AB 925 requires every California mobilehome park to adopt and publish an emergency preparedness plan and to maintain an identifiable emergency contact reachable by phone or in person. For parks with 50 or more units the bill requires that the emergency contact (or their designee) live in the park and have access to park-owned entrances, exits, utility systems, and fire hydrants.
The bill ties plan approval to the park’s permit-to-operate: owners must submit plans and specific supporting statements (including private fire hydrant test reports and a gas-system inspection statement) when applying for or renewing permits. Enforcement includes a 60-day correction window, the potential refusal to issue or renew permits, civil penalties, and a post-violation sworn statement requirement.
At a Glance
What It Does
The bill makes emergency preparedness plans mandatory for existing and new mobilehome parks and requires plan submission with permit issuance or renewal. It prescribes specific plan components (SEMS-based procedures, entry/exit inventories, hydrant certification, gas-system inspection) and an identifiable emergency responder reachable by telephone or in person.
Who It Affects
Owners and operators of mobilehome parks in California—especially parks with 50+ units—must produce documentation, conduct hydrant testing and gas inspections, and maintain a designated responder. Local enforcement agencies and emergency responders will review plans and conduct inspections; residents must receive annual notices and access to the plan in other languages.
Why It Matters
AB 925 converts emergency-preparedness from best practice into a condition of a park’s permit, shifting compliance costs onto park owners and creating a clear enforcement lever for local agencies. The combination of on-site staffing expectations and technical inspection requirements tightens operational standards for a housing type often exempt from similar rules.
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What This Bill Actually Does
AB 925 forces mobilehome parks to move from ad hoc readiness to a documented, permit-linked preparedness regime. Every park must have a reachable person—by phone, pager, answering service, or in person—who will reasonably respond to emergencies affecting the park’s operation and maintenance.
In parks of 50 or more units the law raises the bar: the designated person (or a named designee) must live inside the park, be familiar with the park’s emergency plan, and have practical access to park-owned utility systems, hydrants, and ingress/egress points.
The bill requires two linked elements in every plan. First, parks must adopt the emergency procedures compiled under the State’s Standardized Emergency Management System (the 1997 SEMS advisory-board document, or any later version).
Second, the owner must attach a written emergency-preparedness statement to permit applications or renewals that identifies entry and exit points under park control, names the available management agent or designee responsible for keeping those points clear, supplies a Private Fire Hydrant Test and Certification Report confirming hydrants are operable, and includes a professional inspection statement for the park’s gas system confirming shutoff accessibility.Parks must post the plan in a publicly accessible common area and provide every resident with annual notice about how to access the plan and the emergency information it contains; new residents must receive the notice upon approval of tenancy. The notices must explain how to obtain the plan in a language other than English, and the state department must publish the statutory requirements on its website.
Local enforcement agencies will review plans during permit issuance or renewal, respond to complaints with site inspections, and otherwise ascertain compliance as appropriate.The bill treats violations as unreasonable risks to life, health, or safety. Park management has 60 days to correct a violation after notice; failure to do so authorizes the enforcement agency to refuse permit issuance or renewal and to impose penalties.
If penalties issue and the violation remains, the owner must submit a follow-up written statement about entry/exit identification under penalty of perjury before the next permit action. These enforcement hooks make preparedness a continuing permit condition rather than a one-off checklist.
The Five Things You Need to Know
Beginning January 1, 2027, existing parks must adopt a plan before or at the time they submit a permit renewal; parks built after that date must adopt a plan before issuance and renewal of their permit.
Parks with 50 or more units must have a designated responder who resides in the park and has access to park-controlled utility systems, fire hydrants, and entrances/exits.
Plans must adopt the State’s SEMS emergency procedures (1997 version or subsequent) and attach specific documentation: an inventory of park-controlled entry/exit points, a Private Fire Hydrant Test and Certification Report, and a professional gas-system inspection statement.
Owners must post the plan in a public common area and provide annual and move-in notices to residents about plan access and how to obtain it in languages other than English.
Violations create an 'unreasonable risk' triggering a 60-day cure period; if not cured, the enforcement agency can deny or refuse permit renewal, levy penalties, and require a subsequent sworn statement about entry/exit identification.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Emergency contact and on-site residency requirement for larger parks
This section requires every park to maintain an emergency contact reachable by telephone or in person. For parks of 50 or more units the contact (or designee) must live in the park, know the park’s emergency plan, and be able to access park-owned hydrants, entrances, exits, and utility systems. Practically, that forces larger parks to either employ a resident manager or name a resident volunteer/designee with keys and documented access—without requiring technical qualifications to operate infrastructure.
