Sept 1 (Reuters) - A group of the country's largest corporate managers of mobile home communities and a market data provider were sued in U.S. court on Thursday for allegedly conspiring to inflate rental prices for older and low-income residents.

Two Illinois residents who rented lots for their manufactured homes filed the prospective class action in Chicago federal court against Datacomp Appraisal Systems and nine other companies that own or have controlling interests in more than 150 housing communities across the country.

The lawsuit alleges that the corporate owners shared competitively sensitive information about lot rentals and...

HOULTON, Maine — After nearly six years of undrinkable chemically contaminated water flowing through their pipes at the Houlton Mobile Home Park, residents will soon get relief, according to the park’s owner.

Once the final piece of financing is approved that is.

State testing showed unsafe levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in the well water almost as soon as Tony Brettkelly purchased the mobile home park off the Old Woodstock Road in Houlton about six years ago, he said.

Park management has been supplying residents with bottled water ever since, although the contaminated water is used for laundry, showers and...

A trailer park home set in the Hamptons has hit the market for an astonishing $4.4 million proving that location really is everything. 

Far from being trailer trash, the 2,150-square-foot dwelling, built in 2015, would set a 2023 record if it sells for the eye-watering price. 

Set within the Montauk Shores 'upscale' trailer park, the property commands a price that rivals that of luxury homes in the area. 

The two bedroom, two bathroom property sits just 75 feet from the Atlantic Ocean and the beach at Ditch Plains - a renowned surfing spot. 

'This outstanding modular home boasts two bedrooms and two bathrooms and is situated right next to...

The Porterville City Council will look at the possibility of a significant increase in sewer and refuse rates during a study session tonight.

The meeting will be held at 5 p.m. today in the City Hall council chambers. At tonight's meeting the council will consider providing direction to city staff on what options should be taken concerning increased rates. A public hearing could then be held at one of the council's regularly scheduled meetings in November in which the council could adopt increased rates.

The meeting can be viewed on YouTube at the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5KuhSrNMNL9nwHJVtnJvvA

Those interested...

SEQUIM — To help preserve manufactured home parks as more affordable housing options in Sequim, city council members recently enacted a six-month moratorium on redevelopment applications for those parks if it is for any project other than manufactured homes.

For the moratorium, city staff were directed to consider zoning options, such as a manufactured home overlay to protect park residents from potentially losing their homes in a redevelopment project.

Council members unanimously made the decision for a moratorium on Aug. 14 in response to continued concern from manufactured home residents about losing their homes to potential...

Today, Governor Polis and the Business Funding & Incentives Division of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) announced three recipients of the Innovative Housing Incentive program (IHIP) grant and the launch of the loan component of the IHIP program. This round of grant funding will directly incentivize the creation of 490 affordable and attainable housing units across Colorado. 

“I am committed to creating more housing for every Colorado budget, and by supporting businesses building more efficient housing options, we can lower housing costs and save Coloradans money,” said Governor Polis. “This...

Residents of the Donovan-Smith Manufactured Home Community had the first of two chances to tell Lewes city leaders what they think of proposed zoning changes that would bring their community up to code.

The Aug. 24 meeting was conducted in English with a Spanish interpreter.

Lewes Mayor Andrew Williams and city council members went over the ground rules and addressed the top six concerns they’ve heard from residents.

Next, City Planning and Building Manager Janelle Cornwell took the podium to explain definitions of terms like conditional use and text amendment, go over details of the proposed zoning ordinance and dispel rumors. It only...

Soul Cotton, 53, was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer three months ago. He uses a walker to tread the gravel and dirt driveways of the makeshift trailer park where he’s lived the past six years.

Amid a ramshackle assemblage of recreational vehicles, trailer homes, auto parts and junk, Adrian Cholula Gonzalez, his wife, Yasmin Lara, and their autistic son also have put down roots here.

Elizabeth Peterson, 64, has lived here with her daughter for 12 years. Peterson, who has a medical condition that causes swelling in her left leg and limits her mobility, cares for her daughter, who suffered a traumatic brain injury as a child.

Along...

