Can you remodel a kitchen in a mobile home?

Yes. Much of a kitchen can be redone, and some jobs, like replacing a sink in place or swapping an appliance like for like, need no permit. Moving plumbing, adding circuits, changing gas lines and taking out walls need an HCD permit.

Do I need a permit to replace my kitchen cabinets in a mobile home?

HCD's form does not list cabinets or countertops. It says to contact the area office when a job is not listed. Call HCD at (800) 952-8356 before work starts.

How much does it cost to remodel a kitchen in a mobile home?

No survey publishes a figure for mobile home kitchens. Scope sets the number, and in a mobile home that includes how much of the work needs an HCD permit. The contractor quotes it in writing after the visit.

What do I need before applying for an HCD permit?

The home's decal number and its serial or VIN number. The licensed contractor fills in their license number, class and expiration date on the form.

What happens if work is done without the permit?

State law doubles the application fee, and a second time within five years costs ten times the fee. HCD encourages owners to permit unpermitted electrical, plumbing and gas work before an inspection.

Does a mobile home kitchen need a special contractor license?

The C-47 license covers installing or moving a manufactured home. For the kitchen, HCD's permit form asks for the contractor's license number and class, and we give you that number so you can check it on the state license lookup.

A narrow manufactured home kitchen mid renovation, lower cabinet boxes without doors, a new sink in place and an orange tool bag on the counter

Illustration

Canyon Country / Santa Clarita / California

Mobile Home Kitchen Remodel in Canyon Country

Same kitchen jobs. A different permit office.

A kitchen in a mobile or manufactured home follows different rules from the house across the street. We connect Canyon Country homeowners with a CSLB licensed contractor who comes to your home, works out which parts of the job need a state permit, and quotes the whole thing in writing.

Call (661) 593-5907 Text the details

CSLB licensed contractor
Free home visit
Quoted in writing

The permit comes from the state, not City Hall

Work on a home in a mobile home park goes through the California Department of Housing and Community Development, usually called HCD. The application is HCD form MH 415, and HCD's own inspectors check the electrical, plumbing, gas and structural work. City Hall does not issue it.

That holds for parks inside the City of Santa Clarita and for parks on unincorporated county land. State law makes HCD the enforcing agency for parks, and a city or county can take the job over only by passing an ordinance and getting HCD's approval. HCD's list of local agencies that have done that includes neither the City of Santa Clarita nor Los Angeles County, and the City's own housing page sends park questions to HCD.

A manufactured home on its own lot outside a park is different. There, the City or the County handles permits the way it does for any other house.

Source HCD alteration permits / HCD local enforcement agencies / City of Santa Clarita manufactured home parks

Canyon Country has more of these kitchens than most places

The City's list of mobile home parks names eleven in Canyon Country. Seven sit along Soledad Canyon Road, two on Sand Canyon Road and two on Sierra Highway. County parcel records show a few more park parcels on unincorporated land around Sand Canyon, Vasquez Canyon and Sierra Highway that are not on the City's list.

So if your kitchen is in one of these homes, you are far from the only one, and the contractor should know the HCD route before they quote.

Source City of Santa Clarita park list / LA County Assessor parcel data

Which kitchen jobs need an HCD permit

HCD publishes a form, MH 604, that lists alteration work row by row and says whether each one needs a permit. These are the rows a kitchen remodel usually touches.

Replacing the sink where it is: No permit, as long as the drain, waste and vent piping and the water supply stay as they are.
Moving the sink or adding a dishwasher: Permit and plan review. HCD names both the sink and the dishwasher in this row.
Swapping a built in electric appliance: No permit for a like for like swap. Adding a new built in electric appliance needs a permit and electrical load calculations.
Adding a circuit: A new dedicated circuit needs a permit and load calculations. HCD lists a range as an example.
Outlets and switches: Replacing a receptacle or a switch needs no permit. A breaker swap needs none either if it is the same amperage and type.
Replacing a gas range or cooktop: HCD's form marks this as needing a permit, and its note describes the same size, location and BTU rating with no gas piping changes. Confirm with HCD for your home before work starts.
Any change to a gas line: Permit and plan review, with a material list and gas system calculations.
A range hood: Installing one needs a permit. Replacing one like for like in the same spot does not.
A garbage disposal: Adding one needs a permit. Replacing one does not.
Taking out a wall: A non bearing wall needs a permit and plan review. A bearing or shear wall needs engineered plans as well.
New wall covering inside: Permit, and the material can carry a flame spread rating of no more than 200.
Cabinets and countertops: Not on the form at all. HCD says to contact the nearest area office when a job is not listed, so ask before assuming either way.

