Disaster assistance: tenants, mobilehome parks, and mortgages.

Senators Pérez, Allen, and Wahab chart a disaster-focused housing measure that ties protections for mobilehome residents and general tenants to emergency conditions, foregrounding a shift away from market-value payments in disaster closures while expanding oversight and remediation duties. A core change requires an impact report whenever a mobilehome park is closed or its use altered due to a disaster, with the report also incorporating a technical service inspection from the Department of Housing and Community Development that identifies observed conditions within the park. In such disaster-related closures, the owner is not required to pay the in-place market value of displaced mobilehomes.

The bill articulates specific duties for remediation in disaster contexts, imposing on landlords a duty to remove debris and mitigate hazards such as mold, smoke residues, ash, asbestos, and water damage within a reasonable time frame and in accordance with government cleaning protocols. A presumption that debris renders a rental unit untenantable remains in effect until a local public health official determines that debris does not contain toxic substances. Landlords must notify tenants in writing of remediation actions and provide access to environmental studies or reports upon request, while preserving the tenant’s right to return to the unit at the same rental rate once it is safe and practicable, though rebuilding is not mandated.

Additional provisions address rent during evacuation and termination events, stipulating that advance rents covering evacuation periods be treated in specific ways and that rent may be prorated or refunded within defined timeframes after evacuation orders are lifted. When a disaster terminates a tenancy, the landlord must return advance rental payments covering post-termination periods within a set period. The measure also clarifies that eviction or termination dates may be tied to the date of damage or destruction, and it discharges the tenant’s obligation to pay rent during mandatory evacuation periods, with refunds or deductions to be handled as specified.

Beyond housing protections, the measure expands financial oversight and local-regulation safeguards related to disaster response. It directs the state’s financial regulator to coordinate with mortgage lenders and servicers to facilitate forbearance, foreclosure prevention, and loss-mitigation programs for borrowers experiencing income decreases or expense increases due to wildfire emergencies. It also amends procedures for mobilehome park conversions and closures by requiring an impact report that includes a replacement and relocation plan, extending to disaster-related cases the requirement for a technical service inspection and the possibility of imposing reasonable fees to offset local implementation costs. The legislation preserves local authority to impose additional protections and specifies that, if cost mandates are found, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts would proceed under existing state-mandated reimbursement provisions.