In California, a mobile home park can raise your space rent by any amount unless a local rent stabilization ordinance limits it. State law requires 90 days’ written notice of an increase, but it does not cap the dollar figure. So the answer to how much a mobile home park can raise rent in California depends almost entirely on whether your city or county has adopted a mobile home rent stabilization ordinance, and what that ordinance says.
State Law Sets No Dollar Limit
The Mobilehome Residency Law governs how rent increases must be noticed and how disputes are handled, but it does not regulate the amount. The California Senate’s own FAQ on the MRL puts it plainly: “state law does not regulate the amount of a rent increase in a mobilehome park.”1California State Senate. California Mobilehome Residency Law FAQs
You may have heard about the Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482), which caps annual rent increases for many California renters at 5% plus local inflation or 10%, whichever is lower.2California Legislative Information. California Bill Text – AB 1482 Tenant Protection Act of 2019 That cap does not apply to you. Civil Code Section 1947.12(j) explicitly states AB 1482 “shall not apply to a homeowner of a mobilehome.”3California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1947.12 The reasoning is that you own the home and rent only the space, so the state’s general tenant cap does not reach you.
The practical result: if your park is not covered by a local ordinance, there is no legal ceiling on how much your rent can go up. It could be 3%. It could be 15%. It could be more.
The 90-Day Written Notice Rule
Civil Code Section 798.30 requires park management to give you written notice of any rent increase at least 90 days before it takes effect.4California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 798.30 (2025) It must be in writing and delivered to you. A verbal announcement at a residents’ meeting or a flyer posted on a community board without individual delivery does not count. If management shortcuts the 90 days, the increase is not enforceable until 90 days after proper notice is actually given.
Watch for increases disguised as new fees. Under Civil Code Section 798.32, a charge for a service not already in your rental agreement requires at least 60 days’ written notice and must be itemized separately on your monthly bill.5California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 798.32 (2025) Some parks bundle what is effectively a rent hike into a new “service fee,” which triggers this separate notice requirement rather than the rent-increase rule.
Where the Real Cap Lives: Local Ordinances
Roughly 90 cities and 10 counties in California have adopted rent stabilization ordinances that specifically cover mobile home park spaces.6Association of Bay Area Governments. Mobile Home Rent Stabilization Profile For most residents who have any meaningful protection against large increases, this is where it comes from. The formulas differ, but they tend to fall into a few patterns.
The most common approach ties the allowable annual increase to a percentage of the local Consumer Price Index. Some jurisdictions allow 100% of CPI, others allow 75% or less, and many add a hard ceiling of 3% to 8% no matter what inflation does. Some cities instead require the park owner to justify a proposed increase before a rent review board or hearing officer, which weighs operating costs, capital improvements, and a fair return before deciding what is reasonable. A smaller number of jurisdictions run the process through mediation or arbitration, with an automatic cap kicking in only if the parties cannot agree.
Cities with tighter housing markets tend to have stricter ordinances. Los Angeles, San Jose, and Mountain View all cap increases at or near 100% of CPI with hard percentage ceilings. Smaller communities often use looser formulas. To find out what applies to your park, call your city clerk or local housing authority and ask whether a mobile home rent stabilization ordinance is in effect.
One trap to know about: vacancy decontrol. Many local ordinances let park management set the initial rent for a space without limit when a new tenant moves in, with the cap applying only to future increases from that new base. If you are buying a mobile home in a park, ask whether the space rent has already been reset before you commit.
Long-Term Leases Waive the Local Cap
Civil Code Section 798.17 creates a trade-off that surprises some residents. If you sign a rental agreement longer than 12 months, that lease is exempt from your local rent stabilization ordinance for its entire term.7California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 798.17 (2023) The lease terms override the local cap. That can help you if the lease locks in a below-market rate. It can hurt you if it contains annual escalations steeper than the local ordinance would otherwise permit.
The statute builds in a few safeguards. You get at least 30 days to accept or reject a long-term lease offer, and 72 hours to cancel in writing after signing. If you turn down the long-term lease, you are entitled to a standard lease of 12 months or less at the same rate and terms that would have applied in the first year of the longer agreement. The lease’s first paragraph must warn you, in bold type, that it is exempt from local rent control.
If a long-term lease expires and you do not sign another one longer than 12 months, the last rent charged under that expired lease becomes your base rent under whatever local ordinance applies. Management cannot argue the expiration resets you to an uncontrolled market rate.
What to Do If an Increase Looks Unlawful
If the notice was short, the increase exceeds a local cap, or the timing looks retaliatory, you have several options depending on the problem.
File a Complaint with HCD
Since July 2021, the California Department of Housing and Community Development has run the Mobilehome Residency Law Protection Program. You can submit a complaint about an alleged MRL violation, and HCD will try to help resolve it or coordinate a resolution for the most serious cases. Reach the program at (800) 952-8356 or MRLComplaint@hcd.ca.gov.8California State Senate Select Committee on Manufactured Home Communities. 2024 California Mobilehome Residency Law HCD assists; it does not have the authority a court has to directly enforce civil code provisions against a park owner.
Use the Local Rent Review Process
If your city or county has a rent stabilization ordinance, it almost certainly has an administrative process for challenging an increase that exceeds the cap. That might be a rent review board, a hearing officer, or mandatory mediation. These channels are faster and cheaper than court, and the board can order the park owner to roll back an unlawful increase. Your local housing authority can tell you what process applies.
Go to Court
The MRL itself is enforced through the courts. If informal and administrative routes fail, you can sue. Common grounds include failure to give the required 90-day notice, violations of a local rent stabilization ordinance, retaliatory rent increases, and breaches of the rental agreement.1California State Senate. California Mobilehome Residency Law FAQs A court can order compliance and award damages. Mobile home tenancy law has procedural quirks that catch even experienced landlord-tenant attorneys, so representation is worth the cost.
You Cannot Be Evicted Just for Challenging a Rent Increase
Retaliatory eviction is prohibited under California law, and courts scrutinize the timing of any termination notice that follows a tenant complaint. Nonpayment of rent is grounds for termination under Civil Code Section 798.56, but management must wait at least five days after rent is due before issuing a three-day written notice to pay or vacate, and only then can it begin formal eviction proceedings. Challenging an increase you believe is unlawful is not itself grounds for eviction.