Sacramento – Governor Brown signed Senate Bill 1130 (SB 1130)sponsored by California State Board of Equalization Vice Chair Fiona Ma, CPA and authored by Senator Connie Leyva (D-Chino) to add manufactured homes to the State Property Tax Postponement Program to help seniors and disabled constituents stay in their homes. 

The number of California’s seniors continues to grow rapidly – growing by more than four million people by 2030. According to the Department of Housing and Community Development, California seniors currently have an average personal income of $21,300, which can make it difficult to find or keep affordable housing. California’s Property Tax Postponement Program allows homeowners who are seniors, are blind, or disabled to defer current-year property taxes on their principal residence if they meet certain criteria. However, manufactured homes, a common source of housing for seniors, did not make the cut to be in the program when it was reinstated 2014. That all changed when the Governor signed SB 1130 as part of the package of bills he needed to act before the October 1^st deadline.

“Programs to help keep our most vulnerable constituents in their homes shouldn’t discriminate based on what type of home they can afford. It is critical for California to consider manufactured homes in these property tax programs, especially now while California has faced an onslaught of natural disasters. We are seeing more and more people turning to manufactured homes as the affordable choice in the wake of losing their previous homes to fires, mudslides, and other natural disasters. I am proud to successfully sponsor legislation to give seniors struggling to find or keep affordable housing another option to prevent them from losing their homes due to tax payments that are more than what they can financially handle,” said Vice Chair of the California State Board of Equalization Fiona Ma, CPA.

“I would like to thank Governor Jerry Brown for supporting California’s senior and disabled mobilehome owners who may be at risk of losing their homes. As chair of the Senate Select Committee on Manufactured Home Communities, I also greatly appreciate Board Member Fiona Ma’s strong support of SB 1130 throughout the legislative process and look forward to continue working with her to ensure that residents receive assistance when they need it the most,” said Senator Connie M. Leyva (D-Chino)

The Property Tax Postponement Program, first enacted in 1977, originally provided property tax relief to eligible senior citizens, and was later expanded to include blind and disabled persons. Under the program, eligible Californians submit an application to the State Controller’s Office from October 1^st to February 10^th of each year and will be processed in the order received. Once approved, the State Controller pays the deferred amount to the county and recovers payment by securing a lien on the property, ensuring repayment of deferred property taxes with accrued interest upon sale of the home, when the title changes hands, or when the homeowner has died or moved. The addition of manufactured homes with the successful passage of SB 1130 will become effective July 1, 2019.

More information on the State Controller’s Property Tax Postponement Program can be found on the State Controller’s website. For more information about property taxes for manufactured homes, visit the California State Board of Equalization’s website. For information on the Department of Housing and Community Development Fee and Tax Waiver Mobilehome Registration Program, visit the California Department of Housing and Community Development website.