Are There Any Occupancy Restrictions For Residents of Trailer Park Communites?
Occupancy Restrictions For Residents of Trailer Park Communites
Across the country, thousands of people live in trailer parks that rent plots from landowners. Many of them are elderly and on fixed incomes. They pay a monthly lot rent that is typically less than half the cost of renting a comparable home in a single-family neighborhood. But the homes aren’t always the most comfortable, and the rules can be strict.
There are more than 1,720 registered trailer park communities in New York state, but zoning laws make it difficult to build new ones. Some cities and towns are seeking to change that. Mobile home communities, also known as trailer parks, caravan parks or manufactured-home communities, are a temporary or permanent place to park mobile homes and travel trailers. They offer several benefits, including low costs and easy mobility.
The city of Miami was the first in the country to pass a law that protects residents of trailer park communit from being evicted by park owners intent on redeveloping the area, and it has been successful so far. A few other cities have tried similar efforts, but the results have been mixed.
Are There Any Occupancy Restrictions For Residents of Trailer Park Communites?
Some trailer park owners do not show any good cause for evictions, and some do not follow the law. In some cases, owners simply increase the rent without notice, or force their residents to move. In the meantime, there are a number of bills being introduced to strengthen protections for trailer park tenants. They would require park owners to meet certain requirements before evicting residents, allow for more grace periods after rent is late, and define what constitutes a rent increase.
One bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Fred Thiele (I-Long Island), would give municipalities the option to opt in to a system that allows for recourse for trailer owners hit with unjustifiable increases in their lot rents. It would also provide grants to residents cooperatives to purchase and preserve their local manufactured-home communities.
These pending bills are a step in the right direction, but they don’t change the underlying problem of park owners trying to take advantage of people with little money and no legal means to fight back. That’s a real concern, especially as the Legislature prepares to rewrite rent-control and rent-stabilization laws this summer. During the past year, residents in some mobile home parks have been the target of evictions and other abuses. A few are suing their park owners, while others are calling for stronger protections under rent-control law.
The most recent case involving the issue of mobile home park evictions came in November, when residents of Paradise Park in Miami received six-month eviction notices during the height of the flu pandemic. Another situation involved a park in Morehead, Kentucky, where a development project was coming, and a residents association was threatening to sue the park’s owners for compensation.
As a rule, the best course of action for trailer park residents is to communicate with their park owner by certified mail or phone and give them seven days before the rent is due to let them know they are withholding rent. Having a written warning in hand also helps you keep track of the progress of your eviction notice, so you can prove you were not able to comply with the law.
