Preview:
Brenda Valdez feels like she can finally exhale.
The mother of two and mobile home owner from Elma in Grays Harbor County said she no longer has to hold her breath waiting for the next lot rent hike to come knocking at her door after Washington state adopted an unprecedented 5% annual limit on rent increases for manufactured home owners last month.
Valdez said her lot rent — what she pays for the ground under her mobile home — had nearly doubled in the past decade, and she expected to face another $100-a-month increase in July.
“$100 – it’s like worth a week of groceries for my kids, it’s half of my energy bill, it’s a pair...
Our thoughts on this story:
After years of fighting for mobile home tenants’ rights, Deb Wilson is celebrating new rent stabilization requirements, signed into law this month, that will cap rent increases for mobile homeowners at 5% per year.
Sure, Deb and her neighbors will celebrate their big win for a while. And then they will get a notice that the park is being closed for redevelopment. None of these idiots apparently understand that by approving the 5% cap on mobile home park lot rent – and 10% on apartments – they signed a death warrant for Washington state parks. Who wouldn’t tear their park down and build apartments – or literally any other use – instead? The answer, nobody. Goodbye mobile home parks, hello new apartment units.

