As you probably know, AB 1035 became a two-year bill in April. We are currently designing our strategy for moving forward.
​We need researcher members on our team. Email adajhand@gmail.com to lend us a hand.
​If you haven't done so already, please sign our electronic letter of support (below.)

4/18/23
Urgent - AB 1035 Update 
Housing Committee Chairwoman, Wicks delivers a devastating blow to mobile homeowners on California!

​AB 1035, the Mobile Home Affordability Act, a bill that would limit rent increases for mobile homeowners was on the April 19 schedule of the Assembly Housing Committee for a vote, but last Friday the Committee Chairperson, Buffy Wicks, pulled it off the day's schedule - A DEVESTATING BLOW. Ms. Wicks claims that a lawsuit by the owner of Anaheim Mobile Home Estates and its challenges to a previous law (AB 978) enacted in 2021 (specifically for La Paz Mobile Home Park (LPMHP)) interfere with the potential passage of AB 1035.
 
Assemblymember Wicks is aiming to force the AB 1035 bill sponsor, Al Muratsuchi, to amend AB 1035 into a two-year bill, thus postponing any action to the next legislative cycle that starts in January 2024.
 
It is imperative that every mobile homeowner phone and email to advise Ms. Wicks that we are desperate. We can’t hold out till 2024. Many of us are paying 50-90% of our income on housing costs. A two-year bill will result in park owners skyrocketing rents even further. We need action and protection now!
 
We need you, your family members, and friends to call and email her office now!

Email script (Email: Chief of Staff Shannon McKinley shannon.mckinley@asm.ca.gov)
 
Dear Assemblymember Wicks,
 
I’m a member of the Mobile Home Resident Coalition in Southern California, working in partnership with MH Action & GSMOL, striving for affordable rents for mobile homeowners. It is extremely URGENT that you, Assemblymember Wicks, place AB1035 on the agenda of the Housing Committee’s legislative hearing. AB1035 needs to be heard and voted on.
 
I understand that you are recommending that AB1035 be a 2-year bill, but thousands of mobile home residents in California cannot wait two years. If this bill is not passed this year, countless mobile homeowners—many of whom are seniors, veterans, and low-income families—will become victims of the already life-threatening housing crisis in this state.
 
Assemblymember Wicks, you must understand the importance of this bill being heard in committee and passed this year.
 
Sincerely,
[___________ ]
  
Phone script (Call Wicks’ office at 916-319-2014)
 
Hi, my name is [ _________ ]. I’m a member of the Mobile Home Resident Coalition in Southern California, working in partnership with MH Action & GSMOL. It is URGENT that Assemblymember Wicks put AB1035 on the agenda of the Housing Committee legislative hearing on April 26. If this bill is not heard in committee this year, predatory park owners will continue to raise rents with impunity and thousands of mobile home owners will face impossible rent increases, forcing them closer to, or directly into, homelessness. Do the right thing, help us.

AB-1035

This is why we can't stop fighting!

AB (Assembly Bill) 1035, a proposal for Rent Stabilization for Mobile Home Parks, was introduced in Sacramento on February 16, 2023.  The author of the bill, Al Muratsuchi, is the Assembly person representing South Bay, CA. 

There is so much to be optimistic about in this bill. The RSO proposes rent increases of no more than 3% plus the percentage change in cost of living, or 5% whichever is lower, of the lowest gross rental rate charged for a tenancy at any time during the 12 months prior to the effective date of the increase, subject to specified conditions. Essentially this means the annual increase in rents would be limited to 3% plus the percentage change in CPI or 5%, whichever is lower.

If all this legalese makes your head spin, know that this bill has been created by lawyers and other experts to improve rent stabilization ordinances across the state. Please click this link, the gateway to the full document and our letter of support to legislators.

This is a promising step toward safety and financial security for manufactured HomeOWNERS. Its success depends on us and our efforts.  WE have to call and write and even appear in person in Sacramento to support our struggle. This is our opportunity to achieve financial stability, and it is the most encouraging news in years for MH owners.

We CA resident leaders need protection against predatory owners!
Write your letter in support of AB 1035 or sign our letter today to let members of the CA Housing and Community Development Committee know we need a statewide rent cap to ensure all manufactured housing residents have a safe, affordable place to call home!
_____
¡Nosotros, los residentes líderes de CA, necesitamos protección contra los propietarios predatorios!
¡Escriba su carta en apoyo de AB 1035 o firme nuestra carta hoy para que los miembros del Comité de Vivienda y Desarrollo Comunitario de CA sepan que necesitamos un límite de incremento del alquiler en todo el estado para garantizar que todos los residentes de viviendas prefabricadas tengan un lugar seguro y asequible al que llamar hogar!
_____
Chúng tôi, những người lãnh đạo cư dân CA cần được bảo vệ trước những chủ sở hữu săn mồi!

