18555
. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
registered owner of a manufactured home or mobilehome in a mobilehome
park, converted or proposed to be converted to a resident-owned
subdivision, cooperative, condominium, or nonprofit corporation
formed pursuant to Section 11010.8 of the Business and Professions
Code, may, if the registered owner is also a participant in the
resident ownership, apply for voluntary conversion of the
manufactured home or mobilehome to a fixture and improvement to the
underlying real property without compliance with subdivision (a) of
Section 18551.
(b) The resident ownership or proposed resident ownership of a
mobilehome park converted or proposed to be converted to a
resident-owned subdivision, cooperative, condominium, or nonprofit
corporation formed pursuant to Section 11010.8 of the Business and
Professions Code, shall, on behalf of registered owners of
manufactured homes and mobilehomes making application pursuant to
subdivision (a), establish with an escrow agent an escrow account.
All of the following shall be deposited into the escrow account:
(1) A copy of the registered owner's application, on a form,
provided by the department, that shall be substantially similar to
forms presently used to record the installation of manufactured homes
and mobilehomes on foundation systems pursuant to subdivision (a) of
Section 18551. In addition, by signature of an authorized
representative, the form shall contain provisions for certification
by the resident ownership of the mobilehome park converted or
proposed to be converted to a subdivision, cooperative, or
condominium that the applicant is a participant in the
resident-ownership.
(2) The certificate of title, the current registration card,
decals, and other indicia of registration of the manufactured home or
mobilehome.
(3) In the absence of a certificate of title for the manufactured
home or mobilehome, written evidence from lienholders on record with
the department that the lienholders consent to conversion of the
manufactured home or mobilehome to a fixture and improvement to the
underlying real property upon the discharge of any personal lien,
that may be conditioned upon the satisfaction by the registered owner
of the obligation secured by the lien.
(4) A fee payable to the department in the amount of twenty-two
dollars ($22), for each transportable section of the manufactured
home or mobilehome, that shall be transmitted to the department upon
close of escrow with a copy of the form recorded with the county
recorder's office pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (c). Fees
received by the department pursuant to this section shall be
deposited in the Mobilehome-Manufactured Home Revolving Fund
established under subdivision (a) of Section 18016.5 for
administration of Part 2 (commencing with Section 18000).
(5) Escrow instructions describing the terms and conditions of
compliance with this section, the requirements of the department, and
other applicable terms and conditions.
(c) If the manufactured home or mobilehome is subject to local
property taxation, and subject to registration under Part 2
(commencing with Section 18000), the escrow officer shall forward to
the tax collector of the county where the used manufactured home or
mobilehome is located, a written demand for a tax clearance
certificate if no liability exists, or a conditional tax clearance
certificate if a tax liability exists, to be provided on a form
prescribed by the Controller. The conditional tax clearance
certificate shall state the amount of the tax liability due, if any,
and the final date that amount may be paid out of the proceeds of
escrow before a further tax liability may be incurred.
(1) Within five working days of receipt of the written demand for
a conditional tax clearance certificate or a tax clearance
certificate, the county tax collector shall forward the conditional
tax clearance certificate or a tax clearance certificate showing that
no tax liability exists to the requesting escrow officer. In the
event the tax clearance certificate's or conditional tax clearance
certificate's final due date expires within 30 days of the date of
issuance, an additional conditional tax clearance certificate or a
tax clearance certificate shall be completed that has a final due
date of at least 30 days beyond the date of issuance.
(2) If the tax collector to whom the written demand for a tax
clearance certificate or a conditional tax clearance certificate was
made fails to comply with that demand within 30 days from the date
the demand was mailed, the escrow officer may close the escrow and
submit a statement of facts certifying that the written demand was
made on the tax collector and the tax collector failed to comply with
that written demand within 30 days. This statement of facts shall be
accepted by the department and all other parties to the conversion
in lieu of a conditional tax clearance certificate or a tax clearance
certificate, as prescribed by subdivision (a) of Section 18092.7,
and the conversion of the manufactured home or mobilehome to a
fixture and improvement to the underlying real property may be
completed.
