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10000-10004 Process and Procedures: General Information

10000. BACKGROUND
Before July 1, 1980, mobilehomes in California were treated as vehicles, subject to taxation through in-lieu license fees (i.e., charges imposed in place of ad valorem property taxation). The acronym "ILT" is used throughout this chapter to refer to in-lieu taxes.

The Mobilehome Property Tax Law of 1980 provided a system of taxing mobilehomes in a similar manner as conventional homes. Since then, assessments of mobilehomes subject to local property tax have been placed on the secured tax roll and billed in two installments, notwithstanding the fact that mobilehomes are actually personal property whose taxes often are not secured by land. This law was enacted in an attempt to stimulate sales of mobilehomes by treating them, for purposes of financing, zoning and taxation, similar to conventionally constructed single-family housing. The law also enabled local agencies to recover a substantial amount of fees and taxes that were not realized under previous Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) practices.

DMV continued to tax, via ILT, many mobilehomes that were first sold before July 1, 1980. However, mobilehomes that were first sold new on or after July 1, 1980, plus mobilehomes whose license fees had become delinquent by 120 or more days, became subject to the Mobilehome Property Tax Law, administered by county tax officials.

The responsibility for collecting mobilehome license fees was initially vested with DMV. This responsibility was transferred to the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) as of July 1, 1981, (Health & Saf. Code §18075; (Chapter 1149, Statutes of 1980)). Money collected for ILT is distributed to the county in which the mobilehome is located when the fee is paid.

To enforce the collection of taxes due on a mobilehome, the following may be used.

1) At the time of change of ownership of a mobilehome subject to local property tax:

a. A current Tax Clearance Certificate (form SCO 10-01) or a Conditional Tax Clearance Certificate (form SCO 10-02) must be obtained from the tax collector and presented to HCD (Health & Saf. Code §18092.7), and

b. If the mobilehome is subject to ILT, all applicable ILT fees must be paid to HCD. 

2) A mobilehome may be subject to supplemental taxes not yet entered on the roll at the time the Tax Clearance Certificate or Conditional Tax Clearance Certificate is issued. In such an instance, the present property provides security for payment of the supplemental tax, even though title to the mobilehome may be conveyed to a subsequent buyer (M-10040).

3) Unsecured collection methods may be used if either installment is not paid in a timely manner (M-10011).

10001. DEFINITIONS
"Mobilehome" means:

1) A manufactured home," as substituted for "mobilehome" by Chapter 796, Statutes of 1991, effective January 1, 1992;

2) A structure transportable under permit in one or more sections, equipped to contain not more than two dwelling units, designed to be used with or without a foundation system; or,

3) A structure transportable under permit in one or more sections, designed to be used with a foundation system for any of the following purposes:

a. Three or more dwelling units;

b. A dormitory;

c. A residential hotel; or

d. Efficiency units.

"Mobilehome" does not include a recreational vehicle, a commercial modular, or factory-built housing, as defined in Health and Safety Code section 19971 (Health & Saf. Code §§18008, 18211). 

"Dwelling unit" means one or more habitable rooms that are designed to be occupied by one family, with facilities for living, sleeping, cooking, eating, and sanitation (Health & Saf. Code §18003.3).

"Dormitory" means a room or rooms inhabited for the purposes of temporary residence by two or more persons (Health & Saf. Code §18008.7(a)(2)).

"Efficiency units" means units occupied by no more than two persons that have a minimum floor area of 150 square feet and may also have partial kitchen or bathroom facilities (Health & Saf. Code §17958.1).

In the Vehicle Code, a mobilehome is defined as a trailer coach in excess of eight feet wide or forty feet long (Veh. Code §396).

10002. MOBILEHOMES AFFIXED TO LAND
Mobilehomes that have become realty by being affixed to land, either on a permanent foundation system or otherwise as determined by the assessor, are taxed in the same manner as other real property (Rev. & Tax. Code §5801). If the taxes become delinquent, the real property is declared in default and the structure may become subject to the tax collector's power to sell.

The installation of a mobilehome on a foundation system (Health & Saf. Code §18551) requires a building permit from the local planning department, at which time an HCD form 433A (Mobilehome Installation on a Foundation System) is completed and sent to HCD's Division of Codes and Standards, in Sacramento, with appropriate fees.

After a Certificate of Occupancy (which corresponds to the Certificate of Completion used by building inspectors for conventional structures) is recordation, further changes in ownership are handled through locally recorded types of instruments, as with any other real property conveyance.

If the mobilehome is new when it is installed on a foundation system, it is not registered with HCD. Instead, a Certificate of Origin is sent by the dealer to HCD, along with a Report of Sale. After inspecting the installation on an approved foundation, the county building department collects the appropriate state fee, which is sent to HCD's Sacramento headquarters.

When a used mobilehome has been installed on a foundation system, the certificate of title (pink slip) and all other evidence of registration should be obtained by the county building department and returned to HCD for cancellation when a conveyance of title is issued.

Subsequent changes of ownership should be evidenced by recordation with the county recorder, as with any other real estate transaction.

The laws and procedures pertaining to secured roll collections (Chapter 1000) apply to collection enforcement for mobilehomes.

10003. MOBILEHOMES CONSIDERED TO BE PERSONALTY
The taxes on a mobilehome can be made a lien on real property of the owner of the mobilehome, if the mobilehome is situated on such land (Rev. & Tax. Code §2189), or the taxes may be cross-secured to realty owned by the assessee in the same county (Rev. & Tax. Code §2189.3). The tax lien can be enforced against such real estate by the tax collector's power to sell tax-defaulted property.

Any mobilehome not placed on a foundation system or otherwise permanently affixed to land should be treated as "personalty" (personal property) when tax collection is enforced (M-10010, M-10011).

Taxes on mobilehomes, if not secured to realty, are enforceable only against the owner of lien date (January 1) by means of unsecured collection techniques. Regular unsecured methods of collection may be used only after the first installment is delinquent. An outline of these techniques is provided in Chapter 2000 of this manual. The balance of this chapter addresses mobilehome taxation in the context of unsecured property and unsecured tax collection enforcement (Rev. & Tax. Code §5810).

10004. CURRENT TAXABLE STATUS
Unless specifically exempted (M-10060), mobilehomes in California must be taxed either by payment of vehicle in-lieu license fees (ILT) or through the local property tax system.

All mobilehomes sold new on or after July 1, 1980, are subject to local property tax. Mobilehomes sold new prior to July 1, 1980, generally are subject to ILT, but such a mobilehome is subject to local property tax if:

1) It has been transferred from the ILT to local property tax by the Department of Housing and Community Development, at the owner's request (all such transfers are final) (Health & Saf. Code §18119(c));

or 

2) ILT fees expired for 120 or more days and the mobilehome was included on an HCD delinquency listing issued prior to October 1, 1984;

3) It is affixed to land, as discussed in M-10021.

Some units sold new prior to July 1, 1980, are not recorded in either DMV or HCD files because their fees became delinquent before 1979 and they were purged from the computer file. When such units are discovered and enrolled, they are placed on, and must remain on, the local property tax system.