A California law meant to boost affordable housing has set off panic in Bay Area mobile home parks — some of the last truly affordable housing in a region where single-family homes sell for $2 million (1) and the median rent is $3,179 a month (2).
As CBS News reports, Senate Bill 79 may make it easier for landowners who own mobile home parks near commuter rail stations to convert the land into high-rise apartments (3).
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In Sunnyvale, where seven mobile-home parks sit close to Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) light rail stops, residents quickly realized what that could mean.
Landowners could evict residents who own their mobile home but not the land it sits on.
“My reaction? ‘Whoops. Somebody goofed,” mobile home activist Gail Rubino told CBS News.
“It’s already an affordable place to live, so putting something there that replaces that that’s the same kind of housing is kind of goofy.”
For a look at what’s behind the “goofy” law and what California and other states are doing to make housing more truly affordable.
A law threatens existing affordable homes
It all comes down to California’s definition of “affordable housing.” To qualify, the housing must cost no more than 30% of a household’s gross income.
By that measure, mobile homes are clearly affordable housing.
But there’s another requirement.
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To be deemed “affordable” in California, the housing in question must be built with public subsidies (4).
So mobile homes don’t make the cut. Even though they’re truly affordable and new-build “affordable housing” units may actually cost more to buy or rent.
The new law applies to counties with at least 15 passenger rail stations, including San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Alameda.
Rubino lives in El Dorado Mobile Home Park, a few blocks from the Fair Oaks VTA station.
Under Senate Bill 79, she noted, the park could theoretically be redeveloped into a nine-story building — even though hundreds of families already live there in homes they own outright.
"So, that’s, what, four to five thousand people,” she said. “Where are they going to live? It’s really disastrous for that group of people.”
Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens, who represents Sunnyvale, told CBS News that the law’s unintended consequences are already prompting discussions in Sacramento (5).
“Common sense is not always very common,” he said. "And we need to actually focus on new legislation that balances those tenant protections while also trying to build housing.”
Ahrens and others now plan to amend Senate Bill 79 to exempt mobile-home parks entirely, so existing residents are not displaced.
Promising housing initiatives in California
While the California lawmakers may need to tweak Bill 79, other housing policies show promise:
1. ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit) reforms
Fast-track permitting and relaxed zoning rules have led to the construction of tens of thousands of new small homes. According to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), ADUs accounted for nearly one in five (19%) of all new homes in 2022 (6).
2. Converting underused commercial buildings
Adaptive reuse incentives are helping cities like Los Angeles convert older office buildings into apartments. California committed $400 million to office-to-housing conversions (7).
3. Expanding rental assistance
The federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERA) provides funds for rent, utilities and eviction prevention (8).
In Los Angeles County, the Board of Supervisors approved nearly $30 million (9) in emergency rent-relief funding
How other jurisdictions are making housing more affordable
Other jurisdictions have taken more targeted approaches:
- Oregon has eliminated exclusive single-family zoning altogether statewide, triggering a steady rollout of duplexes and small multiplexes since the law was passed in 2019 (10).
- Minnesota has a number of public housing preservation programs to prevent the loss of affordable housing in lower-income communities (11). And St. Paul, Minnesota limits monthly rent increases to no more than 3% in a 12-month period, even if tenants move out.
- Colorado and Maine have both launched statewide zoning reforms to encourage the construction of “middle housing” like triplexes and rowhouses in walkable areas (12).
California’s Senate Bill 79’s collision with mobile-home communities shows the limits of a one-size-fits-all housing policy.
Clearly, solving the affordability crisis requires considering all stakeholders.
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Article sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
Zillow (1, 2); CBS News (3, 5); Housing California (4); California YIMBY (6); Governing (7); U.S. Department of the Treasury (8); Lindsey Hovarth (9). Bipartisan Policy Center (10); Minnesota Housing (11); Otten Johnson (12)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.