Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: liability of landscaping and structures

You need to look at your HOA or MHP agreement. Some agreements provide that once a resident or homeowner makes an addition to the exterior of the until, or addition to the landscaping, the MHP will provide maintenance thereafter. It all turns on what the agreement says.

If the agreement is silent, then it is likely that the MHP is not required to do maintenance. In that case you might want to raise the issue at the monthly residents' or homeowners' meeting. The agreement can be amended to add such a provision.

Re: liability of landscaping and structures

It depends upon who put it in. Generally, the homeowner (or his or her predecessor) installs the improvements to a manufactured home space in a land-lease community. Regardless of whether it becomes a fixture to the property or not, the homeowner is still responsible for its maintenance and repair if he or she put it in. Same holds true in many parks where the homeowners pay to put in a concrete driveway where the park had provided an asphalt driveway. Once the homeowner makes that improvement, he or she is responsible. The landlord has only rented the tenant a vacant space with utilities and a driveway. Everything the tenant added to it is the tenant's to deal with. By the way - the homeowner does own the porch regardless of whether it is a fixture to the real estate or not if he or she installed it.

Think of an awning - it is anchored to the ground with augers, posts or concrete. Even though it can be argued that the awning is a fixture because of its permanent attachment to the ground, there is no question that the homeowner, not the landlord, is responsible for its maintenance and upkeep. Same holds true in some cases with the home itself. If it has been installed on a foundation system, or even some ERBS systems, it can be legally said to be a fixture to the real property, however, no homeowner is going to say that they no longer own the home and it is the park owner's responsibility to maintain and repair. It makes no sense that a park owner would allow a homeowner to install a porch or other fixture that would just become an additional maintenance headache for him or her. When the homeowner leaves the space, they generally destroy these improvements, and the park owner cannot stop them unless there is some agreement to the contrary.

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Re: liability of landscaping and structures

You put it there, it's yours to care for, unless the HOA rules say different. Check them.