Animals can cause a lot of damage to rental units. Dogs may chew or scratch, especially if their owners leave them alone at home for a long amount of time.
Cats can also scratch and may urinate on furniture or flooring, leaving behind an unpleasant ammonia smell. Rabbits and other small pets often have chewing habits that make them hazardous to property values and odors that make them obnoxious to others nearby.
Many landlords restrict the right of their tenants to keep animals while renting their units. If you operate or own a mobile home park, can you prevent tenants from having animals in their trailers? Or does the law dictate that tenants are allowed to keep whatever pets they wish?
Do you own the buildings or just the land?
Your ability to limit the activities of your tenants depends on what services you provide to them. If you own the land and the individual mobile homes, you have the right to reasonably restrict activities that could damage the value of your property. That could include disallowing the presence of animals in mobile homes you own unless it is a service animal necessary for medical support.
However, if you rent out just the land and not the home, your ability to limit the presence of pets diminishes significantly. California law does not allow you to prevent homeowners in a mobile home park from keeping any pets, with the key word here being “homeowners” as opposed to “renters.” Certain restrictions are possible, but you will need to be careful about remaining in compliance with state law.
The better you understand the laws that apply to mobile home communities, the easier it will be for you to properly manage yours and avoid potential lawsuits from tenants.