Below are reports – breaking news as it breaks – but posted as we become aware of it. Not necessarily ordered by report date. And not necessarily followed. Just breaking news reports when we get them.
Thank you to all the contributors that sent these news items!
Table of Contents
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Months by Publish Date
January 2024
Why We Will Never Give Up on Rent Control
Since any meaningful protection for renters is guaranteed to die in Sacramento, we have no choice but to go back to the voters as many times as is necessary to get rent control.
LA Progressive
Jan. 4, 2024
Meeting planned for mobile home residents in Trinidad
Following successful efforts to get a mobile home rent control ordinance passed in Arcata in 2017, an advocate for mobile home owners is organizing a meeting to kick the idea around for the city of Trinidad.
Times-Standard
Jan. 1, 2024
Unlock Wealth Opportunities With These 5 Mobile Home Park Investment Secrets
As an investor looking to unlock money-making opportunities, a mobile home park could be your next hidden gem. No matter your level of involvement, you don’t want to miss out on a reliable way to build wealth. Below, we’ll examine five secrets of mobile home park investing and how you can benefit from them.
barchart
Jan. 4, 2024
Meet the new generation of manufactured houses
NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly talks with Adele Peters of Fast Company about communities are embracing manufactured homes, which offer a potential solution to affordable housing.
npr.org
Jan 10, 2024
Gates of Spain mobile home park won’t be changing to all-ages
However, early in public comments the Gates of Spain Park Manager announced that the owners will no longer seek a change to the community:
Z1077FM.com
Jan. 10, 2024
Mobile home owners rally against landlords’ soaring rent demands
Mobile homes, although often affordable, come with a vulnerability that some landlords are using to test the strength of Bay Area rent-control laws. John Ramos reports. (1-14-24)
CBS News
Jan. 14, 2024
How mobile home co-ops provide housing security — and climate resilience
The latest move by these profiteers is their meanest yet, targeting families with the most tenuous hold on affordable shelter: people living in mobile home parks. Some 20 million Americans — especially vulnerable senior citizens, veterans, the disabled and immigrant workers — make their homes in these inexpensive parks.
Sacramento News and Review
Jan. 16, 2024
Concord Set to Discuss Rent Stabilization and Just Cause Evictions
As part of the City’s recent Housing Element update, which was approved by the State, the City Council committed to adopting rent stabilization and just cause for eviction policies to address tenant displacement.
Contra Costa News
Jan. 18, 2024
“How to Empty a Senior Park” – John Saunders’ latest assault on Rancho La Paz.
So for the last three years since AB 978 passed, Saunders has passive-aggressively run the place like an absentee slumlord. Letting the roads devolve into potholes. Not replacing burned out lights, as outside criminals discover this treasure trove. Replacing security with a half-assed firm that drives through ONCE A NIGHT, at the exact same time, a time that the local looters have memorized. More that we may mention later.
Orange Juice Blog
Jan 18, 2024
Pleasant Valley Mobile Estates residents demand rent stabilization after repeated hikes
CHICO, Calif. — Residents of Pleasant Valley Mobile Estates in Chico continue to push back against back-to-back rent increases.
Neighbors gathered at Tuesday night’s Chico City Council meeting to voice support for a rent stabilization ordinance for senior living mobile home parks.
KRCRTV
Jan. 17, 2024
Lemon Grove directs staff to move forward with rent control plan for mobile home parks
In an effort to address the rising cost of living for residents, Lemon Grove is looking into options for implementing a rent stabilization initiative for mobile home parks.
The initiative, brought before the City Council by Councilmember Alysson Snow and Vice Mayor Jennifer Mendoza on Tuesday, will include an emergency declaration that limits lot rents at mobile home parks to 5 percent. That way, Snow said, landlords could still raise their rent prices as needed, while protecting vulnerable residents who might lose their homes with steeper increases.
The San Diego Union-Tribune
Jan. 30, 2024
Trailer park owners file for restraining order against City of Defiance | Call 11 for Action
DEFIANCE, Ohio — Call 11 for Action has learned that the owners of a trailer park filed for a restraining order against the city of Defiance on Friday morning.
Neighbors gathered at Tuesday night’s Chico City Council meeting to voice support for a rent stabilization ordinance for senior living mobile home parks.
WTOL11
Jan. 19, 2024
WASHINGTON, January 18, 2024–(BUSINESS WIRE)–As communities across the nation continue to face real housing affordability challenges, too many lawmakers are considering policies to regulate rents instead of those that will increase the supply of housing and, therefore, enhance equity and lower housing costs for residents.
The San Diego Union-Tribune
Jan. 18, 2024
Five Barriers to Greater Use of Manufactured Housing for Entry-Level Homeownership
Funds will support manufactured housing communities through repairs, infrastructure upgrades, homeowner assistance and creation of new homes.
Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies
Jan. 23, 2024
Tax rebates for landlords keeping rent affordable? One proposal to stem the housing crisis.
PROVIDENCE − A state legislator is workshopping a pilot program to offer small-scale landlords tax rebates in exchange for charging below-market rent to people making up to 80% of the area’s median income.
The Providence Journal
Jan. 19, 2024
US federal appeals court rules against trailer park immigration policy in Fair Housing Act case
The issue involved Waples Mobile Home Park, which had required all adult tenants to provide proof of their legal status in the US in order to renew their leases.
Jurist News
Jan. 24, 2024
Owners of Youngstown Mobile Home Park hit Petaluma with 2nd lawsuit
The new suit claims Petaluma’s rules passed to protect seniors violate federal housing laws.
Petaluma Argus-Courier
Jan. 23, 2024
Storm updates: Flooding in Guerneville prompts evacuations, leaves big mess
Flood water rushed in overnight to a Guerneville neighborhood, the water rising fast inside the Sycamore Court mobile home park, resident Al Mathers couldn’t believe it.
“I just talked to the police, they’ve been sitting on the corner and he said, in less than 20 minutes it flooded,” said Mathers.
ABC 7 News
Jan. 22, 2024
Rent Control Wars in Isla Vista
As it’s currently modernizing its eviction protections, the City of Santa Barbara is following several other Central Coast cities in considering rent control
Santa Barbara Independent
Jan. 22, 2024
Mobile home residents are seizing the opportunity to buy their parks
Mobile home parks are coming up for sale and there are signs that a new law giving residents a chance to buy them is working.
Since mid-July, 11 properties have gone on the market in Washington and residents of seven are using tools from the three-month-old law to pursue ownership, the state House Housing Committee heard Thursday.
The Jolt News
Jan. 29, 2024
Mobile home park owners blast ‘implausible’ rent price-fixing class action
Jan 30 (Reuters) – Some of the country’s largest owners or operators of mobile home communities have asked a U.S. federal judge to throw out a proposed class action from residents who accuse them of conspiring to charge artificially higher rents.
Reuters
Jan. 30, 2024
How mobile home co-ops provide housing security—and climate resilience
This model of collective ownership, also called resident-owned cooperatives or ROCs, is on the rise. The number of mobile homes attached to a resident-owned cooperative grew from just over 200 in 2000 to more than 15,000 in 2019, according to a 2022 study from researchers at Berkeley, Cornell, and MIT.
Daily Kos
Jan. 28, 2024
Rent control measures face opposition from CAA in five California cities
The California Apartment Association is opposing efforts to introduce rent control measures in four Bay Area cities and one Central Valley city.
CAAnet.org
Jan. 29, 2024
Corporate landlords’ misinformation campaign to stop rent control
OPINION – With the 2024 election just 10 months away, Californians are being flooded with misinformation about the Justice for Renters Act, a much-needed statewide ballot measure that expands rent control. To confuse and scare voters, corporate landlords and the California Apartment Association (CAA) are spreading lies to kill the initiative.
Capital Weekly
Jan. 29, 2024
February 2024
Court Stops Mobile Home Park Owner From Closing or Evicting Fresno Tenants
A Fresno judge on Wednesday told mobile home park owner Harmony Communities that it can’t close La Hacienda Mobile Estates until a final ruling is issued. The judge also put a stop to multiple ongoing evictions at the park.
In September 2023, a coalition of tenants at the mobile home park sued Stockton-based Harmony for what they say are multiple unlawful evictions, a predatory business model, and a planned closure of the park.
GVWire
Feb. 1, 2024
Climate change impact on US rental properties (search)
Key Impacts of Climate Change on US Rental Properties
Veer One
Date: N/A
Concord council approves rent stabilization with annual increase caps, rules for evictions
After seven years of discussions — and to cheers in the council chamber — the Concord City Council passed a rent stabilization ordinance Tuesday night, joining other Contra Costa County cities like Richmond and Antioch in controlling how much landlords can raise rents annually.
Local News Matters, Bay Area
Feb. 16, 2024
US Supreme Court won’t hear challenge to rent stabilization laws
The justices declined to hear appeals by property owners and industry groups of lower court rulings that found the price and eviction controls did not violate what is known as the “takings clause” of the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment, which bars the government from taking property without compensating owners.
Reuters
Feb. 20, 2024
Investors See ‘Huge Opportunity’ To Cash In On Stigma-Prone Manufactured Housing Sector
One of the most stigmatized segments of commercial real estate is attracting a new caliber of investors as America’s affordability crisis deepens.
