Facing lease hikes, mobile home park residents ask city for help

Martin Kidston

(Missoula Current) The residents of a mobile home park in Missoula brought their concerns to City Council on Monday night, seeking help in face of repeated rent hikes and what they describe as poor management by the property owner.

The issues facing North Star Court have become increasingly common in recent years as large real estate investors take ownership of mobile home parks, often followed by unchecked lease increases. The results threaten to drive out the most vulnerable park residents who often can't afford any other housing.

“We feel abandoned and neglected,” said North Star tenant member CJ Taylor. “This reflects a broader problem. We can't continue to pay these increases year after year. This isn't sustainable on a fixed income.”

Taylor and other tenant members said the monthly rent for the property under their homes at North Star Court has increased from $300 a month to $800 over the last four years. The property management company has been impossible to reach, they added, and they're running out of options.

Nationally, mobile home parks house nearly 3 million households but remain vulnerable due to a range of social and economic factors, according to housing experts.

“Many of our residents can no longer afford these continued increases,” said one tenant member. “The (property manager's) indifference to the well-being of its residents is unexceptionable, especially as Missoula faces a housing crisis.”

North Star Court marks another manufactured home park facing a cost crisis. While most members own their homes, they lease the lot on which their homes sit. The arrangement leaves residents vulnerable, but legislation intended to address the issue has largely failed at the Legislature.

“Unfortunately, what did pass the Legislature was vetoed,” said City Council member Mike Nugent. “I don't know that the environment is going to change this next session. Missoula has seen multiple examples of how transfers of mobile home parks are harming the residents.”

Amid a housing shortage and rising home costs, mobile home parks are seen as affordable housing. Among its many goals, the city's housing policy looks to preserve existing affordable housing, but city officials said local government has limited options when it comes to protecting mobile home residents against repeated rent increases.

“I share their frustration in regard to some of the tools that we as a community and as a state could have seen in place,” said Mayor Andrea Davis. “These efforts need to happen at the state level to help protect manufactured housing. The city itself doesn't have that authority.”

In an effort to fend off lease increases, several mobile home parks have formed a union to represent their interests when negotiating with property owners. Travois Village did so last year after it was purchased by Oakwood Ventures in Texas, and Katoonah Lodges did so this year after the park was purchased by Axia Realty Partners.

In 2022, the city received a grant to help the residents of Old Hellgate Village Mobile Home Park purchase their land, making the community resident owned. But such grants are hard to come by and with few other options, city officials said they will continue working to advance protections at the Legislature.

“These are home-ownership opportunities,” said Nugent. “These leases go up and up, and I think it's predatory. They have nowhere to go. People are losing their homes. Mobile home courts are some of the most affordable housing we have.”