Spencer, IA (KICD)– The Spencer City Council met in special session Monday evening to hear an appeal from a local trailer park owner to have electricity fully restored to his property more than a year after it was turned off due safety concerns.

The appeal stems from a decision rendered earlier this year by the city’s Electrical Board that kept power from being fully restored to the trailer park on West 18th Street.

Attorney Anne Quail represented master electrician Lane Schindler and property owner Bill Caskey and asked that the original verdict be overturned citing a section of Iowa code that she says was not taken under...

The recent Novato City Council meeting was a textbook example of political malpractice.

The issue was the potential sale of the Marin Valley Mobile Country Club. The facility consists of 325 manufactured homes owned and is occupied by 410 Novato residents . They are all over age 55 and 41% have low or very low incomes.

The balance is working folks who saved to buy a manufactured house on land owned by the city.

Events were precipitated by Marin County Civil Grand Jury’s report, “Novato’s Chronic Fiscal Deficits: A Call to Action.” It focused on the poor state of Novato’s fiscal management. The report was in part based on a misleading...

At a recent workshop, Milford City Council heard from Judson Malone, Executive Director of Springboard Collaborative, about a pallet village constructed in Georgetown designed to address the homeless issue. Springboard Collaborative works in partnership with other agencies, including First State Community Action and others to not only provide housing for those who are experiencing homelessness, but also help them reach goals that could provide them a steady income, housing and a stable lifestyle.

“What would a city council meeting be that you talked about pallet homes and I didn’t have something to say?” Martha Gery, founder of Milford...

SUPERIOR — Douglas County officials will be seeking proposals to clean up the north and south Country Acres trailer parks in Parkland.

The County Board approved spending up to $200,000 Thursday, Aug. 17 to remove the mobile homes that remain on the two sites. Funding for the project will come from available the American Rescue Plan Act money allocated to Douglas County.

The project will be done in three phases — asbestos assessment, asbestos removal and removal of mobile homes.

The goal is to get the work done before winter, said County Board Chairman Mark Liebaert.

“We’re looking for at least three (proposals) in each separate category,”...

This story is part of The Salt Lake Tribune’s ongoing commitment to identify solutions to Utah’s biggest challenges through the work of the Innovation Lab.

Carolyn and Brett Matesen purchased a small, single-family home in Salt Lake City’s Ballpark neighborhood about five years ago.

While the house was small, the lot was large and they wanted to put an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) on the property. They would live in it once they retired, enabling them to rent out the front house for extra income.

Rather than building another house on the lot, they purchased a prefabricated unit from Stack Homes, a Utah-based company that sells and...

On a quiet day this spring, Alejandra Chavez walked into her office at Westside Mobile Home Park in Durango, Colorado. Residents were gathered in the community space, discussing their plans for the park’s future, some leaning on the kitchen’s baby-blue counters while others sat in plastic lawn chairs. A year ago, this building was owned by a New York corporation and was off-limits to residents. But now, residents use the space for yoga, child care and community events. That afternoon, there were piñatas in the corner, left over from a recent birthday party.

Not long ago, 63 families at Westside faced the threat of displacement. In early...

RESIDENTS at a mobile home park fear losing their homes and having to "start all over again" after rent hikes and eviction threats.

Tiny home villages are popular among those with low incomes, veterans, and people with disabilities due to their affordability and sense of community.

However, residents at Live Oaks Manufactured Home Community in Mt. Washington, Kentucky say changes in ownership mean they are more likely to be able to "buy a home off the market" than afford their new rent.

Army veteran Mike Runnells moved out of Bullitt County in 2020 to find peace at Live Oaks after his father loaned him money to buy a mobile home.

Live...

Land use regulations are implemented locally, under authority given to municipalities by their state government. It is generally accepted that the federal government has limited ability to influence local land use regulations. Nevertheless, over the past 50 years, the federal government has sought to understand the extent and effects of regulatory barriers and encourage state and local governments to reduce the zoning and other land use regulations that have prevented jurisdictions across the country from providing adequate and affordable housing for current and future residents. This article discusses PD&R's role as part of those federal...