Plan adoption timing and required plan components
Owners of existing parks must adopt a plan at or before permit renewal beginning January 1, 2027; newly constructed parks must adopt a plan before permit issuance and renewal. The plan must incorporate the State’s SEMS emergency procedures and include a written owner/manager statement that attaches an entry/exit inventory, names available agents or designees for keeping points of access unobstructed, provides a Private Fire Hydrant Test and Certification Report, and supplies a professional inspection statement of the park’s gas system. This subsection makes specific technical documents part of the permit record rather than optional readiness materials.
Resident notice and public posting obligations
Park operators must post the emergency plan in a publicly accessible clubhouse or common area and deliver annual notices to residents explaining how to access the plan and obtain it in languages other than English; new residents must receive the same information upon tenancy approval. The bill lists acceptable delivery methods (distribution to each household, posting in common areas, and instructions for requesting a written copy), creating a repeatable compliance pathway for managers and a tangible access right for tenants.
State posting and compliance inspection process
The department must publish the statutory requirements on its website to centralize guidance. Enforcement agencies will determine compliance by reviewing plan submissions during permit processing, conducting site inspections in response to complaints, and taking other measures they deem appropriate. That dual pathway—paper review at permitting and on-site verification—gives local authorities two opportunities to spot and correct gaps between written plans and on-the-ground reality.
Enforcement, cure period, sworn follow-up, and operative date
A violation is classified as an unreasonable risk to life, health, or safety and must be corrected within 60 days of notice. If uncorrected, the enforcement agency may refuse to issue or renew a permit and may levy formal penalties. When penalties have been issued and deficiencies remain, the owner must provide a subsequent written statement (about entry/exit identification) under penalty of perjury prior to permit issuance or renewal. The statute becomes operative on January 1, 2027, making these enforcement consequences part of routine permit oversight after that date.
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Explore Housing in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Mobilehome park residents: gain clearer evacuation procedures, verified access to hydrants and gas shutoffs, and regular notice about emergency plans — improving individual and collective safety during fires, floods, or other emergencies.
- Local emergency responders: receive documented inventories of park-controlled entries and confirmation that private hydrants and gas systems have been tested or inspected, which streamlines response and reduces uncertainty at emergency scenes.
- Public safety and permitting agencies: obtain a consistent, document-based compliance framework to evaluate parks, enabling more uniform enforcement and easier prioritization of inspections and remediation.
Who Bears the Cost
- Park owners and operators: must pay for plan development, SEMS compliance, private fire hydrant testing and certification, professional gas-system inspections, administrative plan submissions, and potentially hire or relocate staff to meet the residency requirement in 50+ unit parks.
- Small or marginal parks near the 50-unit threshold: face disproportionate operational burdens if they must add an on-site resident designee or make infrastructure accessible — potentially threatening financial viability for low-margin operators.
- Local enforcement agencies: must absorb additional workload to review plans during permitting, handle complaint-driven site inspections, and manage enforcement actions and follow-up sworn statements, often with limited staffing or budget.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The bill balances two legitimate goals—improving resident safety through stricter, documentable preparedness standards and preserving fragile mobilehome-park operations—but achieving one increases pressure on the other: stricter, permit-linked requirements protect lives yet impose technical, staffing, and financial burdens that could strain park finances and complicate continued operation.
AB 925 converts a range of preparedness activities into permit conditions, but it leaves several implementation questions open. The statute requires access to 'utility systems' and 'fire hydrants' under park ownership or control without defining acceptable access protocols, lock/key controls, or the frequency and standards for hydrant and gas inspections.
That vagueness will force counties and local enforcement agencies to specify technical standards in guidance or regulation, creating uneven compliance burdens across jurisdictions.
The residency requirement for parks with 50 or more units is practical for accountability but raises legal and market complications: owners may need to reconfigure staffing models, offer housing as compensation, or rely on volunteer residents, which shifts liability and labor considerations. The enforcement mechanism—permit refusal and penalties after a 60-day cure period—could have unintended housing effects if enforcement results in permit refusals that jeopardize park operations.
Finally, the post-violation sworn statement requirement raises legal exposure for owners and managers (perjury risk) while possibly doing little to improve physical readiness if underlying structural issues remain unaddressed.
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