(a)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the registered owner of a manufactured home or mobilehome in a mobilehome park, converted or proposed to be converted to a resident-owned subdivision, cooperative, condominium, or nonprofit corporation formed pursuant to Section 11010.8 of the Business and Professions Code, may, if the registered owner is also a participant in the resident ownership, apply for voluntary conversion of the manufactured home or mobilehome to a fixture and improvement to the underlying real property without compliance with subdivision (a) of Section 18551.

(b)  The resident ownership or proposed resident ownership of a mobilehome park converted or proposed to be converted to a resident-owned subdivision, cooperative, condominium, or nonprofit corporation formed pursuant to Section 11010.8 of the Business and Professions Code, shall, on behalf of registered owners of manufactured homes and mobilehomes making application pursuant to subdivision (a), establish with an escrow agent an escrow account. All of the following shall be deposited into the escrow account:

(1)  A copy of the registered owner’s application, on a form, provided by the department, that shall be substantially similar to forms presently used to record the installation of manufactured homes and mobilehomes on foundation systems pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 18551. In addition, by signature of an authorized representative, the form shall contain provisions for certification by the resident ownership of the mobilehome park converted or proposed to be converted to a subdivision, cooperative, or condominium that the applicant is a participant in the resident-ownership.

(2)  The certificate of title, the current registration card, decals, and other indicia of registration of the manufactured home or mobilehome.

(3)  In the absence of a certificate of title for the manufactured home or mobilehome, written evidence from lienholders on record with the department that the lienholders consent to conversion of the manufactured home or mobilehome to a fixture and improvement to the underlying real property upon the discharge of any personal lien, that may be conditioned upon the satisfaction by the registered owner of the obligation secured by the lien.

(4)  A fee payable to the department in the amount of twenty-two dollars ($22), for each transportable section of the manufactured home or mobilehome, that shall be transmitted to the department upon close of escrow with a copy of the form recorded with the county recorder’s office pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (c). Fees received by the department pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the Mobilehome-Manufactured Home Revolving Fund established under subdivision (a) of Section 18016.5 for administration of Part 2 (commencing with Section 18000).

(5)  Escrow instructions describing the terms and conditions of compliance with this section, the requirements of the department, and other applicable terms and conditions.

(c)  If the manufactured home or mobilehome is subject to local property taxation, and subject to registration under Part 2 (commencing with Section 18000), the escrow officer shall forward to the tax collector of the county where the used manufactured home or mobilehome is located, a written demand for a tax clearance certificate if no liability exists, or a conditional tax clearance certificate if a tax liability exists, to be provided on a form prescribed by the Controller. The conditional tax clearance certificate shall state the amount of the tax liability due, if any, and the final date that amount may be paid out of the proceeds of escrow before a further tax liability may be incurred.

(1)  Within five working days of receipt of the written demand for a conditional tax clearance certificate or a tax clearance certificate, the county tax collector shall forward the conditional tax clearance certificate or a tax clearance certificate showing that no tax liability exists to the requesting escrow officer. In the event the tax clearance certificate’s or conditional tax clearance certificate’s final due date expires within 30 days of the date of issuance, an additional conditional tax clearance certificate or a tax clearance certificate shall be completed that has a final due date of at least 30 days beyond the date of issuance.

(2)  If the tax collector to whom the written demand for a tax clearance certificate or a conditional tax clearance certificate was made fails to comply with that demand within 30 days from the date the demand was mailed, the escrow officer may close the escrow and submit a statement of facts certifying that the written demand was made on the tax collector and the tax collector failed to comply with that written demand within 30 days. This statement of facts shall be accepted by the department and all other parties to the conversion in lieu of a conditional tax clearance certificate or a tax clearance certificate, as prescribed by subdivision (a) of Section 18092.7, and the conversion of the manufactured home or mobilehome to a fixture and improvement to the underlying real property may be completed.