The Daily Journal
Feb. 12, 2024
Mobile home rent control ordinance flounders in Lemon Grove as city seeks compromise with park owner
An emergency measure to temporarily cap rent increases at 5 percent stalls after public hearing during City Council meeting Tuesday night
The San Diego Union-Tribune
Feb. 8, 2024
How Resident-Owned Communities Can Create Mass Affordable Homeownership
Creating and preserving quality affordable housing is notoriously difficult, with the number of available units declining each year as landlords raise rents ever higher. An underappreciated tool for closing this gap—potentially benefitting millions of US households—involves resident-owned manufactured housing communities.
Nonprofit Quarterly (NPQ)
Feb. 7, 2024
Unusual setback for Delano rent control battle: Petition signatures stolen from office
The battle over rent control in Delano continues but is now facing a strange set back. The office where organizers gather was broken into Tuesday.
YouTube, Eyewitness News Fox 58
Feb. 29, 2024
Unusual setback for Delano rent control battle: Petition signatures stolen from office
They say the only item that was stolen was part of their rent control petition, which has 22 signatures. These signatures were made in support of getting a rent control ordinance on the November ballot.
Bakersfield Now
Feb. 29, 2024
March 2024
To Fight Rising Rents, These Fresno County Residents Bought Their Mobile Home Park
After years of fighting rising rents, a group of mostly Oaxacan farmworkers in Fresno County have done the seemingly impossible: purchased their mobile home park from its corporate landlord.
KQED, npr, PBS
March 1, 2024
After a tumultuous public comment period Tuesday, the Chico City Council revisited mobile home park rents.
Enterprise-Record, chicoer.com
March 19, 2024
Chico City Council to discuss rent regulations on mobile home parks
After years of fighting rising rents, a group of mostly Oaxacan farmworkers in Fresno County have done the seemingly impossible: purchased their mobile home park from its corporate landlord.
Action News Now
March 19, 2024
Arbitration leads to $118 rent increase for Youngstown mobile home residents in Petaluma
The residents of Youngstown, a seniors-only mobile home park, had been facing $900-plus rent hikes.
Petaluma Argus-Courier
March 25, 2024
Displacement, Gentrification, and an Age-Old Story of Greedy Landlords in San Francisco
Two years ago, my friend Cleve Jones posted a message on his Facebook page that he was being evicted from his rent-controlled apartment of then-ten-years. He wrote the following: The new owner wants to raise the rent from $2393 to $5200, which is impossible.
Underscore SF
March 5, 2024
Oasis Mobile Home Park residents reach settlement in lawsuit over issues with water and habitability
Oasis Mobile Home Park has been a fixture of controversy for years, most recently due to high levels of arsenic in drinking water, resulting in three emergency administrative orders issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency between 2019 and 2021, barring use of the underground reservoir there.
News Channel 3
March 6, 2024
What’s It Really Like To Live in a Mobile Home? 7 Key Takeaways From the Experts
Mobile homes are no longer just the go-to preference of thrifty retirees. Many people from across the age and life-experience spectrum are looking to mobile homes as a new mode of affordable homeownership
realtor.com
March 4, 2024
Vacaville mobile home park had no gas service for days. What happened and how residents coped
‘I’ve gone to an alternate route as far as warming up water in the microwave or in a crockpot to shower, bathe,’ resident Daniel Orta said.
KRCAA3
March 12, 2024
City of Concord suspends rent stabilization ordinance recently passed by council
(BCN) — After passing a much-anticipated rent stabilization ordinance last month which was finalized by the city council March 5, the City of Concord said Monday it will suspend its implementation.
Kron4
March 12, 2024
Escondido OKs rent hike for Town and Country mobile home park
ESCONDIDO — For the second time in a month, the City Council has approved a rent increase for a seniors-only mobile home park. Elderly Town and Country Club Mobile Home Park residents will soon see a 10.49% increase in their rents, ranging from $26.92 to $79.86 monthly.
The Coast News Group
March 12, 2024
Department of Commerce Emphasizes Manufactured Home Safety Following Severe Weather Outbreak
Residents should pay close attention – and react swiftly – to all weather bulletins issued, including tornado watches and warnings. Every type of homeowner should be prepared for severe weather and have a plan to keep themselves safe.
Hometownstations.com
March 18, 2024
Chico City Council to reassess mobile home rent space increase
CHICO Calif. – The Chico City Council could pass an ordinance that would limit how much Legacy Communities, the owner of Pleasant Valley Mobile Estates could raise the rent each year.
But Chico Councilman Addison Winslow told Action News Now that the internal affairs committee is in favor of not taking any action.
Action News Now
March 18, 2024
FHA raises loan limits for manufactured housing for the first time in 15 years
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has raised the lending limits for its Title I Manufactured Home Loan Program, aiming to unlock the supply of affordable housing.
Fox Money, foxbusiness.com
March 1, 2024
Half Moon Bay homes in on rent control
City preparing to implement new tenant protection policies by fall ‘24
The legislation will be based on the Costa Hawkins model, which enforces yearly rent increase limits typically between 3% to 5% for multifamily buildings built prior to 1995.
