Your Rights Bytes #7 - Animal Control

Question:  I manage a park where pets and other animals are getting out of control.  Some residents’ dogs are aggressive toward other pets or residents.  Some residents feed feral cats.  And, stray animals are wandering in packs.  How do I solve these problems?

Background:

Both residents and park managers called me complaining about animals in their park.  It seemed that ultimately the problem was not about the animals, but about the residents who fed feral animals or who failed to keep their pets in their own yard.  This problem was so easily enforceable.

Title 25 is clear, however some park managers were too timid (or unwilling) to enforce this state regulation because of the backlash.  But this only caused the law-abiding residents to resent the park manager for not being forceful, and to resent their neighbors for causing a disruption.  The reports were as varied as they were numerous:  Residents routinely feeding feral cats; residents keeping food dishes on their porches which attracted rats, skunks, raccoons and possums at night; unspayed or unneutered dogs roaming in packs; residents who let their dogs defecate on other residents’ spaces; and finally, in some parks of which I was made aware, an infestation of fleas that caused an outbreak of typhoid fever among the parks’ children.

I received a call from a woman who was upset because I told her that Title 25 is not meant to be punitive, but as a guideline for keeping people and other pets safe.  She felt that Title 25 did not apply to her because she felt that the feral cats that she fed were her “pets”.  I got a call from a resident who was mad at the park manager who allowed another resident to walk his aggressive dog through the park without a leash.  In another case, a resident who put out dishes of cat food on her porch did not mind the family of raccoons living under her mobilehome, but her neighbors did mind.  The reports went on and on.

But there was a call I may never forget.  An older resident was heartbroken when the park manager announced that he was enforcing the park’s one-pet rule.  This resident’s three indoor cats had been providing him comfort and calm while he endured chemotherapy treatments.  Now he had the terrible task of parting with two of his cats.

It was my goal that by publishing this FAQ it would help managers and residents realize the common goal of safety and courtesy in their parks.

Answer:  Contact the city or county animal services department for assistance.  Local government services include abatement or information on the following matters:  barking/nuisance dogs, rodents, stray/feral, license/registration/microchip, dog bites, neglect/abuse, spay/neuter, and prohibited aggressive breeds.  Also, according to California Code of Regulations, Title 25 (health and safety requirements for mobilehome parks), Article 2, Section 1114(a), “Dogs and other domestic animals, and cats (domestic or feral) shall not be permitted to roam at-large (free) in any park.”  Finally, pet owners may be liable for danger or harm caused by their pets.

---Stephanie Reid, formerly with the Senate Select Committee on Manufactured Homes and Communities

Your Rights Bytes #6 - Problem Residents

Question:  I am a manager in a mobilehome park where an elderly resident is putting herself in danger. When I call her family, they are unresponsive. What do I do to make sure she and the other residents are safe from harm?

Background:   I had been hearing of this problem for years, but I had never thought to add it to the FAQs, until one day a park manager called me and was looking for help on how to handle an elderly woman who was afraid to stay in her mobilehome.  During the day the woman would walk through the park yelling, and at night the women slept on a bench in the park across the street.  The park manager contacted the family of the woman but no one was willing to come forward to take her to safety, and yet her rent was always paid on time.  The park manager was getting pressure from residents to remove the mentally unstable woman from the park, however, the park manager was not sure how to protect both the residents and the disruptive woman.  I spoke with a staff member at the State Department of Health and Human Services who was an ardent advocate for the safety and respectful care and placement of dependent adults.  Not only did she give me the valuable information which I included in the Answer, but she relayed a heart-wrenching story of her own.  Before she became employed with HHS, she was a mental health advocate at the county level where she met an elderly woman who refused to use the toilet in her home, using wastebaskets instead.  When she interviewed the woman she found out that the woman would not step into the bathroom because she was afraid of the woman in the mirror.  This served as an example of the challenge that mentally unwell persons are suffering through.  When I composed and added this FAQ to the list, it was my hope that managers and residents could work together to use state and local resources to keep their park and their neighbors safe.

Answer:  Contact your county’s Adult Protective Services program. APS is a state-mandated program (Welfare & Institutions Code Sec. 15610.10) that provides evaluation and assistance for seniors (age 65 and older) and dependent adults (age 18-64 and physically or mentally impaired) who are reported to be unable to meet their own needs. APS agencies investigate reports of alleged victims endangered by physical, sexual or financial abuse, isolation, neglect, or self-neglect.

--Stephanie Reid, formerly with Senate Select Committee on Manufactured Home Communities

Your Rights Bytes #5 - Section 8 Vouchers

Question:  Must the park owner accept Section 8 vouchers?

Background:  This question came mainly from residents in Orange County who were quite upset when their park managers informed them that they will not be renewing their Section 8 agreements with HUD.  I called a HUD rep and we spoke at length on how the Section 8 program worked.  Indeed, HUD allows property managers to opt out of participation in this rent subsidy program.  In some slower rental markets, a Section 8 voucher is a guaranteed source of income for property owners who would otherwise have trouble renting out their spaces.  But in areas like Orange County, Section 8 participation was causing landlords to lose money because HUD payments were well below “market”. The other thing I learned was that a resident could use their HUD voucher anywhere in the U.S. where Section 8 was accepted.  This was not a meaningful answer for long-time MHP residents of Orange County, but it did give them an option.  For some residents it was no answer at all.  Residents who had moved from booming L.A. county decades ago to quieter Orange County, never thought they would have to pick up and move when they were in their 80’s.  It was just as disappointing for me that I had no better answer for these people.

Answer:  Section 8 is a federal program (Housing and Urban Development), and federal law does not require landlords to accept Section 8 rent vouchers. Landlords who accept Section 8 enter into agreements or contracts with the county that administers the program and must abide by the Section 8 terms for the period of the agreement, which is normally a set number of years. Because of Section 8 restrictions, some landlords have opted-out of Section 8 at the end of their agreements. The local county housing agency has information regarding availability of rent vouchers.

--Stephanie Reid, formerly with the Senate Select Committee on Manufactured Home Communities