, a dealer may display manufactured homes, mobilehomes, or commercial coaches at a fair, exposition, or similar exhibit. As used in this section, "mobilehome fair or exposition" means a display of manufactured homes, mobilehomes, or commercial coaches not in a mobilehome park and for which the initial opportunity to display is open to all dealers. The display shall not qualify as a business location or an established place of business for the purposes of procuring or maintaining a dealer's license.
  (2) New manufactured homes or mobilehomes, installed pursuant to Section 18613, may also be displayed and sold within a mobilehome park or mobilehome subdivision by dealers. A display home may be used and equipped only for the sale of the displayed home and shall not be used as an established place of business, unless licensed as an established place of business.
  (3) Dealers and salespersons may negotiate listing agreements for the sale of a used manufactured home or mobilehome which has been titled by the department, and may negotiate and execute offers to purchase and purchase documents for the sale of a new or used manufactured home or mobilehome other than at the established place of business.
  (e) All manufactured homes, mobilehomes, or commercial coaches displayed pursuant to subdivision (d) shall be identified by a sign or device providing information relating to the dealer's name and the location and address of the dealer's established place of business and any other information that is required by the department.
  (f) The requirements for an office specified in subdivision (b) of Section 18045.5 shall not apply to a display location authorized by subdivision (d), unless licensed as an established place of business.

(a) Notwithstanding Section 18045.5, for an office at a dealer's established place of business, the department may issue a temporary permit as provided in Section 18052.
  (b) When a dealer's license applicant has satisfied all other requirements for a dealer's license, as provided in this part and the regulations adopted pursuant thereto, except for the office, and the applicant proposes to purchase a new manufactured home, mobilehome, or commercial coach for use as the required office, the temporary permit shall be canceled automatically if the dealer's license applicant does not purchase a new manufactured home, mobilehome, or commercial coach and establish it as the required office, or otherwise establish a complying office, within 60 days of the temporary permit issuance date.

(a) An "agent" for purposes of this section and Section 18025, means a dealer or salesperson licensed pursuant to this part, or a real estate broker or salesperson licensed pursuant to Division 4 (commencing with Section 10000) of the Business and Professions Code.
  (b) A "seller" for the purposes of this section and Section 18025 means the lawful owner of the manufactured home or mobilehome offering the home for sale. For purposes of this section and Section 18025, the exemptions enumerated by Section 1102.2 of the Civil Code shall be applicable to the transfer of a manufactured home or mobilehome.
  (c) The sale of used manufactured homes or mobilehomes by a real estate broker or salesperson licensed under Division 4 (commencing with Section 10000) of the Business and Professions Code shall be subject to Section 2079 of the Civil Code.
  (d) It is the duty of a dealer or salesperson, licensed under this chapter, to a prospective buyer of a used manufactured home or mobile home, subject to registration pursuant to this part, to conduct a reasonably competent and diligent visual inspection of the home offered for sale and to disclose to that prospective buyer all facts materially affecting the value or desirability of the home that an investigation would reveal, if that dealer or salesperson has a written contract with the seller to find or obtain a buyer or is a dealer or salesperson who acts in cooperation with others to find and obtain a buyer. Where a transfer disclosure statement is required pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 1102 of the Civil Code, a dealer or salesperson shall discharge that duty by completing the agent's portion of the transfer disclosure statement that a seller prepares and delivers to a prospective buyer pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 1102 of the Civil Code. If no transfer disclosure statement is required, but the transaction is not exempt under Section 1102.2 of the Civil Code, a dealer shall discharge that duty by completing and delivering to the prospective buyer an exact reproduction of Sections III, IV, and V of the transfer disclosure statement required pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 1102 of the Civil Code.

The standard of care owed by a dealer to a purchaser under this part is the degree of care that a reasonably prudent dealer would exercise and is measured by the degree of knowledge through education, experience, and examination required to obtain a license under this chapter.