Sonoma Valley has 8 mobilehome parks, 3 in the City of Sonoma and 5 in incorporated county areas. Mobilehome parks house an estimated 2400 people in Sonoma Valley, and make up a significant portion of the affordable housing in the Valley. A great thing about mobile homes is that they are affordable even without government financial support, unlike traditional deed-restricted or voucher affordable homes. Many mobilehome residents are fixed-income seniors, veterans, and low-income families. The lower cost of mobile homes compared to site-built homes creates a unique opportunity for homeownership. However, mobilehome residents are uniquely vulnerable because, while they own their homes, they don’t own the land their home sits on. Many of the affordability and security challenges that mobilehome residents face stem from this separate ownership of the home and land beneath. 

Traditionally, mobilehome parks have been locally owned and managed, but in recent years, large regional and national investment companies have been purchasing mobilehome communities in unprecedented numbers. When private equity firms purchase parks, it is common to see rents spike, and park maintenance decline. When this happens, mobilehome owners are often left with few options. Mobilehomes are not, in fact, designed to be moved once they are installed. Spaces in other mobilehome parks are limited. As a result, mobilehome residents are trapped. 

The City and County of Sonoma enacted much-needed rent stabilization ordinances to protect mobilehome residents from the unpredictability and instability of massive rent increases. But in recent years, there’s an increase in threats from management to close parks entirely as a negotiating tactic to skirt local ordinances intended to preserve mobilehome parks and stabilize rents. 

The City and County of Sonoma both have provisions in their Housing Elements mandating greater protections against closures and conversions of mobilehome parks. Further, in 2023 AB 2782 enabled California cities and counties to adopt more protective policies