A state lawmaker says large corporations are buying up mobile home parks in Florida and jacking up the prices.
In two weeks, a new law, HB 613, takes effect to try to stop it.
State Rep. Paula Stark, who co-authored the legislation, said she did it after hearing dozens of horror stories about unacceptable amenities and rising lot rents.
There are about 3,500 mobile home parks across the state of Florida.
Many people tell News 6, the unregulated hikes in what you pay to rent the lots are increasing rapidly. Angela Silas has lived in Lake Runnymeade Mobile Home Park for 13 years, but said in the last three years, the amount she pays to rent the lot her home sits on has increased from $415 a month to $915.
“I think it’s ridiculous because a lot of us are homeowners here. We have no amenities,” Silas said.
She said even though the price has gone up, the service has not.
“When I first moved in, you could see the lake. We had a pool. We had a dog park. The pavilion had a grill,” Silas said. “It was very pretty around here. It was a nice place to live. Now I don’t feel like that.”
Her neighbor Christine Clemans, who also said she pays $915 a month, agrees.
“We haven’t had a pool in about four or five years,” Clemans said. “That’s the main reason they said that our lot rent had went up was because they were going to fix that pool. And so far, empty promises.”
Stark said HB 613 will help. It takes effect on July 1, and it allows mobile home park owners and homeowners in a dispute related to lot rental increases, to select a mediator and initiate mediation proceedings.
Stark said it gives homeowners some recourse to fight back.
“We need residents to know there are laws that protect them,” Stark said.
Stark stopped by Sugar Mill Mobile Home Park in St. Cloud to educate people on what the bill does.
“We have to let our residents know, these are the things that are happening, this is what you can do,” Stark said.
Stark said there has been a trend of large corporations buying mobile home parks and increasing lot rents across the state and the country.
Lake Runnymeade, where Clemans and Silas live, was sold to a corporate owner three years ago.
“Lake Runnymede is owned by Homes of America,” Stark said. “Homes of America has about 100 parks in Florida. If they all have been run and had the issues that Lake Runnymeade has, there is no way that is acceptable.”
Stark said she is already considering adding to the bill next legislative session. She would like to see the state increase the assistance it provides if a mobile home park has a land use change and people have to move their homes.
Clemans and Silas said they would like to see a cap put in place that would only allow park owners to increase lot rents by a certain percentage per year.
We tried to contact Homes of America but did not get a response.
Read the text of HB 613 below:
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