The Daily Journal
Mar. 23, 2024
Dangerous chemicals found in Friendly Acres Mobile Home Park groundwater supply well
The chemicals detected are called Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances (PFAS) studies have revealed associations between exposure to specific PFAS and a variety of adverse health effects including altered immune and thyroid function, liver and kidney disease, adverse reproductive and developmental outcomes, and cancer.
ABC7 KRCR
March 22, 2024
Rent Control Is the Safety Net
Rent control is not the total answer to the housing crisis in California. In the meantime, let’s protect the safety net by expanding rent control in California.
LA Progressive
March 6, 2024
Escondido OKs rent hike at third mobile home park
ESCONDIDO — For the third time since late February, the City Council has increased the rent for residents of a local mobile home park.
As a result of the council’s unanimous March 20 decision, nearly half of the residents at Greencrest Mobilehome Park will see an average monthly increase of about $20.45, averaging between $13.74 and $27.51. The increase will apply to 69 of the park’s 129 spaces, subject to rent control.
The Coast News Group, Inland Edition
March 25, 2024
San Anselmo advances rent-control ordinance
At its meeting on Tuesday, the council voted 3-2 in favor of passing the ordinance, which would cap annual increases at 5% or 60% of the consumer price index, whichever is lower.
Marin Independent Journal
April 2, 2024
3 Types of REITs That Have Outperformed the S&P 500
As an investment, manufactured home communities have stood out. Equity LifeStyle(NYSE: ELS) was the fourth-best performing REIT over the past decade, delivering a nearly 400% total return as of the end of last year. A big driver is the economic resiliency of manufactured-home communities. These landlords can continue raising rents during a recession because the costs of moving a manufactured home to another community are often too prohibitive.
The Globe and Mail, Motley Fool
March 30, 2024
What you need to know about California housing and corporate landlords
Some of the state’s most powerful legislators want Big Landlord out of California’s single-family neighborhoods.
The Legislature will consider at least three bills this year to keep so-called institutional investors from gobbling up too many of the state’s widely coveted single-family homes.
CalMatters
March 7, 2024
Huntington Beach Barred From Approving Any New Housing Developments
Huntington Beach has been banned from approving new housing sites that don’t meet state density requirements.
As part of an ongoing lawsuit between the State of California and Surf City, San Diego County Superior Court Judge Katherine Bacal has temporarily barred Huntington Beach from approving new housing sites.
Voice of OC
March 8, 2024
Soaring Property Insurance Rates Threaten Affordable Housing Development
Rapidly rising insurance premiums are forcing affordable housing developers to cut back on programming, lay off staff, and even sell. To add insult to injury, some insurers also seem to be adding penalties or withdrawing coverage for housing voucher holders.
Shelterforce
March 26, 2024
April 2024
Belchertown mobile home village getting new water system
Pine Valley Plantation, in the southern part of town across from Cold Springs Country Club, is a resident-owned mobile home community for people age 55 and older. The 147-acre park is home to about 550 residents who buy shares of the cooperative to own and live in the park.
The community’s water system, which brings water from the park’s four wells to 389 homes, often leaks or breaks and requires frequent maintenance.
The Coast News Group, Inland Edition
April 24, 2024
Petaluma mobile home residents take their fight on the road
Littlewoods Mobile Villa residents traveled from Petaluma to Stockton to protest in front of property management company Harmony Communities.
Newsbreak
April 25, 2024
Manufactured Housing: A Mixed Bag
Marcus & Millichap’s 1H 2024 “Manufactured Home Communities National Report” offered a mixed bag of good and not-so-good news. Specifically, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is funneling more money into manufactured housing through its PRICE program. This consists of $225 million in financial resources to “help preserve and revitalize existing manufactured housing and communities.”
Connect CRE
April 4, 2024
Mobile Home Park Development Headwinds: Challenges In Creating Affordable Housing
However, the development of new mobile home parks faces significant hurdles that make it increasingly difficult to meet the growing demand for affordable housing. From NIMBY pushback to financial constraints and utility access challenges, I see several factors contributing to the stagnation of new mobile home park developments.
Forbes
April 4, 2024
Seniors on fixed incomes priced out at mobile home park after rent hike
VALLEY CENTER, Calif. (KGTV) — Senior citizens living in a Valley Center mobile home lot say they are being priced out after management raised the rent. ABC 10News spoke with multiple seniors on fixed incomes.
“Everybody loves it here,” Karyn Keyser told ABC 10News. “Nobody wants to move.”
ABC News10 San Diego
April 16, 2024
TENANTS’ RIGHTS – First, Arnel Management Company helped kill two pro-rent control ballot measures in California by contributing a total of $500,000. Now the corporate landlord has reached a settlement with California Attorney General Rob Bonta for improperly withholding security deposits from tenants. It’s just the latest example of corporate landlords scheming to squeeze every last cent out of tenants — and why we need to expand rent control.
