"We recently revived it 'cause we're going to try to purchase the park as a community," a former Tahitian Terrace resident told the Los Angeles Daily News in April. She was talking about the residents' association, which had come back to life after the Palisades fire. The park sits above Pacific Coast Highway at Temescal Canyon and had about 150 units before the fire. Its former residents were working with the Golden State Manufactured-Home Owners League and hoped to present a formal offer to the property owner within a month or two.

Six months later, Sacramento has finished with the two bills written for situations like this one, and only the disaster-recovery bill was signed. The bill on buying a park stalled in committee. Once the new law is in force, displaced residents gain a right to information and access, and an owner seeking closure faces a slower path. Their ability to bid on the land still rests on an older rule with a condition that most park communities never meet.

The sale notice that depends on paperwork filed in advance

Under California's Mobilehome Residency Law, an owner planning to sell a park has to give written notice of the intent to sell. The notice goes out 30 days to one year before the owner signs a listing with a broker or makes an offer to sell, and it is mailed or hand-delivered to the president, secretary and treasurer of a resident organization. That is Civil Code §798.80.

The duty applies only if the residents have already done three things. Before any listing or offer, the organization must give management its officers' names and addresses and a written statement that residents are interested in buying the park. It must renew that statement every year. It must report changes in officer contacts within five days. An offer the owner or the owner's agent did not start does not trigger the notice. The statute exempts transfers among family, affiliates and co-owners, along with several other categories. A sale made without the required notice still passes valid title, though the failure may support a civil action.

Tahitian Terrace's former residents are, in effect, rebuilding that paperwork after the fact. The association came back in 2026 so that residents could act together on a purchase. Under existing law, the organization's role in a sale amounts to receiving notice, and only after the registration steps are in place.

The bill that would have given residents a seat at the sale

State Sen. Ben Allen's SB 1092, the Mobilehome Community Stability and Preservation Act, was written to change that. Allen's office described it as a way for residents to make a competitive bid when an owner gets an offer to sell, lease or transfer a park. Residents could designate a qualified nonprofit, housing authority or local government to act for them.

The June 15, 2026 version went well beyond notice:

1. Within 14 days of any sign of intent to sell, management would notify residents, the resident organization and specified public entities. Triggers included a listing, a broker agreement, due diligence, or receiving or conditionally accepting an offer.
2. A resident organization backed by more than half of the park's homeowners would have 120 days to submit a good-faith written offer. Management would have to negotiate in good faith and explain any rejection in writing.
3. If residents matched the price and substantially the same terms as the deal management planned to accept, they would have the right to buy.
4. An organization representing at least 50% of homeowners could assign those rights to a city, housing authority, state agency or qualified entity. A violation could cost $100,000 or 20% of the sale price, whichever was greater.

The Senate passed it 29 to 7 on May 26. The Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee rejected it on June 24, then granted reconsideration and passed it 7 to 5 on July 1. It was re-referred to the Assembly Judiciary Committee. The official bill history records no action after that referral, and the bill never reached the Governor.

What was signed: SB 1093

The companion bill went further. SB 1093, the Post-Disaster Mobilehome Park Community Resident Protections Act of 2026, passed the Assembly 48 to 17 on August 20. The Senate concurred 30 to 10 on August 24. Gov. Newsom signed it on September 29 as Chapter 775, Statutes of 2026. The Governor's office included it in a package of disaster-related bills signed that day.

The law adds a new Civil Code §798.65, which takes effect January 1, 2027 and applies when a disaster leaves at least one resident unable to reach their home.

• Status updates. Management must make a good-faith effort to send written updates to displaced residents every week for the first four weeks, then every month. The monthly updates continue until residents can return or the park gets final approval to close or change use. They must cover debris removal, environmental cleanup, and the steps and timelines for judging whether the park can be rebuilt.
• Access to the site. Starting seven days after evacuation orders are lifted or downgraded to resident-access-only, management cannot stop a resident from reaching their home or space during business hours to collect belongings or inspect damage. Any liability waiver handed out for that access covers only harms from the access itself.
• Local cleanup orders. Local enforcement agencies may require debris removal, soil testing for metals and combustion contaminants, and asbestos work.
• Enforcement. A resident organization or any displaced resident can sue management for willful violations, and so can the Attorney General and local public attorneys. Courts can issue injunctions. Management gets a window to fix a missed update or document after written notice.

