TAXATION OF MOBILEHOMES
Mobilehomes and manufactured homes are subject to local property taxation under prescribed circumstances.
Under Section 18551 of the Health and Safety Code there are four principal prerequisites for transforming a
mobilehome into real property:
1. obtaining a building permit;
2. attaching the mobilehome to an approved foundation;
3. recording a document reflecting that the mobilehome has been affixed to an approved foundation system;
and
4. obtaining a certificate of occupancy.
A mobilehome installed on a foundation system is deemed a fixture or improvement to the real property.
Section 5802 provides that the base year value of a mobilehome converted from the vehicle license fee to local
property tax shall be its full cash value on the lien date for the fiscal year in which it is first enrolled.
After a mobilehome is attached to a foundation system, the Department of Housing and Community
Development (HCD) must cancel the registration. Title is thereafter recorded with the county recorder and
ownership is transferred accordingly. Removal of the mobilehome from the foundation is prohibited unless the
following conditions are met:
1. all persons having title to any estate or interest in the real property consent to the removal; and
2. 30 days prior to removal, the owner of the mobilehome notifies HCD and the local assessor of its intended
removal.
HCD must be given written evidence of the consent to removal by all persons having title or interest in the real
property. HCD will then require the owner to obtain a transportation permit or mobilehome registration,
whichever it deems appropriate. Once removed from the foundation and the HCD license fee is paid, the
mobilehome is personal property and the assessor will remove it from the real property tax roll.