City Watch
April 8 2024
Higher rents in mobile home parks are OK’d
PALMDALE — The Housing Authority — which includes all members of the city council — on Wednesday approved a system for increasing rent at Palmdale’s three city-owned mobile home parks, as well as a method for assisting those most impacted by the increase.
Antelope Valley Press
April 5, 2024
Three-Day Sanders Institute Event Details the Case: ‘Housing Is a Human Right’
“We can’t address the housing crisis by chopping the weed off at the top. We have to pull it out by the roots,” said one panelist at the intimate event in Los Angeles that looked at the issue from the local, state, and federal level.
Common Dreams
April 9 2024
Trends in the Manufactured Housing Community Sector: Unlocking Opportunities for Investors
With a lack of five-star communities – which are equivalent to Class A in multifamily – available for sale on the market, many MHC investors have been expanding or even breaking their typical investment criteria in an effort to find deals. For instance, those who once only invested in communities with public utilities are now considering private utility deals.
Northmarq
April 29, 2024
San Anselmo adopts rent control amid referendum effort
San Anselmo is forging ahead with a rent-control ordinance, but some residents are seeking to place the issue on the ballot.
The Town Council passed the ordinance in a 3-2 vote on a second reading Tuesday. The ordinance will go into effect in 30 days unless enough signatures are gathered to place it on the November ballot.
The ordinance would cap annual increases at 5%, or 60% of the consumer price index, whichever is lower.
Marin Independent Journal
April 13, 2024
Jayapal, Sanders, and Khanna Say US Housing Crisis Must Be ‘At the Top of Our Agenda’
Rent is so high in the United States that half of the nation’s tenants can’t afford their monthly payments. Last year, more Americans than ever experienced homelessness after the temporary pandemic safety net collapsed. Mortgage rates and through-the-roof prices have left younger generations increasingly hopeless about owning a home.
Common Dreams
April 9, 2024
Signs announcing “housing is a human right” and “rent is too high,” along with demands for rent control and stories of evictions, have become commonplace at Salinas City Council meetings. Residents speak in English, Spanish and Mexican indigenous languages, sharing their experiences of living in one of the most expensive cities in the country.
Monterey County Now
April 11, 2024
‘Price-fixing cartel’: Big Michigan mobile home park owners accused of conspiracy
A class-action lawsuit accuses 10 mobile home park owners of price fixing rents. Five of those companies operate parks in Michigan, owning a large chunk of parks and mobile home lots.
Michigan Live
April 15, 2024
New Arizona law protects mobile homeowners over air conditioning units
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A new law in Arizona aims to protect vulnerable people who live in mobile homes as temperatures start to heat up.
HB 2146 states that a landlord cannot prevent a tenant from installing reasonably necessary cooling methods to prevent heat-related illness and death.
Arizona’s Family
April 11, 2024
Huntington Beach’s Tony Strickland goes woke on rent control
The Editorial Board
The Orange County Register
April 4, 2024
Opinion: How tenant unions are finding power in numbers to fight L.A.’s housing crisis
… a local branch of the Los Angeles Tenants Union, we have found that tenant unions are leading a more effective response to the region’s housing crisis.
In a tenant union, residents of an apartment complex join forces to represent their interests as a collective.
Los Angeles Times, via Yahoo News
April 10, 2024
Mobile home rent control guidelines get makeover
he Humboldt County Planning Department has been working on another draft of guidelines for mobile home parks subject to a rent control ordinance in the unincorporated county. A 2016 voter measure made rent increase restrictions into law — and seven years later, the county created a set of guidelines to help lay out the process for owners and renters alike.
Times-Standard
April 11, 2024
In the Anza-Borrego Desert, there’s a hidden community with a heartbreaking history
As our state tackles what to do with our homeless population, perhaps we should take notice of Butterfield Ranch. Perhaps we should replicate the nonprofits that do great work, while realizing that public funds intended to help people could end up lining the pockets of those who simply put them in another untenable situation.
The San Diego Union-Tribune
April 23,, 2024
Yucaipa mobilehome parks discussed
A large number of Yucaipa residents attended the city council meeting on April 22 to listen to and comment on two topics related to mobilehome parks. One was regarding mobilehome committee appointments for an advisory committee. The other was the adoption of urgency ordinance No. 466-U, which would establish a temporary moratorium on the installation of mobilehomes that are more than 20 years old.
Yucaipa / Calimesa News Mirror
April 30, May 2,, 2024
May 2024
‘It’s like winning the lottery’: the mobile home owners buying the land they live on
Adrian moved there four years ago, coincidentally right as Woodlawn’s owner was looking to sell. Woodlawn’s landlord was well liked, but for years the park’s residents had been hearing rumors about possible sales to much less friendly owners.
