Mobile home residents voice concerns at town hall meeting

“I feel defeated, very defeated, very discouraged,” said Crystal Baker, a mobile home owner and resident of Bixby Knolls Mobile Home Park. “Do I really start from scratch and have to build again?” 

Mobile home residents, including those from Bixby Knolls Mobile Home Park and Riverland Mobile Home Park, attended a community conversation at the Frontier Senior Center in Anderson Monday night. The meeting was coordinated by Shasta County Supervisor Allen Long and Supervisor Chris Kelstrom who invited Matt Davies, the CEO of Harmony Communities which owns the parks. 

Although approximately a dozen non-English speaking residents of two Anderson-based mobile home parks were present, no translator was provided, but one bilingual resident tried to take up the role in an unofficial capacity. 

Residents at the two mobile home parks, who own their mobile homes but lease the land it rests on, say they are facing their second rent increases in the year since Harmony bought the park. The first rent increase changed their payments from $575 a month to $625. A second increase that will raise rent to $985 a month is scheduled to become effective on December 1. 

In conversations with Shasta Scout reporters over recent weeks, residents have noted that Harmony has offered $300 credits per month to offset the latest planned increase. But they also voiced confusion about the credits and uncertainty about whether Harmony would follow through with them and for how long. Given the rent raise, without those credits, some have said during recent county board meetings, they face the potential of becoming homeless. 

“With all due respect, we’re just not in the business of [crossing] our fingers and taking words for it,” said one resident at the meeting this week. 

Supervisor Long explained during the meeting that he called for the convening after residents from the two mobile home parks raised attention by speaking out at county board meetings over recent weeks. They’ve also created a petition for a rent stabilization ordinance. Crystal Baker, author of the petition, has gathered 31 signatures from those living at the approximately 50 units at Bixby so far. 

Together their actions have led to public discussions among supervisors about the possibility of implementing a countywide rent stabilization policy for mobile home parks.  

The possibility of such a policy seems to have spurred Harmony to action. During the meeting this week, residents were given contracts to codify the promised $300 credits. The updated contract would ostensibly making the credits permanent for the remainder of the current residents’ tenancy. Harmony’s CEO noted that the credit process will not be transferable to a “buyer, heir or new resident.”

“I want to first step up and apologize to everyone for any miscommunication so far about the $300 rent credit,” Harmony CEO Davies said. “At its core, we don’t ever plan to take that rent credit away. We plan to leave [the credit] in perpetuity, forever, for your tenancy.” 

The company, which owns and operates mobile home parks statewide, is currently facing several active lawsuits, along with others that have been settled. The lawsuits regard unfair business practices, rent hikes and illegal evictions. 

Davies told residents yesterday that rent for lots at the mobile home park was increased as a defense mechanism against laws such as AB 978, which limits rent increases to 3% per year over the local Consumer Price Index. Given these restrictions, Davies indicated, sudden increases in insurance or inflation that affect cost for owners would place mobile home park management at risk without the ability to raise rent quickly to cover those costs. 

In those cases, Davies indicated, the credits can act as a buffer, with management having the ability to reduce the amount of credit offered per month over time in order to address rising costs. It’s essentially a loophole to allow for rent increases that would otherwise exceed legal limits. The practice, Davies indicated, could prevent closure of the mobile home park.  

“Over the last 40 years, 1/3 of the mobile home parks in Los Angeles County have closed down,” he claimed. There hasn’t been a new mobile home park built in the state in the last 25 years. So you’ve got to ask yourself, ‘what’s going on for all of these properties to keep closing?’”

Madeline Howard, the housing director for the Western Center on Law and Poverty told a reporter by phone today that she would advise residents to have an attorney review the contract before signing. 

While some local jurisdictions have protections, Howard added, mobile home rent control is not comprehensive across California, which leaves mobile home owners in a tenuous place when rent for lots in the parks increase to amounts they’re unable to pay.

“Despite the name, mobile homes are usually not mobile at all,” Howard said. “So, if the [mobile home owner] is evicted from the park, they lose the home that they own.”

It wasn’t clear during the meeting whether residents would be signing the updated contracts. As the meeting closed, Long reminded residents that the town hall was called as a step in the process towards further conversations about a rent stabilization ordinance for mobile home parks.

During next week’s board meeting, Long said, supervisors are slated to hear a presentation from Tehama County Supervisor Greg Jones about a similar ordinance that is currently being crafted in his county.

Are you a resident of mobile home parks in Shasta affected by rent increases? Our reporter would love to speak with you. You can email editor@shastascout.org or send a text to 530-276-8778.

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