National Stories

Sunrise Serenity – Maine

Residents of the Sunrise Serenity mobile home park in Fairfield, Maine have endured nearly three years of unsafe water, including:

• Boil‑water orders since 2023

• Repeated bacteria contamination, including E. coli

• Extremely high PFAS (“forever chemicals”) levels — 275 ppt, about 14× the state limit

• Frequent water shutoffs with little or no warning

• Water that is brown, grainy, sticky, and stains fixtures

• Appliances destroyed by sediment

• Residents forced to shower at truck stops or rent hotel rooms

• Families buying bottled water for everything

• Rent increases up to 50% during the crisis

The state issued nine violation notices, and only after years of problems did the owner sign an administrative consent order requiring repairs and monthly testing.

Even after a PFAS filtration system was installed, residents said they were never informed of improvements and continued experiencing outages.

Many want to leave but cannot afford to move their homes, trapping them in unsafe conditions.

Source: The Maine Monitor 

Colorado – Rents Doubled After Corporate Takeover

A New York Times investigation documented how residents in several Colorado mobile home parks saw their lot rents double after corporate investors purchased their communities. Many of these parks had been stable, affordable places for families and seniors for decades — until new ownership arrived with aggressive profit‑driven strategies.

Residents reported:

• sudden rent increases of 50% to 100%

• new fees added without explanation

• no improvements to infrastructure or amenities

• fear of displacement because moving a home can cost $5,000–$20,000

• feeling trapped because they own their homes but not the land

• corporate owners refusing to negotiate or meet with residents

The article highlighted how private‑equity firms and large investment groups increasingly target mobile home parks because residents are “captive customers” — unable to move their homes and forced to absorb rent hikes.

One resident said the new owners treated the park like a “gold mine,” not a community.

Source: The New York Times – “As Affordable Housing Crisis Grows, Investors Are Buying Mobile Home Parks and Raising Rents” (2022)

The Housing Crisis Hits Mobile Homes — Washington Post 

• A Washington Post Post Reports episode examines how the national housing crisis is now spreading into mobile home parks — historically the country’s largest source of affordable housing.

• Roughly 20 million Americans live in manufactured homes, and most own their home but rent the land, leaving them vulnerable when park owners raise lot rent.

• Across the country, residents are reporting steep rent increases, often after parks are purchased by corporate owners or investment groups.

• Many families say they feel trapped: moving a manufactured home can cost thousands of dollars or isn’t possible at all, making relocation nearly impossible.

• Seniors, low‑income residents, and long‑time community members are being priced out of the last affordable housing option they had.

• The episode warns that this pressure point affects the entire housing system — when manufactured housing becomes unaffordable, the strain spreads to every other part of the market.

Source: Washington Post – Post Reports, “The Housing Crisis Hits Mobile Homes”

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