“People lived here in fear,” Adrian says, “because these places are just swallowed up.”
The Guardian
May 3,, 2024
THROWN OUT ‘Feel like yesterday’s trash,’ cries woman being kicked out of tiny home despite owing nothing – she found out by letter
County officers were unaware of the situation happening at the mobile home park
Residents of a mobile home park have been forced to leave after it was bought by a big corporation
The U.S. Sun
May 5, 2024
Half Moon Bay passes rent control, tenant protections
Half Moon Bay has officially passed a rent control ordinance that will likely benefit 350 to 400 units in the city as well as tenant protections, the City Council voted at its May 7 meeting.
The Daily Journal
May 11, 2024
Calif. Dem leaders come out swinging against statewide rent control measure
Democrats are normally in full support of rent control in California, but they are warning against a “trojan horse” measure they say would end all housing production.
The San Joaquin Valley Sun
May 15, 2024
Hundreds of RV park residents face power shutoff after owner refuses to pay SoCal Edison
One resident spoke with a customer service rep at SoCal Edison, who said the past due balance is over half a million dollars.
ABC7 Eyewitness News
May 3, 2024
Novato weighs rent-control update for mobile homes
Some of the potential changes the city is considering involve rent-reduction petitions; dispute settlement arrangements; and the framework for designating a tenant representative to confer with property owners.
Marin Independent Journal
May 19, 2024
Sen. Bernie Sanders endorses 2 California ballot measures, including rent control expansion
Sen. Bernie Sanders, who remains popular in California after winning the state’s 2020 Democratic presidential primary, on Wednesday announced he is throwing his support behind two ballot measures related to rent control and restrictions on oil drilling.
The Daily Journal
May 15, 2024
Cloverdale joins other localities in revising rent control rules for mobile home parks
Moving to save tenants in some of the county’s least expensive housing from unaffordable rent increases, Cloverdale’s City Council is expected to approve sweeping changes to its rent control rules covering mobile home parks.
Northern California Public Media
May 10, 2024
In Delano, residents will vote on rent control come November
“Since the pandemic, Delano alone has seen an average of a 40% increase in rent,” he said. “So just in a few years, people have had to pay nearly half more of their rent.”
The ballot initiative seeks a rent registry, stricter rules on when landlords can evict tenants, and a 3% cap on annual rent hikes.
KPVR (npr Network)
May 25, 2024
June – September 2024
Tenants Are Forcing Bay Area Landlords to the Bargaining Table
San Francisco’s groundbreaking Union at Home legislation encourages tenants to organize in their buildings the way employees organize at work. Housing activists in Berkeley are hoping their city will follow suit — but landlords are pushing back.
MSN.com
June, 2024
With American Mobile Cancellations, Florida Mobile Home Market Has ‘Fallen Apart’
“One of our niches has been manufactured homes and mobile homes. But now the market has absolutely fallen apart in Florida,” said John Gardner, of Fort Myers, principal at Lee County Insurance agency, one of the larger agencies in the area.
Insurance Journal
July 22, 2204
Mobile home park residents claim victory
After four years battling what they saw as excessive, unnecessary rent increases and unresponsive, absentee management, El Granada Manufactured Home Community residents got their wish Thursday: a new, not-for-profit landlord.
Millennium Housing, a nonprofit based in Newport Beach, Calif., purchased the community for $27 million from the Galland family in Provo, Utah.
According to Lisa Ketcham, secretary of the park’s homeowners association, residents couldn’t be happier.
“It’s a huge relief to be done with the struggle,” she said. “The wicked witch is dead so to speak.”
Coastside News
May 19, August 13, 2024
SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV) — Salinas City Council members approved three ordinances aimed at stabilizing the city’s rising rent.
Three ordinances were adopted Tuesday night:
Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance
Rent Stabilization Ordinance
Tenant Protection and Just Cause Eviction Ordinance
KION News Channel 46
Sept. 24, 2024
October 2024
Deal for Brunswick mobile home park is first of its kind under new Maine law
The residents of Linnhaven Mobile Home Park rallied to buy their 278-home community for $26.3 million, taking advantage of a state law that went into effect in 2023. The statute requires park owners to notify residents when their properties are put up for sale.
Mainebiz.com
Oct. 31, 2024
To save affordable housing, states promote resident-owned mobile home parks
The co-op requires more work from residents, Peterman said, but assures they will control their own destiny.
“We really try hard not to have people come in with a renter’s mentality, because it’s a lot different than just going in somewhere and paying your rent,” she said. “You’re an owner here.”
Missouri Independent
Oct. 31, 2024
Vista Trailer Park, RV Resort Change Hands for the First Time
Wilmer and Douglas Danny, senior managing director investments with Marcus & Millichap, represented the sellers, Melrose Trailer Park Inc., and procured the buyer, Pacific Current Partners. “The new owner has many years of experience operating recreational vehicle and manufactured housing communities throughout California,” Wilmer added.
