Can a California park bill homeowners separately for utilities?

Yes, under §798.41, management may elect to bill homeowners separately for utilities including gas, electricity, water, cable television, garbage, and sewer. However, if it does so, the base rent must simultaneously be reduced by an amount equal to the average cost of that utility for the space over the prior 12 months.

Must a California park post its utility rate schedule?

Yes. Under §798.40, management must display the utility rate schedule in a conspicuous location or provide access via a website, and must provide a copy free of charge upon request.

How much advance notice must a park give for a planned utility shutoff?

Civil Code §798.42(a) requires management to provide at least 72 hours' advance written notice to affected homeowners before an interruption in utility service exceeding two hours. Emergency interruptions from accidents, acts of nature, or other unforeseeable causes are excluded from this requirement.

What if a homeowner's meter is measuring utility use in the park's common areas?

Section 798.43 requires management to disclose that condition and either enter a written compensation agreement with the homeowner for the cost of the common-area portion or discontinue using that meter for common-area service.

Mobile home utilities in California mobile home parks

California's Mobilehome Residency Law (Civil Code §§798–799.11) includes several provisions governing utility billing and service in mobilehome parks: billing transparency, rate-schedule disclosure, a simultaneous rent-reduction rule when utilities are unbundled, a cap on LPG markups, and an advance-notice requirement for planned outages. This is general information; for a specific billing dispute or service issue, consider consulting a licensed attorney in California.

What the statute says

On billing transparency, §798.40 requires that master-meter and submeter billing separately state the opening and closing meter readings for each homeowner, the rate schedule used, and, if a third-party billing company is used, that company's name, address, and telephone number.

For separately billed water, the statute limits the billing fee to no more than $4.75 (adjusted annually for inflation), prohibits billing for water used in common areas, and allows only volumetric and fixed service charges.

On unbundling utilities from rent, §798.41 states that when management elects to bill a utility separately, "the rent chargeable under the rental agreement... is simultaneously reduced by an amount equal to the fees and charges separately billed," calculated as "the average amount charged to the park management for that utility service for that space during the 12 months immediately preceding notice."

On planned outages, §798.42(a) requires:

The management shall provide all affected homeowners and residents at least 72 hours' written advance notice of an interruption in utility service of more than two hours.

On common-area metering, §798.43 requires management to "disclose to the homeowner any condition by which a gas, water, or electric meter on the homeowner's site measures...service for common area facilities" and to either compensate the homeowner for that cost or stop using that meter for common-area service.

On LPG, §798.44 provides that if the park restricts residents from purchasing LPG elsewhere, management shall "not sell liquefied petroleum gas to mobilehome owners and residents within the park at a cost which exceeds 110 percent of the actual price paid by the management."

How it works in general

The utility provisions of the MRL create a transparency framework. Parks may structure utility service in several ways — including through a master meter, individual submeters, or direct utility service — but in each case, billing must be itemized and metering arrangements must be disclosed. When a park unbundles a utility that was previously included in rent, it must reduce the base rent by a corresponding amount so that the change does not function as a hidden rent increase.

The 72-hour advance-notice rule for planned interruptions gives homeowners time to prepare; emergency interruptions are excluded.

Common scenarios

General examples California park residents commonly encounter:

A utility charge appears on a bill without itemized meter readings or a rate schedule. Section 798.40 requires that information to be separately stated.
A park announces it will begin billing for water separately and does not reduce the lot rent. Section 798.41's simultaneous-reduction requirement is the applicable standard.
A homeowner's monthly electric bill seems unusually high and it turns out the meter also covers a common-area streetlight. Section 798.43 requires disclosure and either compensation or a correction.

Other authorities that may apply

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) regulates utility service to mobilehome parks in some contexts. Local utility providers have their own tariff schedules. Federal law, including HUD manufactured housing regulations, also interacts with utility service standards. The park's rental agreement may contain additional utility terms.