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Rising Lot Rents in Mobile-Home Parks

Large investors’ purchases of mobile-home parks can leave residents vulnerable to rising lot rents. More than 22 million Americans live in mobile-home parks, and many own their homes but not the land beneath them.

Leaving can be difficult: moving a home may cost thousands of dollars, and older homes may be hard to place elsewhere. These costs can limit residents’ ability to move when rents rise.

Examples of Rising Costs and Disputes

The video cites examples from an Associated Press report:

• In Great Falls, Montana, Cindy Newman’s lot rent rose from $117 to nearly $400 a month in under two years.
• In Iowa, rents and fees at one park reportedly increased by 87% over three years.
• Near Buffalo, New York, residents—many of them older or disabled—reported rising rents as well as problems with brown drinking water and poor roads. After about half withheld rent in protest, the new owner reportedly issued around 30 eviction notices.

Iowa Assistant Attorney General Benjamin Bellow characterized the situation as one that traps residents.

Responses

Investors argue that they charge market rates, and some say they limit the pace of rent increases. Some states have passed laws requiring notice of land-lease increases.

Residents in nearly 3,000 parks across 20 states have collectively bought their parks to retain control of the land.

People Featured

• Presenter: Mike, creator of Every Level Guy
• People featured in the examples: Cindy Newman and Benjamin Bellow