Mobile Home Park News Briefing

Virginia’s housing affordability earns a B-, according to the Realtor.com® State-by-State Housing Report Card. But a new bill moving through the state legislature could raise that grade by unlocking access to one of the most overlooked forms of affordable housing: manufactured homes.

Despite offering homeownership at a fraction of the cost of traditional site-built houses, manufactured housing has long been sidelined by stigmas that date back to outdated, pre-1976 construction standards. That’s left these homes off-limits in many communities even as demand for affordable housing has soared.

“Virginia’s got a problem,” Democratic state...

The Biddeford City Council on Tuesday shot down a proposed 90-day moratorium to freeze mobile home lot rent increases, despite the pleas of residents who say they’re scared that rising prices may force them out. 

The council rejected the moratorium by a 6-3 vote, with councilors Brad Cote, David Kurtz and Abigail Woods supporting the proposal.

Mobile home residents — particularly those living at Granite Estates, a park for those 55 and older — implored the councilors Tuesday to pass the moratorium, saying the lot rent increases have gotten more expensive each year. 

Granite Estates residents said the park used to be affordable, but since...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida lawmakers are considering sweeping legislation that would require mobile home park owners to justify rent increases and boost relocation assistance for displaced residents, potentially affecting more than 800,000 mobile home residents across the state.

The identical House Bill 703 and Senate Bill 1550, known as the “Mobile Home Park Lot Tenancies” bills, were filed by Rep. Paula Stark (R-St. Cloud) and Sen. LaVon Bracy Davis (D-Ocoee), respectively. The legislation would implement new protections for mobile home residents beginning July 1, 2026, if passed.

“I need things done, like physically done to the...

NORWAY, Maine — Residents of Norway Commons, a manufactured home community for those 55 or older, attended a Select Board meeting Thursday to protest what they said were rapidly rising lot rents and urged the board to consider rent stabilization measures.

Sharon LeBlond, who lives at Norway Commons, stood before and asked selectmen to consider drafting a moratorium to address lot fees and rent.

LeBlond said that while the lot increases are legal, they are “overboard” and make it harder for residents to afford living at the park, owned by Sun Communities.

“The situation is such that many of the people who live in the community can no...

BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. –  Bob Kiefer loves his home in the Southern Pines community in Bonita Springs. He says neighbors look out for one another, but living in Southwest Florida has become increasingly expensive.

“Community is great here. Everybody takes care of each other,” Kiefer said.

Kiefer bought his manufactured home in 2019. Since then, he says his rent has nearly doubled.

“It went from $540 to $790, and we're paying $970 right now. So it's just about doubled in six years. That's a lot of money,” he said.

With rent rising, Kiefer says his budget is stretched thin –  even when it comes to food.

“We have to shop at four or five...

Paula Stark, Republican representative for St. Cloud in the Florida House of Representatives, has introduced a bill to strengthen protections and clarify the rights of mobile home owners. She states: « This bill updates how lot rent increases are determined, improves transparency in billing and payments, and strengthens enforcement mechanisms. Mobile home owners are a critical part of our communities, and this bill helps ensure fairness and accountability in lot tenancies. »

Democratic Senator LaVon Bracy Davis of Ocoee has also introduced similar legislation aimed at clarifying what can be considered an unreasonable rent...

TIMMINS - A local mine is planning how to grow and has given notice to residents of a south-end mobile home park that they'll need to move. 

The area currently housing Fairway Village on Moneta Avenue, just west of Vipond Road, is converting to non-residential use by Jan. 31, 2028, Discovery Porcupine has announced. 

"This action is necessary as we plan additional growth initiatives that will contribute to job creation, new business opportunities for local suppliers and investments in the Timmins community. As a result, we have informed residents of Fairway Village that, by the end of January 2028, we will need to end their tenancy,"...

LOUISVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Mobile home living was always considered affordable, but more and more mom-and-pop mobile home communities are being purchased by institutional investors who see the parks as lucrative, low-risk investments, leading to significant rent hikes.

Owners and renters at a mobile home park in Blount County were informed about the sale of their community on the first of January. One resident, Sherry Russell, found out that her lot rent would increase on February 1 by 70%, and within six days of taking over ownership of the trailer park, the new owner sent her a notice saying her lot payment for January was late, but she...

As the housing market prices out more and more Americans, federal lawmakers are taking a closer look at manufactured housing as a more affordable supply-side alternative to a traditional stick-built home.

Nevertheless, misconceptions about new manufactured housing communities — that they are dilapidated, ugly, or unsafe — continue to beleaguer a segment of the single-family, detached housing market that is currently home to 7.2 million U.S. households. 

Legislators in both parties increasingly see manufactured homes as a crucial way to boost housing affordability. The Affordable HOMES Act, which the U.S. House of Representatives passed...

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) - Homeowners at a Palm Springs mobile home park claim management violated local rent control laws by failing to properly notify residents of a 2026 rent increase.

Residents at Palm Springs View Estates say required written notices were not mailed in October 2025, which would have allowed the increase to take effect February 1, 2026. Instead, management allegedly attempted in January to deliver backdated notices by clipping them to or placing them in mailboxes—actions homeowners say are illegal and invalid.

Residents argue that under California Mobile Home Residency Law and the city’s Rent Control...

A contingent of current and former elected officials from Taunton testified at a state committee hearing, coming together to express support and ask for movement on tackling lack of affordable homeowners insurance for manufactured homes. 

State Sen. Kelly Dooner, R. Taunton, filed a bill S.2738, "An Act Addressing Rising Insurance Costs for Manufactured Home Residents," to address the problem.

If passed, it would establish a commission “to investigate the availability, affordability, and regulatory treatment of homeowners insurance” for manufactured homes in Massachusetts, according to the language in the...

New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas today announced that tenants at Cascade Acres Manufactured Home Park in the town of North Elba, Essex County, formed a partnership with a local affordable housing developer to purchase the 165-unit Park from their landlord, ensuring the long-term affordability of the community. The residents successfully exercised a provision under New York State’s Right of First Refusal law to prevent the community from being sold to a private equity firm. The successful sale of Cascade Acres marks the first time the...

Eight months after the Trump administration cut Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) money meant to relocate about 50 mobile-home park residents from a flood-prone valley near Tacoma, residents had the worst flood in 17 years.

As previously reported by The News Tribune, Pierce County was awarded a $10 million FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant in 2022. The grant was supposed to help the county acquire and demolish the Valleybrook Village Mobile Home Park off River Road East. The plan was to help residents of 45 mobile homes relocate elsewhere and turn the land into a natural floodplain to reduce...

AUBURN –– Residents of mobile home parks in Auburn are asking the city for a moratorium on rent increases, as the city and other communities await new state law on the subject.

Five mobile home park residents spoke to the Auburn City Council Monday. Among them was Sharon Dickinson, 79, a retired teacher. She said she has lived at Ja-Lynne Mobile Home Park on Lexis Lane for more than a year. When she moved in, she said, she was paying $475 a month and was told it would go up by $25 a year.

“And then all of a sudden, they raised it to $500, and then in April, we got a note on our door saying, ‘We’re going to be raising it $100 in...

The U.S. House just voted to cancel efficiency standards for new manufactured homes — a move that could hit especially hard in the Southeast, where such housing is common and energy insecurity is high.

The measure would rescind 2022 criteria for insulation, air sealing, and other energy-saving features in prefabricated, or mobile, homes, restoring weaker standards more than 30 years old. The legislation comes as utility bills are rising fast nationwide — and if it is passed by the Senate and signed into law, it could cost households in double-wide houses hundreds more per year in increased electricity costs.

“The very first energy...

Negotiations over Fortuna’s efforts to cap mobile home rent increases might be ending soon, but some advocates say the protections don’t go far enough.