Connect CRE
Oct. 28, 2024
Humboldt County applies rent-control measure to RV parks
On Tuesday, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors extended an existing ordinance to ban rent at RV parks from outpacing inflation.
“We have some of the county’s most vulnerable residents here in this park… who are really struggling to make ends meet and are in RVs full time because they can’t afford a mobile home,” said Horowitz.
Jefferson Public Radio
Oct. 24, 2024
Millions of low-cost homes are deteriorating, making the U.S. housing shortage worse
Without such intervention, Zak says entire communities can be damaged by disrepair. “I see more and more vacant houses yearly, just being abandoned,” she says.
npr
Oct. 31, 2024
Escondido OKs another rent hike for Carefree Ranch mobile homes
Under short-form rules, park owners can apply for rent increases only once a year and must limit hikes to either 90% of the local consumer price index or 8% of current rent, whichever is lower.
The Coast News Group
Oct. 30, 2024
November 2024
Lawsuit Expected as Humboldt Enacts Rent Control for RVs
n another move to address housing issues, Humboldt County will change mobile home rent control rules by including residential RVs in their price limits.
It’s an action that’s likely to be challenged by lawsuits, as indicated by representatives of a Trinidad area mobile home park owner and a mobile home industry association.
KYMKEMP.com
Nov. 2, 2024
States Move to Protect Mobile Home Park Residents
According to Hardy, “Currently, 22 states have laws requiring or encouraging owners of manufactured home parks to give homeowners the opportunity to purchase their land collectively. Those laws can vary wildly, with some requiring that the residents be given the right of first refusal, while others simply require park owners to provide notice of their intent to sell.” Some industry groups are pushing back, arguing that resident ownership is not always in the best interest of the residents.
Planetizen
Nov. 4, 2024
Election Results in Santa Barbara Could Lead to Cap on Rent Increases
A progressive Democrat, Santamaria ran on a campaign of tenant rights, implementing a rental increase cap and affordable housing. If her lead holds, Santamaria would replace Gutierrez, who was opposed to implementing a cap. With the seat flipped, there are now four votes, a majority of the council, to implement a rent cap, as Santamaria promised on the campaign.
Noozhawk.com
Nov. 9, 2024
Dick Spotswood: Election results troubling for North Bay progressives
Instead, rent control and so-called “just cause eviction” ordinances were soundly defeated in Fairfax, Larkspur and San Anselmo. Fairfax has the reputation of being Marin’s most progressive town. The statewide implication is that if left-leaning Fairfax defeats local rent control, there are few municipalities other than Berkeley where it will win voter approval.
Marin Independent Journal
Nov. 9, 2024
Manufactured homes are surging in popularity — and you can order them on Amazon or Facebook
Elevated mortgage rates and a chronic shortage of homes in the US have pushed homeownership increasingly out of reach for many Americans, fueling their economic angst.
CNN Business
Nov. 11, 2024
Co-op Ownership of Mobile Home Communities, A Webinar
There’s a growing number of manufactured housing owners who are joining together to buy their mobile home parks. We chat with residents, advocates, and technical assistance providers about the ins and outs of buying land together.
Shelterforce
Nov. 01, 2024
Luxury Trailer Park In Malibu Sells for $200 Million In Largest Ever Transaction Of Its Kind
This seaside paradise has become synonymous with the good life and it even has a luxury trailer park, the Point Dume Club. The Point Dume Club is so nice that it reportedly sold for $200 million.
Yahoo Finance
Nov. 25, 2024
‘Not filed in good faith.’ Controversial Fresno mobile home park owner gets smacked down by judge
After several years of fighting with tenants and Fresno city leaders, the owners of La Hacienda Mobile Estates have been stripped of their ability to negotiate the sale of the park. Tenants and their supporters are celebrating the ruling.
fresnoland
Nov. 27, 2024
Latino Mobile Home Residents File Lawsuits Over Discrimination and Unsafe Conditions
Latino residents of mobile home parks in Ohio and Colorado have filed lawsuits and complaints over poor living conditions and alleged discriminatory practices by park management. Residents claim violations of state laws, including poor maintenance, unfair rent increases, and discriminatory conduct.
The Latin Times
Nov. 17, 2024
Cooperative purchases mobile home park, preserving affordable housing in Parkland
The Pierce County Community Development Corporation (PCCDC) is awarding $750,000 to a resident-owned cooperative for the purchase of Olga Dor Court, a Mobile Home Community (MHC) for seniors aged 55 years or older in Parkland.
The Suburban Times
Nov. 19, 2024
‘This had to happen’: Huntington Park adopts rent control
Under a rent stabilization ordinance approved unanimously by the Huntington Park City Council on Monday, property managers and owners will be prohibited from increasing the price of rent more than 3 percent each year. The law is set to take effect Dec. 19, after which there will be a 60-day grace period for landlords to comply with the ordinance.
