Q: Do residents have to pay the cable TV service fee even if they don’t use it? Also, can the park prohibit satellite dishes?
A: The park can charge a fee for services actually rendered with a 60-day notice if it is not already provided for in the rental agreement. (Civil Code §§798.31, 798.32) If the resident has signed a long-term lease agreeing to pay the fee, they may be obligated to continue to pay it until the end of the term of the lease. A 1997 California appellate case, Greening v. Johnson, held that cable TV is not an essential utility and a park cannot charge a resident a fee for such a service not actually used by the resident. Moreover, the Telecommunication Act of 1996 provides that community rules and regulations or local ordinances cannot prohibit the installation of a dish antenna on one’s home or property if it is not more than 39 inches in diameter and does not constitute a health and safety problem. Park rules can regulate placement or design of the antenna on the home if reasonable (e.g. rules don’t preclude acceptable reception) but cannot ban satellite dishes outright.
Recap:
- If stipulated in the signed lease or rental agreement, resident must pay the fee.
- If not stipulated in the lease or rental agreement, then the park must provide a 60-day advance written notice of a fee for service actually rendered.
- Cable TV is not an essential utility, therefore the park cannot charge a non-user.
- Satellite dishes are allowable, but with strict guidelines.
Source: California Department of Housing & Community Development (HCD)