(3) The escrow officer may satisfy the terms of the conditional
tax clearance certificate by paying the amount of tax liability shown
on the form by the tax collector out of the proceeds of escrow on or
before the date indicated on the form and by certifying in the space
provided on the form that all terms and conditions of the
conditional tax clearance certificate have been complied with.
(d) (1) On the same or following day that the escrow required by
subdivision (b) is closed, the escrow agent shall record, or cause to
be recorded, with the county recorder of the county where the
converted manufactured home or mobilehome is situated, the form
prescribed by paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) stating that the
manufactured home or mobilehome has been converted to a fixture and
improvement to the underlying real property pursuant to this section.
(2) When recorded, the form referred to in paragraph (1) of
subdivision (b) shall be indexed by the county recorder to the named
owner of the converted manufactured home or mobilehome, and shall be
deemed to give constructive notice as to its contents to all persons
thereafter dealing with the real property.
(e) The department shall cancel the registration of a manufactured
home or mobilehome converted to a fixture and improvement to the
underlying real property pursuant to this section. For the purposes
of this subdivision, conversion of the manufactured home to a fixture
and improvement to the underlying real property shall be deemed to
have occurred on the day a form referred to in paragraph (1) of
subdivision (b) is recorded. Cancellation shall be effective as of
that date, and the department shall enter the cancellation on its
records upon receipt of a copy of the form recorded pursuant to
paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), the certificate of title, the
current registration card, other indicia of registration, and fees
prescribed by this section. This subdivision shall not be construed
to affect the application of existing laws, or the department's
regulations or procedures with regard to the cancellation of
registration, except as to the requirement therefor and the effective
date thereof.
(f) Once the form referred to in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b)
has been recorded, a manufactured home or mobilehome shall be deemed
a fixture and improvement to the underlying real property described
with certainty on the form. Physical removal of the manufactured home
or mobilehome from the real property where it has become a fixture
and improvement pursuant to this section shall thereafter be
prohibited without the consent of all persons or entities who, at the
time of removal, have title to any estate or interest in the real
property where the manufactured home or mobilehome has become a
fixture and improvement.
(g) For the purposes of this section:
(1) "Physical removal" shall include, without limitation, the
manufactured home, mobilehome, or any transportable section thereof,
from the real property where it has become a fixture and improvement.
(2) Consent to removal shall not be required from the owners of
rights-of-way or easements or the owners of subsurface rights or
interests in or to minerals, including, but not limited to, oil, gas,
or other hydrocarbon substances.
(h) At least 30 days prior to a legal removal of the manufactured
home or mobilehome from the real property where it has become a
fixture and improvement and transportation away from the real
property, the manufactured home or mobilehome owner shall notify the
department and the county assessor of the intended removal of the
manufactured home or mobilehome. The department shall require written
evidence that the necessary consents have been obtained pursuant to
this section, and shall require application for either a
transportation permit or manufactured home or mobilehome
registration, as the department may decide is appropriate to the
circumstances. Immediately upon removal, as defined in this section,
the manufactured home or mobilehome shall be deemed to have become
personal property and subject to all laws governing the same as
applicable to a manufactured home or mobilehome.
(i) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any manufactured
home or mobilehome not installed on a foundation system pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 18551 or converted to a fixture and
improvement to real property as prescribed by this section shall not
be deemed a fixture or improvement to the real property. This
subdivision shall not be construed to affect the application of sales
and use or property taxes.
(j) Once converted to a fixture and improvement to real property,
a manufactured home or mobilehome shall be subject to state-enforced
health and safety standards for manufactured homes or mobilehomes
enforced pursuant to Section 18020.
(k) No local agency shall require, as a condition for the approval
of the conversion of a rental mobilehome park to a resident-owned
park, including, but not limited to, a subdivision, cooperative,
condominium, or nonprofit corporation formed pursuant to Section
11010.8 of the Business and Professions Code for manufactured homes
or mobilehomes, that any manufactured home or mobilehome located
there be converted to a fixture and improvement to the underlying
real property.
( l) The department is authorized to adopt emergency regulations
in accordance with Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of
Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code in order to
implement the purposes of this section.