Los Angeles Public Press
Nov. 20, 2024
San Jose mobile home park residents face illegal rent increases
Illegal rent increases at a mobile home park just outside the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds have San Jose housing department staff turning to the city attorney for help.
NBC Bay Area, Bay City News
Nov. 19, 2024
Supreme Court Won’t Hear Challenge to New York Rent Control Law
Building owners said in their petition filed with the court on April 18 that New York’s Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 transformed “a temporary rent-regulation system into a permanent expropriation of vast swaths of private real estate, without just compensation, in the name of ‘affordable housing.’”
NTD
Nov. 13, 2024
December 2024
Brookfield sells part of US mobile home portfolio for $1.6 billion
Brookfield sold nearly 80 mobile home parks to multiple buyers for a total of $1.6 billion, according to a person familiar with the situation. In addition, Brookfield is in active discussion of disposing another 80 comparable properties, the person said.
WCVB5 abc, Boston’s News Leader
Dec. 10, 2024
Mobile home prices surge but remain affordable alternative
As traditional home prices remain elevated, many prospective buyers are turning to manufactured or mobile homes as a more affordable option. However, a recent Lending Tree analysis reveals that these alternatives aren’t saving potential homebuyers as much as they used to.
Inman Select
Dec. 11, 2024
Evicted families struggle to find housing as Vista RV Park deadline hits
VISTA, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) — As of Saturday night, an eviction deadline was just hours away for dozens of families living at an RV park in Vista, with residents scrambling to find new housing.
After 9 years in this tight-knit community, resident LaRen Reed and her family are preparing to say their goodbyes. “My heart is broken right now,” said Reed.
The San Diego Union-Tribune
Dec. 02, 2024
Dutch municipalities to build trailer parks to tackle housing crisis
In response to a worsening housing crisis, seven Dutch municipalities are moving ahead with plans to create flexible districts with prefabricated mobile homes, dubbed “flexcities”.
Global Construction Review
Dec. 13, 2024
Mass. mobile park residents celebrate Appeals Court decision
The Appeals Court decision sends the dispute back to the lower, Superior Court, clearing the way for the residents to buy their park, and not an out of state corporation.
WCVB5 abc, Boston’s News Leader
Dec. 4, 2024
Manufactured homes have been a vital source of market-rate affordable housing for years, but tidal wave of private equity entering the sector has residents and lawmakers worried about the notable increase in lot rents that followed.
Bisnow
Dec. 9, 2024
San Jose needs plan for protecting renters, audit finds
The City Auditor’s Office previously examined the policy, which requires landlords to give valid reasons for evicting tenants — but renters claim the city’s rent control policies don’t always work. This sparked another review and recommendations for how the policy can benefit both tenants and property owners. Rent control experts told San José Spotlight they’re surprised by the auditor’s findings.
Auditors highlighting areas of improvement discovered employees in the housing department have no formal process for enforcing the tenant protection policy, which covers just over 40,000 San Jose homes.
San Jose Spotlight
Dec. 4, 2024
Three times, nonprofit CEO and political activist Michael Weinstein has spearheaded state initiatives to give municipalities more ability to curb runaway rent costs. Three times he has failed.
Weinstein says he won’t stop trying. But his ability to do that is now in serious jeopardy.
Sacramento News & Review
Dec. 4, 2024
Biden-Harris Administration Awards $225 Million To Preserve and Revitalize Housing
Funds will support manufactured housing communities through repairs, infrastructure upgrades, homeowner assistance and creation of new homes.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Dec. 19, 2024
With American Mobile Cancellations, Florida Mobile Home Market Has ‘Fallen Apart’
“One of our niches has been manufactured homes and mobile homes. But now the market has absolutely fallen apart in Florida,” said John Gardner, of Fort Myers, principal at Lee County Insurance agency, one of the larger agencies in the area.
Insurance Journal
July 22, 2204
But just because mobile homes are typically less costly than more traditional site-built, single-family housing doesn’t mean they’re cheap.
On the contrary, our newest analysis of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and U.S. Census Bureau data finds that the average sales price of new mobile homes in the U.S. easily tops six figures. In addition, our analysis finds that the sales price of new mobile homes rose faster than the sales price of new site-built, single-family homes between 2018 and 2023.
Lending Tree
Dec. 02, 2024
Spain’s new rent cap index: Could it finally offer relief to renters?
Instead of the widely debated 3% cap, the Spanish government will introduce a brand-new index that aims to prevent “disproportionate” rent increases. While the exact figure remains under wraps until January, many tenants are already hopeful that this system will bring some long-awaited peace of mind.
Euro Weekly
Dec. 23, 2024