An open sink base with a new white trap running into the wall drain, braided supply lines from the shutoff valves, a gray bucket and an orange pipe wrench — Illustration. A sink replaced where it was, on the same drain and supply. HCD's form lists no permit for that.

A paneled manufactured home kitchen with the range removed, a cut in the wall showing a new outlet box and cable, and a range hood in blue film on the counter — Illustration. A new circuit and a new range hood. In a mobile home, both are on HCD's permit list.

Source HCD form MH 604

The paperwork for an HCD permit

Form MH 415 asks for the home's decal number and its serial or VIN number, so find those before anything else. It also carries a declaration from the licensed contractor, with their license number, class and expiration date, or an owner builder declaration if you do the work yourself.

An HCD permit lasts six months. If no work has started, it can be extended once. Once work has begun, it can be extended up to two more times, so the longest it runs is three six month periods within two years of issue. HCD also charges $238 an hour, with a $238 minimum, for a preliminary plan check meeting if you want one.

Skipping the application costs more than filing it. State law doubles the application fee for alteration work done without one, and a second miss within five years costs ten times the fee.

HCD's two area offices, in Sacramento and Riverside, share one number: (800) 952-8356.

Source HCD form MH 415 / HCD fees and permit periods / Health and Safety Code 18029 / HCD form MH 604

Gloved hands pulling electrical cable through a hole in a wall stud beside a new blue outlet box — Illustration. New wiring through an open wall. Adding a circuit in a mobile home needs an HCD permit.

Hands holding a phone with a blurred screen over a plywood counter, with keys and a folded card beside it — Illustration. The MH 415 asks for the contractor's license number, class and expiration date.

Ideas that keep an older mobile home kitchen simple

The form doubles as a planning tool. Work that stays where it is tends to stay off the permit list, and work that moves things tends to land on it. If you want a fresher kitchen without a long permit file, these are the places to look first.

Keep the sink where it is: A new sink and faucet in the same spot, with the same drain and supply, needs no permit.
Swap appliances like for like: A built in electric appliance replaced with a similar one, or a hood replaced in the same place, stays off the list.
Refresh the outlets and switches: New receptacles and switches in the same boxes need no permit.
Choose wall finishes with the rating in mind: Any new interior wall covering needs a permit and a flame spread rating of 200 or less, so check the product before you fall for it.
Ask HCD about cabinets and counters: They are not on the form. One call to the area office settles it for your home.

Three wall panel samples and a stack of shaker cabinet doors on paper floor protection, with a tape measure and an orange pencil — Illustration. Wall finish samples beside new doors. New interior wall covering needs a permit and a flame spread rating of 200 or less.

What a mobile home kitchen remodel costs

No published survey prices kitchens in mobile homes on their own. The figures on what a kitchen remodel costs here cover kitchen remodels in general. In a mobile home the two things that move your number most are how much of the work lands on HCD's list, and whether anything structural or gas related changes. A contractor who has seen the home quotes both in writing.

Questions people ask first

Can you remodel a kitchen in a mobile home?
Yes. Much of a kitchen can be redone, and some jobs, like replacing a sink in place or swapping an appliance like for like, need no permit. Moving plumbing, adding circuits, changing gas lines and taking out walls need an HCD permit.
Who issues the permit for a mobile home in a Canyon Country park?
The state housing department, HCD, on form MH 415. Neither the City of Santa Clarita nor Los Angeles County has taken over park enforcement from the state.
Do I need a permit to replace my kitchen cabinets in a mobile home?
HCD's form does not list cabinets or countertops. It says to contact the area office when a job is not listed. Call HCD at (800) 952-8356 before work starts.
How much does it cost to remodel a kitchen in a mobile home?
No survey publishes a figure for mobile home kitchens. Scope sets the number, and in a mobile home that includes how much of the work needs an HCD permit. The contractor quotes it in writing after the visit.
What do I need before applying for an HCD permit?
The home's decal number and its serial or VIN number. The licensed contractor fills in their license number, class and expiration date on the form.
What happens if work is done without the permit?
State law doubles the application fee, and a second time within five years costs ten times the fee. HCD encourages owners to permit unpermitted electrical, plumbing and gas work before an inspection.
Does a mobile home kitchen need a special contractor license?
The C-47 license covers installing or moving a manufactured home. For the kitchen, HCD's permit form asks for the contractor's license number and class, and we give you that number so you can check it on the state license lookup.

More for your Canyon Country kitchen

Tell us what the kitchen needs

Tell us about the kitchen and we connect you with a licensed contractor who comes to your home and quotes it.

Call (661) 593-5907 Text instead Send a message