The clause that reaches parks already in limbo

The part of SB 1093 that matters most for Tahitian Terrace is the rule on closing a park. Before an owner starts a disaster-related closure or change of use, the owner must reasonably estimate the cost of rebuilding and reopening the park, including infrastructure and financing. The owner must also identify support programs from a list kept by the state Department of Housing and Community Development, then send the documentation to HCD, the local jurisdiction and the residents.

The same duty applies to a closure "initiated before January 1, 2027" if management is still actively pursuing it and has not received final approval. An owner who started that process during the long wait after the fire and is still moving it forward would be covered. Until that documentation exists, HCD cannot issue or amend the park's operating permit. The local jurisdiction cannot approve redevelopment, grading, demolition or construction either. The amended Government Code §65863.7 also requires the decision-maker to review that evaluation before approving a change of use and to weigh residents' costs.

Whether the park reopens is still the owner's decision. Under existing §798.62, if management rebuilds on the same site, it must offer new tenancies on substantially the same terms to previous homeowners, defined as those who held a valid tenancy when the disaster struck. Those terms may be adjusted for rebuild costs. The offer goes by certified mail at least 240 days before reopening, and residents generally have 60 days to accept. Section 798.64 covers return of prepaid rent and discharges rent during a mandatory evacuation. SB 1093 requires the owner to study a rebuild before closing. It does not require a rebuild.

Where Tahitian Terrace stands this fall

According to a letter the owners shared with residents, reported by Spectrum News in April, deciding whether to rebuild or sell "will likely take years, not months." The same letter said the owners were exploring a sale to a "qualified buyer." No completed sale, named buyer or rebuild permit has been publicly reported since then.

The community has kept meeting in the meantime. The Palisadian-Post reported that the Tahitian Terrace Social Club held its fourth gathering for displaced residents on August 30 at Santa Monica Brew Works, with a $1,000 food grant from Department of Angels. The paper said the park's recovery path was still unclear. Down the highway at Palisades Bowl Mobile Estates, former residents formed the nonprofit Palisades Bowl Community Group. They are exploring a collective purchase and arguing that their lot leases may still be in effect. A representative of that group backed SB 1093 in Allen's announcement. He said existing law "outlines what happens if an owner chooses to rebuild" but "is silent when they do not." SB 1093 will cover part of that gap once it takes effect. The question of who owns the land afterward is still unresolved.

Why this reaches past the Palisades

Every land-lease park on this coast has the same basic split. At Paradise Cove and Point Dume Club, buyers purchase the home and rent the ground under it, the structure our earlier space rent comparison covered. Seminole Springs is different because residents own the park itself. In a land-lease park, how much say homeowners have in a sale depends on whether a resident organization has registered its interest under §798.80 and renewed it each year. For a long-time owner thinking about legacy, or a buyer comparing parks, the status of that registration is now as concrete a question as the monthly rent.

A few quick answers

Is SB 1092 law? No. The official history records its July 1, 2026 re-referral to Assembly Judiciary as its last action, and it never reached the Governor.

Does SB 1093 require a destroyed park to reopen? No. Before a disaster-related closure is approved, the owner must evaluate rebuild costs, identify support programs and share that documentation. Return rights under §798.62 apply only if the owner rebuilds.

Does SB 1093 change anything about selling a park? It does not create a purchase right. Sale notice still runs through §798.80 and its registration conditions.

This post is general information about California law, not legal, tax or financial advice. If you own or are buying in a park, confirm your own situation with a qualified attorney or advisor.

If you own a home in a Malibu-area land-lease park and want a clear picture of where it stands, Malibu Mobile Homes can walk you through your park's rent, rules and resale history, discreetly and with the long view. Get Your Home Value.