On the heels of a recent notification that some residents will be displaced from a mobile home park in Gunnison while the park undergoes renovations and has new mobile homes installed, the Gunnison Valley Rural Transportation Authority (RTA) board of directors agreed last week to temporarily offer several vacant units it has available in Gunnison for workforce housing to alleviate the sudden housing crunch. 

The small mobile home park, Frontier Lands, is located in Gunnison city limits, has 12 lots and approximately 40 to 50 residents. The park went up for sale in late 2022, and the Gunnison Valley Regional Housing Authority (GVRHA) set...

During its meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 22, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors will consider an urgency ordinance placing a temporary moratorium on rent increases in mobile home park spaces in unincorporated areas. 

The temporary freeze on rent increases is designed to preserve housing for vulnerable populations while the Board of Supervisors considers updating an existing ordinance that regulates rent increases in mobile home parks in unincorporated areas.  

If approved, the ordinance would take effect immediately and will remain in effect until the board adopts an ordinance amending the existing regulations, or through February 29,...

Last year when my friend Tami Crandall from Spearfish, S.D., renewed her home insurance on her 2,400-square-foot, 1913 two-story farmhouse with a detached garage, the price tag was about what she expected: $1,800 for the year. But Tami’s daughter and son-in-law, who live just a hundred feet away in a 1,500-square-foot manufactured home—a factory-built structure that rests on a permanent metal chassis as its foundation—had to pay more than twice that amount, almost $4,000, for similar coverage. 

Manufactured homes, built in just a few facilities around the country and then shipped to a manufactured home park or land you own, are...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - Residents at Lake Bradford Estates met to share stories of dealing with alleged poor living conditions, rent increases and eviction threats at a Tallahassee mobile home park.

Melanie Payne-Powell has lived in Lake Bradford Estates for 33 years, she purchased her current mobile home in 1997.

“I bought that mobile home with my husband’s death money so I could keep a roof over our heads,” said Lake Bradford Estates resident Melanie Payne-Powell. “I was homeless 35 years ago. I don’t ever wanna do that again.”

Payne-Powell lives on a fixed income and said, like other residents in Lake Bradford Estates, her rent has...

Across the US are tens of thousands of trailer parks offering low-cost housing to Americans and it's estimated that more than 20 million people are currently living in the mobile caravan sites.

But while they're traditionally seen as a more affordable way of living, one trailer park is so expensive, only the rich and famous can afford to live on the lavish site — and it's attracted celebs including Pamela Anderson and Matthew McConaughey.

Dubbed "America's most glamorous trailer park", Paradise Cove stretches across one of the most iconic beaches on the highly-sought after Malibu coast.

The private waterfront community has 265 trailers...

OS ANGELES, Calif. – The Department of Justice, on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), filed a civil complaint in the United States District Court for the Central District of California today against the operators of Oasis Mobile Home Park, located in the Eastern Coachella Valley in Southern California. The complaint alleges that the Administrator of the Estate of Scott Lawson and a corporation called Lopez to Lawson, Inc. failed to properly maintain and operate Oasis’ primary drinking water well, treatment and distribution systems and wastewater system, and failed to perform corrective measures to protect the health...

Attorneys for a mobile home park in Santa Clarita have played their latest card in a legal poker game with the city over a hillside covered with solar panels.

Canyon View Mobile Home Estates has responded to an appeal filed by the city to a judge’s order regarding the solar system at 20001 Canyon View Drive in Canyon Country, The Signal reported.

Superior Court Judge Stephen Pfahler ruled early last year that if the city orders the removal of 6,580 solar panels, the city must pay for the panels (which it can keep) and the cost of plucking them off the hill.

The city’s appeal last spring argued the city 30 miles north of Los Angeles...

MONMONTH, Maine (WABI) - A community of Maine builders came together for a cause.

“You never really think about unhoused teenagers,” Chase Morrill with Maine Cabin Masters said.

They’re building a tiny home community to help combat homelessness among youth in Franklin County, starting with this first home.

It’s a project founded by Bonita Thompkins.

“Recently, there was a report of 46 homeless youth in one school district in Franklin County, and I have got to imagine that the actual number is probably double,” Thompkins said.

Thompkins says she learned of youth homelessness firsthand while teaching at a high school.

“I noticed that there...