(a) A resident may, with the written support of no less than 25% of the total number of residents, petition for review of any notice of rent increase that alone or in combination with any other rent increases imposed in the last twelve months exceeds the sum of the then-current Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index – All Urban Consumers – San Francisco – Oakland – San Jose, plus 6%.
(b) The petition must be filed with the city clerk within thirty days after notice of the rent increase is given by the park owner and must contain sufficient information to allow the city to determine whether the rent increase which is the subject of the petition meets the criteria of this subsection. The petition shall include the following information:
(1) The number of eligible resident households in the park;
(2) The space number and members of each eligible resident household signing the petition;
(3) The signature of one adult member of each eligible resident household signing the petition;
(4) The date of notice and amount of the rent increase that is the subject of the petition;
(5) The amount of the existing rent, the date(s) of any increase imposed during the immediately preceding twelve months and the amount of the rent before those increases were imposed;
(6) A statement describing the efforts of the residents and park owner to resolve the dispute through formal or informal dispute resolution, including but not limited to mediation;
(c) The city shall give notice of the petition by certified mail or personal delivery to the park owner and the petitioning resident within fifteen days of the date it is received. The notice shall state a preliminary determination whether the petition meets the criteria of this subsection. If the preliminary determination is that it does meet the criteria, the notice shall include a list of qualified hearing officers who are available, at the park owner's expense, to conduct a hearing on the matter. The park owner and petitioning resident shall attempt to agree on the selection of a hearing officer, but if they do not or cannot agree within ten days, the hearing officer shall be chosen by the city.
(d) If the city's preliminary determination is that the petition does not meet the criteria of this section or that it is otherwise incomplete, the notice shall state that the petition is being rejected and the reasons for the rejection. In such case, the petitioners may submit a revised petition, which cures the reason for rejection, within ten days of receipt of the rejection notice. The revised petition shall be processed in the same manner as the original.
(e) Upon selection of the hearing officer, the city shall give notice of the hearing date by certified mail or personal delivery to the park owner and the petitioning resident. The hearing date shall be not sooner than thirty and no later than eighty days after the date the petition was received. The notice shall also state that the park owner has thirty days in which to provide justification for the rent increase pursuant to this chapter and notice that the noticed increase cannot be charged, demanded, collected or retained unless and until approved by the city.
(f) In determining whether a rent increase should be granted and if so, the amount of that increase, the hearing officer shall approve such increases as are required to provide a just, reasonable and fair return on investment to the park owner and shall consider all relevant evidence and facts, including but not limited to, the following:
(1) Changes in the CPI since the last rent increase;
(2) Rents in comparable mobilehome parks;
(3) Increases or decreases in the level of services, amenities and maintenance;
(4) Changes in operating and maintenance costs, including utilities not paid by the residents and taxes, since the last rent increase. These costs shall not include interest on mortgage debt or principal payments on mortgage debt;
(5) Costs incurred for capital improvements or unusual repairs not reimbursable by insurance since the last rent increase;
(6) Changes in the park's profits since the last rent increase;
(7) Length of time since the last increase;
(8) Evidence demonstrating that a rent increase is necessary to allow the park to earn a just and reasonable return;
(g) The hearing officer shall render his or her findings and decision in writing within ninety days of the date the petition was received by the city. The decision of the hearing officer shall be final.
(h) This section shall not apply to spaces subject to a lease exempt from local rent regulations pursuant to the Mobile Home Residency Law, California Civil Code Section 798, et seq., shall not apply to spaces first held out for rent after January 1, 1990, or the rent first charged to a purchaser of a mobile home in the park or for a vacant space, provided that a space shall not be deemed vacant when an existing mobile home resident removes his or her mobile home to replace it with a new mobile home.
(i) An eligible resident may refuse to pay any rent in excess of the maximum rent permitted by this section. The fact that such unpaid rent is in excess of the maximum rent permitted by this section shall be a defense in any action brought to recover possession of a mobile home space and for nonpayment of rent or to collect the illegal rent.
(j) Notice of the hearing officer's decision to the park owner and affected resident shall state that the ninety day statute of limitations in Code of Civil Procedure Section 1094.6 is applicable.
(Ord. 4696 § 1(part), 2001)