SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom announced the signing of Senate Bill 1190 authored by Senator John Laird (D-Santa Cruz), which clarifies that mobilehome homeowners are permitted to install and use solar energy systems.SB 1190 ensures consistency across parks and advances the state’s climate goals, while allowing mobilehome residents to take control of their own energy needs.
“I thank Governor Newsom for signing this important legislation which expands access to solar energy for residents of mobilehome parks and helps our state meet its climate goals,” said Senator Laird.
“SB 1190 provides a clear path for mobilehome owners that are on an individual meter, meet permitting requirements, and meet health and safety standards to install solar on their homes. In doing so, the bill eliminates arbitrary restrictions, granting mobilehome owners the same rights to solar installation provided to other homeowners, and ensures consistency in access across mobilehome parks statewide.”
California is a leader in solar adoption, and continuing to increase solar production is essential to meeting the state’s renewable energy goals. For decades, the state has made it a point to remove barriers limiting the installation and use of solar energy systems. For example, the Solar Rights Act of 1978 has protected a homeowner's right to install solar energy systems for decades by limiting a homeowner association's ability to prohibit installations, with some reasonable restrictions. This same protection does not exist for those living in mobilehome parks, however.
Currently, the Mobilehome Residency Law, which governs the landlord-tenant relationship between park owners and mobilehome owners, is silent on access, installation, or the use of solar energy systems in mobilehome parks. This has caused inconsistent interpretations, and allowed some park owners to block mobilehome residents from installing solar energy systems when those homes are capable of supporting solar infrastructure.
Senate Bill 1190 strikes a balance to ensure that residents have the right to install a solar energy system on their mobilehome, if certain requirements are met including that the park not be on a master meter system, while also adding reasonable restrictions that guarantee the safety of park residents and limit onerous responsibilities placed on park management. Under SB 1190, mobilehome owners will not be arbitrarily restricted from installing solar on their own homes.
Senate Bill 1190 will go into effect January 1, 2025.
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Senator John Laird represents the 17th State Senate District, encompassing the entirety of Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo counties, along with portions of Santa Clara and Monterey counties. With a distinguished career in public service spanning four decades, Senator Laird has served as Secretary of the CA Natural Resources Agency, as an Assemblymember, and proudly holds the distinction of being one of the first openly gay mayors in the United States. More information on Senator Laird can be found here.