Hãy viết thư ủng hộ AB 1035 hoặc ký tên vào thư của chúng tôi ngay hôm nay để cho các thành viên của Ủy ban Phát triển Cộng đồng và Nhà ở CA biết rằng chúng tôi cần giới hạn tiền thuê trên toàn tiểu bang để đảm bảo tất cả cư dân sống trong các khu nhà tiền chế đều có một nơi an toàn, giá cả phải chăng để gọi là nhà! Bình luận kết thúc.

View the bill's draft
​and sign our letter of support!

CA Legislative Plea - Support AB-1035
CA Súplica Legislativa - Apoyo AB-1035
CA Lời Bào Chữa Hợp Pháp - Ủng Hộ AB-1035

English      Spanish     Vietnamese

Who is Buffy Wicks

Steve Early
https://solidarity-us.org/flush-with-cash-will-buffy-the-bernie-slayer-win-in-pro-sanders-district/

Steve Early opinion Berkeleyside
https://www.berkeleyside.org/2018/08/14/opinion-buffy-wicks-choice-of-campaign-consultant-is-a-not-a-good-sign

Steve Early
https://portside.org/2018-10-06/they-count-you-not-knowing

Lee Fang & Leighton Akio Woodhouse
https://theintercept.com/2018/10/30/buffy-wicks-jovanka-beckles-billionaire-backed-democrat-facing-off-against-democratic-socialist-in-berkeley/

Reveals big business billionaire (incl Republican) donors
Another article by Steve Early
https://portside.org/2018-10-06/they-count-you-not-knowing

"On Monday, Sept. 17, a group of DSA volunteers unveiled buffywicks.money, a whistle-blowing website designed, in part, to debunk Wicks’ repeated claim that she doesn’t take 'corporate money.'"

Steve Early 2018-12-08
https://therealnews.com/big-money-in-politics-are-leading-democrats-really-on-the-wagon-or-still-sneaking-a-drink

Legislative tracker on Buffy Wicks
https://calmatters.org/legislator-tracker/buffy-wicks-1977/#cm-ld-profile__ratings

​Campaign contributions
Assemblymember Buffy Wicks has taken at least $78,050 from the Finance, Insurance & Real Estate sector since she was elected to the legislature. That represents 14% of her total campaign contributions.​

SOS
TIME FOR ACTION!

AB1035, the Mobilehome Parks: Rent Caps bill, proposed by Assemblyman Muratsuchi, is currently being reviewed by the Housing Committee. In a recent meeting with the assemblyman’s staff, representatives from the Coalition, led by our MH Action director, Vy Tran, received some encouraging news. If enough support for the bill occurs when it is presented to the Housing Committee, because there are no fiscal elements, it can pass immediately to the Assembly floor for a vote. Then it can be sent to the Senate committee and, hopefully, proceed quickly to the floor of the Senate for a vote, and then to the Governor for his signature. This bill is unique to mobile home communities and proposes a rent cap of 5%. We cannot guarantee an outcome, but it is clearly worth fighting for. Since it builds on previously-passed legislation signed by the Governor, GSMOL believes it has a higher likelihood of passing.
MHRC members have enthusiastically answered the call for support by signing letters, both hard copies and digitally, and lobbying state legislators to co-sponsor and support the bill as well. Over 200 letters were mailed to each of seven legislators and another 400 have been sent digitally. But we can’t stop. We need to continue our campaign. We need to reach out to family and friends, as well as mobile home neighbors to encourage them to sign letters, and we all need to increase our lobbying efforts by following up letters with phone calls. And we need to keep it up. 

Below you will find a script to assist you in making your calls along with a list of legislators and their phone numbers. Please try to call each member and encourage family and friends to do so as well.

Language for phone calls – what you should say
provide your name, MHP name, and city.
Our rent has skyrocketed 10-20% in recent years. Some spend up to 80% of our income on mortgages, lot rent, insurance, taxes, and upkeep but we don’t have any protections from egregious increases in rents. We have tried but cannot convince local elected officials to help us – some of whom receive large political contributions from these MH park owners. The CA Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482) of 2019 allowed rent stabilization but residents of manufactured housing communities (MHC) were not included.
We seniors, veterans, people with disabilities, minorities, and low-income families are being forced out of our homes. But where can we go when government assistance programs are not enough?
Across the state, MHC residents are working tirelessly to convince elected officials to help us with a statewide rent cap. A cap on rent increases will enable us to budget, knowing there will be a certain percentage increase in our rent. Our  manufactured  home values would increase. Park owners would still make a consistent profit for very little risk.
Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi introduced AB 1035 to establish a statewide rent cap for MHCs. Its passage will bring relief to the many California seniors, veterans, low-income families, and others who could be one more rent increase away from homelessness. I urge [LEGISLATOR NAME] to support AB1035 and protect manufactured homeowner residents in California.
Joe Patterson (Vice Chair) (R) 916-774-4430
   Jesse Gabriel  (D) 818-346-4521
Christopher Ward  (D)   619-645-3090
         Kate A. Sanchez (R) 951-894-1232