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West Stockbridge — A proposed monthly rent increase that would more than triple the current rent for residents at The Residences on Mill Pond, a West Stockbridge mobile home community, has riled a former resident as well as an official of a nearby town who weighed in on the potential effects of such a fee hike.
On November 27, Tom Lennon, corporate agent for Lennon Capital Group LLC, as the owner of the 35-lot mobile home community at 40 Albany Road, West Stockbridge, filed a Petition for Rent Adjustment, requesting the West Stockbridge Select Board—that sits as the West Stockbridge Rent Control Board—approve a surge in rent from $241 per...
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“The fact that the owner decided to purchase a park that was in such poor condition is not the problem of the residents of the park,” Kerswell said. “The cost of fixing the utilities is not on the residents, it’s on the owner. Because the park was in failure—the septic and the water and all these systems are in failure—he cannot pass that cost along to the tenants.” Common Sense Translation: Well, if that’s the attitude of the tenants then they better not be shocked when the new owner shuts the park down and turns it into a different use (probably apartments). There are two ways to go through life namely 1) win/win and 2) win/lose. If the residents think there’s a win/lose option (in which they hold all the cards and the property owner holds none) then the tenants are going to probably soon learn an important life lesson when the eviction notices go out. They should instead be sending “thank you” cards to the new owner and happily paying a higher rent that fends off redevelopment.