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Program Description
The Occupational Licensing Program consists of five elements which are licensing, consumer complaint handling, preliminary and continuing education, enforcement, and the Manufactured Home Recovery Fund function. Each of these five elements is explained separately for clarity.
Licensing: As required by the Health and Safety Code, the Department administers examinations for manufactured home/mobilehome or commercial modular dealer or salesperson licenses at each of the Division's nine field offices. The examinations are multiple choice exams covering requirements of the laws or regulations specific to the type of license the applicant is requesting.
Licensing applicants are required to complete and submit departmental application forms specifically designed to obtain information needed in determining the applicant's eligibility. The application must be accompanied by fingerprint cards which are forwarded to the Department of Justice for a criminal background check.
Each applicant for a manufactured home/mobilehome dealer license must also meet Health and Safety Code requirements for minimum experience and/or education.
The Department conducts a review and any necessary investigation of the information provided by the applicant. In the case of a dealer license applicant, a visual inspection of all proposed sales locations is conducted. If all laws and regulations are satisfied, a two-year occupational license is issued to the license applicant.
Preliminary and Continuing Education: Prior to an applicant taking the HCD examination for a manufactured home/mobilehome salesperson or dealer license, or prior to license renewal for a manufactured home/mobilehome dealer or salesperson, the applicant must provide evidence of completion of the required preliminary or continuing education courses. Credits claimed are verified by Occupational Licensing staff to ensure that the required education was obtained by the applicant. The courses are provided by Department-approved course providers and instructors.
Every Preliminary or Continuing Education Course Provider must submit an application to the Department for approval of their courses and qualifications.
Preliminary and Continuing Education courses must include curriculum providing instruction in laws and regulations governing a variety of manufactured housing topics, including warranties, escrow, purchase documents, advertising, misrepresentations, and registration and titling as prescribed in the Department's regulations.
Mobilehome Ombudsman: The Health and Safety Code requires that a Deputy Director be designated as the Mobilehome Ombudsman to act as Department spokesperson and representative for matters involving mobilehome buyers and owners, the Legislature, special groups, the Governor's Office, etc.
The Mobilehome Ombudsman is required to assist in the resolution of manufactured housing problems as specified in the Health and Safety Code, Section 18151.
Each year the Occupational Licensing complaint handling staff answer approximately 10,000 telephone calls and 1,500 written requests for assistance. Four Occupational Licensing technicians answer toll-free telephone calls and assist the public with various problems related to mobilehome living, including questions and concerns regarding:
Mobilehome Park Residency Law, health and safety issues, installation problems and titling and registration related concerns.
Enforcement: Consumer complaints filed against licensees alleging violations are investigated by Occupational Licensing Field Staff. In fiscal year 97/98, over 300 consumer complaints were filed for investigation of HCD licensees. When an investigation of a complaint or business audit reveals violations of state laws or regulations governing manufactured housing sales, the Department issues an order to comply (if the situation can be corrected), or files an accusation against the licensee. The Department's accusations generally ask an Administrative Law Judge to revoke or suspend a license, but often also require licensees to pay restitution to consumers harmed by the licensee's acts and to pay the Department's investigative costs. In more serious cases, the Department requests the local district attorneys to file criminal charges.
Manufactured Home Recovery Fund: The purpose of the Manufactured Home Recovery Fund (MHRF) is to reimburse actual losses up to $75,000 for any person who has sold or purchased a manufactured home/mobilehome for personal or family residential use or investment purposes, and who has suffered a loss due to failure to honor warranties or guarantees, fraud, willful misrepresentation of the kind or quality of the product sold or purchased, or for conversion. The MHRF is intended as a source of last resort recovery for consumers. Therefore, applicants may qualify to file a claim against the MHRF for their actual and direct loss only after obtaining a final court judgment against the violator, or after being harmed by a Department licensed dealer who is, or has been, the subject of a bankruptcy proceeding.
The OL Program administers the MHRF by collecting and depositing fees into the Fund which are charged to manufactured housing dealers and salespersons at the time of licensing. Additional revenue is generated for the Fund through a fee charged for each sale of a manufactured home reported to the Department. When the balance in the MHRF exceeds one million dollars ($1,000,000) on January 1 of any year, the Department may reduce the fee charged for each sale of a manufactured home.
The OL Program provides information and claim applications to the public regarding the MHRF. Each claim is reviewed/investigated by the program staff. Approved claims are forwarded to the Department's Legal Affairs Division for final approval. Approved claims are then submitted to the State Controller's Office for payment.