(a) No city or county, including a charter city, county, or city and county, which has adopted or enacted a local rent control ordinance for mobilehome park spaces, shall adopt or enforce any ordinance, rule, or regulation that prohibits or limits the duration of rental agreements or leases for any space contained within any manufactured housing community, as defined in Section 18801 of the Health and Safety Code, or within any mobilehome park, as defined in Section 18214 of the Health and Safety Code, that is new construction, if the enactment operates to circumvent the provisions of Section 798.7 of the Civil Code.
(b) As used in this section, “new construction” means:
(1) For mobilehome parks, any newly constructed space, pursuant to Section 798.7 of the Civil Code.
(2) For manufactured housing communities, any space initially held out for rent after January 1, 1993.
(c) A mobilehome park that is considered “new construction” pursuant to this section, and that complies with Section 18801 of the Health and Safety Code, may be converted to a manufactured housing community without losing its “new construction” designation.