Since mid-2025, mobile home owners in the Royal Crest mobile home park have been fighting for regulations that would limit how much and how often the park owner can raise their rents. (The owners of mobile homes don’t usually own the land in the park it sits on.) Fortuna’s city council declared a moratorium on rent increases in September, and floated a draft Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) at a recent city council meeting. It offers many asked-for guardrails, like annual rent increases...

SEARSPORT — Their homes may be "mobile," but residents feel stuck.

Residents of the Searsport Mobile Home Park returned to the Select Board this month with a renewed request that a rent stabilization ordinance be placed on the warrant for the town's annual meeting in March, signaling their intent to move the debate over rising lot fees from the meeting room to the ballot box.

Speaking during public comment at the Jan. 6 Select Board meeting, representatives of park residents again urged town officials to give voters the opportunity to weigh in on whether Searsport should adopt a local measure to address rent increases in manufactured...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A new bill filed in Florida this week aims to lay out a litany of rules for mobile home parks in the state.

The bill (SB 1550) was filed on Friday by state Sen. LaVon Bracy Davis (D-Ocoee), and it amends a Florida statute, which governs what factors courts may use to determine whether rent increases are “unreasonable.”

However, the legislation was originally authored by state Rep. Paula Stark (R-St. Cloud), who’s sponsoring the House version of the bill.

Under current law, courts may take factors like prior disclosures, inflation changes, operating costs and taxes into account.

However, this latest bill would expand...

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - A property owner is considering shutting down his mobile home park permanently after a fire destroyed several units in what he believes was caused by trespassers seeking shelter.

Jesse Flores arrived at his East Lubbock County property to survey the damage from flames that broke out late Monday night. Flores believes the fire may have started when someone illegally staying in one of the vacant mobile homes attempted to heat the space.

The fire occurred just before 10 p.m. along East County Road 72-60, off the Slaton Highway. Four fire departments worked several hours to contain the blaze, according to the Lubbock...

Residents of three Auburn mobile home parks hope the City Council will put a pause on rent increases following steep hikes over the past year.

Ja-Lynne Mobile Home Park, Washington Street Mobile Home Park and Stevens Mill Mobile Home Park have experienced high increases in lot rents recently, as much as $110 for some residents last fall, according to Dan Neumann of the Maine Labor Climate Council.

A Cary couple is among more than 100 families being forced to leave their neighborhood after plans to sell the property were announced. 

On Monday, residents in the Chatham Estates mobile home park community were told they have six months to vacate, leaving many uncertain about what lies ahead.

The mobile home community has been tucked away off Maynard Road for decades. It has been a home to Steve and Ann Curlee since 1988.

"It's a lot of unanswered questions,” Ann Curlee said.

The thought of leaving is something she said is too much to bear.

“Not knowing where we'll be going and whether we're going to fit into it or not,” she...

The Santa Paula rent review commission voted to delay a decision to mid-January on a nearly 50% rent increase for residents of a mobile home park after a three-hour hearing.

The commission, appointed by the city council, voted 2-0 to continue its meeting to approve a 47% per space increase, or $218.17 more a month, at 400 Mobile Estates, located at 400 Craig Drive. 

On a Sunday evening in December, Angel Rogelio Diaz Franco sprawled on a dingy twin mattress in the van he now calls home. Looking around, he squinted. The sole source of light inside came from a small flashlight, which cast a dull-white glow over a bedside tray loaded with pill bottles and a floor fan that circulated the van’s hot, stale air.

Tan carpeting ran up the walls and windows to keep out the sun and any inquisitive eyes. Up near the cab, a toilet seat rested atop a five-gallon orange bucket.

Franco, 58, has been living in the van since October, when he was evicted from his home of 19 years in Sweetwater’s Li’l Abner Mobile...

It was quiet at the Leesburg Mobile Home Park as evening fell in late November.