(3)  The escrow officer may satisfy the terms of the conditional tax clearance certificate by paying the amount of tax liability shown on the form by the tax collector out of the proceeds of escrow on or before the date indicated on the form and by certifying in the space provided on the form that all terms and conditions of the conditional tax clearance certificate have been complied with.

(d)  (1)  On the same or following day that the escrow required by subdivision (b) is closed, the escrow agent shall record, or cause to be recorded, with the county recorder of the county where the converted manufactured home or mobilehome is situated, the form prescribed by paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) stating that the manufactured home or mobilehome has been converted to a fixture and improvement to the underlying real property pursuant to this section.

(2)  When recorded, the form referred to in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) shall be indexed by the county recorder to the named owner of the converted manufactured home or mobilehome, and shall be deemed to give constructive notice as to its contents to all persons thereafter dealing with the real property.

(e)  The department shall cancel the registration of a manufactured home or mobilehome converted to a fixture and improvement to the underlying real property pursuant to this section. For the purposes of this subdivision, conversion of the manufactured home to a fixture and improvement to the underlying real property shall be deemed to have occurred on the day a form referred to in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) is recorded. Cancellation shall be effective as of that date, and the department shall enter the cancellation on its records upon receipt of a copy of the form recorded pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), the certificate of title, the current registration card, other indicia of registration, and fees prescribed by this section. This subdivision shall not be construed to affect the application of existing laws, or the department’s regulations or procedures with regard to the cancellation of registration, except as to the requirement therefor and the effective date thereof.

(f)  Once the form referred to in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) has been recorded, a manufactured home or mobilehome shall be deemed a fixture and improvement to the underlying real property described with certainty on the form. Physical removal of the manufactured home or mobilehome from the real property where it has become a fixture and improvement pursuant to this section shall thereafter be prohibited without the consent of all persons or entities who, at the time of removal, have title to any estate or interest in the real property where the manufactured home or mobilehome has become a fixture and improvement.

(g)  For the purposes of this section:

(1)  “Physical removal” shall include, without limitation, the manufactured home, mobilehome, or any transportable section thereof, from the real property where it has become a fixture and improvement.

(2)  Consent to removal shall not be required from the owners of rights-of-way or easements or the owners of subsurface rights or interests in or to minerals, including, but not limited to, oil, gas, or other hydrocarbon substances.

(h)  At least 30 days prior to a legal removal of the manufactured home or mobilehome from the real property where it has become a fixture and improvement and transportation away from the real property, the manufactured home or mobilehome owner shall notify the department and the county assessor of the intended removal of the manufactured home or mobilehome. The department shall require written evidence that the necessary consents have been obtained pursuant to this section, and shall require application for either a transportation permit or manufactured home or mobilehome registration, as the department may decide is appropriate to the circumstances. Immediately upon removal, as defined in this section, the manufactured home or mobilehome shall be deemed to have become personal property and subject to all laws governing the same as applicable to a manufactured home or mobilehome.

(i)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any manufactured home or mobilehome not installed on a foundation system pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 18551 or converted to a fixture and improvement to real property as prescribed by this section shall not be deemed a fixture or improvement to the real property. This subdivision shall not be construed to affect the application of sales and use or property taxes.

(j)  Once converted to a fixture and improvement to real property, a manufactured home or mobilehome shall be subject to state-enforced health and safety standards for manufactured homes or mobilehomes enforced pursuant to Section 18020.

(k)  No local agency shall require, as a condition for the approval of the conversion of a rental mobilehome park to a resident-owned park, including, but not limited to, a subdivision, cooperative, condominium, or nonprofit corporation formed pursuant to Section 11010.8 of the Business and Professions Code for manufactured homes or mobilehomes, that any manufactured home or mobilehome located there be converted to a fixture and improvement to the underlying real property.

( l)  The department is authorized to adopt emergency regulations in accordance with Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code in order to implement the purposes of this section.

(Amended by Stats. 1997, Ch. 423, Sec. 5. Effective January 1, 1998.)