TAXPAYER GROUPS, SENIOR CITIZENS, HOUSING ADVOCATES AND MOBILEHOME TENANTS ALL URGE A ``YES'' VOTE FOR PROPOSITION 199.PROPOSITION 199 WILL HELP STOP THE DECLINE OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN CALIFORNIA.
Affordable mobilehome housing is rapidly disappearing in California. Over 600 mobilehome parks have closed since 1981. In the last five years, only a handful opened in jurisdictions with rent regulations.
This dramatic decline is the result of local rent regulations that drive up the cost of mobilehome housing while discouraging maintenance and new construction.
UCLA economist Dr. Werner Hirsch, a national expert on mobilehome housing, says local rent regulations artificially increase the re-sale price of mobilehomes by thousands of dollars, making units less affordable.
Contrary to opponents' claims, inflated re-sale prices of mobilehomes, not monthly pad rents, create the biggest obstacle to affordable mobilehome housing.
This is particularly important for seniors, since 80% purchase their mobilehomes outright with no mortgage. They then pay only a pad rent, which averages approximately $300 per month statewide.
PROPOSITION 199 PROTECTS CURRENT TENANTS, IMPROVES ACCESS.
Proposition 199 preserves rent control for current tenants. No one with rent control will lose it. Market prices take effect only when current tenants move out.
The U.S. Census Bureau reports the average age of mobilehome tenants in California is only 46 years old. Many younger families looking to mobilehomes for affordable housing are denied access because of the effects of local rent regulations.
By restoring market forces, Proposition 199 will make purchasing a mobilehome more affordable for seniors, young families and others.
PROPOSITION 199 PROTECTS THE TRULY NEEDY.
Local mobilehome rent regulations apply to all tenants within a jurisdiction, whether they need them or not. Poor and fixed-income persons are denied affordable housing because rent regulations inflate mobilehome re-sale prices.
Proposition 199 requires rent reductions for those truly in need, and requires park owners to privately finance these reductions. There is no cost to taxpayers.
PROPOSITION 199 WILL SAVE SEVERAL MILLION PER YEAR FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
California taxpayers have shelled out tens of millions for attorneys and bureaucrats to administer the hodgepodge of 102 different mobilehome rent regulations throughout California.
And the bill keeps going up, with taxpayers spending several million more each year to administer these regulations--our tax dollars are better spent on police, fire and public services.
Proposition 199 will end this waste.LOCAL MOBILEHOME RENT REGULATION HAS BEEN A FAILURE.
Local mobilehome rent regulation has had precisely the opposite effect its promoters predicted, increasing housing costs, reducing supply, decreasing maintenance and creating a costly new level of government bureaucracy.
PROPOSITION 199 IS A FAIR SOLUTION.
Economists, housing advocates and taxpayers all recognize it's time for a change. But opponents argue for continuation of this failed policy, seeking to protect the $330 million windfall in re-sale value they gained when local regulations were first adopted.
The interests of all Californians for affordable housing and reduced government bureaucracy out-weigh the narrow interests of this small group. VOTE YES ON PROPOSITION 199.
LEWIS K. UHLER
President, The California Tax Limitation Committee
SANDRA L. BUTLER
President, United Seniors Association
VICKIE M. TALLEY
Executive Director, Manufactured Housing
Educational Trust of Orange, Riverside
and San Bernardino Counties