Santa Ana mobile home owners protest high rents

Nov. 11, 2009 | Adolfo Guzman-Lopez | KPCC

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People who live in a Santa Ana mobile home park organized a protest today against a management company they say is gouging them on their rent.

Santa Ana is home to many mobile home parks – about 30 in all, said Steven Trujillo, an organizer with a mobile home owners rights group. Mobile Community Management Company operates some of the biggest ones.

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Trujillo organized a protest at that company’s Santa Ana offices. He said rents for spaces at mobile home parks have gone up 10 percent in some cases; some owners pay up to $1,700 a month to park their homes.

"We just think that that’s just way too much. We’ve tried to negotiate with these people. And one park in Orange has a lawsuit pending against these people, another park in El Monte has a lawsuit against these people."

Trujillo said those suits accuse the company of providing inadequate electricity, sewage, and water services for the rent paid. The company denies those allegations.

In a written statement, company officials say the economic crisis has prompted them to offer rent subsidies to help mobile home owners in need. They added that they’re open to negotiating with mobile home owners.

Milt Burdick
1 week, 1 day ago

This is not only a Santa Ana problem. There are about 270,000 spaces state wide (HCD records) about 4500 parks. Many parks are in worst shape than Santa Ana parks.
Unfortnately there is no state law to control rents and Park owners are free to raise rents every 90 days, unless your rental or lease agreement states other wise. Orange County has only one city with rent control. Most other Cities are fearfull of Park owner law suits on rent control (Taking of Property).
There is a state law to help Homeowners (MRL) but this is a civil code and requires court action to enforce--Mobilehome Owners do not have the extra funds to take court action. HCD is the enforcement body of the Government, but because of cut backs, they refer almost everything to the courts.
HCD only seems to enforce items in it is a H & S issue such as sewer spills, gas or electrict problems. and most Homeowners do not even know the rules nor who to contact for help. By the way Hollydale MHP of Brea is now in the middle of a law suit against Kort and Scott (Park Owner) Sierra Management which manages our park and by the way is also owned by K & S.

mscam
1 week ago

The higher the space rent the lower the value of the mobilehome. As the cost of space rent rise to $1100 per month, the mobile home cannot be resold. Over $1500 per month mobilehome owners will abandon their home and the park owner will acquire the house. Then the park owners can and will sell the mobilehome to a new owner $50,000 with new lower rent of $700. Then the circle of unfair and unethical practice is repeated , this happens forever.

Park owners increase the rent on each sale/transfer up to 10%. It causes the rent to rise up to 259% for the 10th resale. In addition to increasing rent on the sale of the mobile home, the park owners increase rent annually by 5%. This annual increase is more benefit than lending a mortgage loan at 5%, 30 years fixed, because park owners do not lend a penny for this similar loan. And it is 30 years because the mobile home owners will abandon their home sooner or later. After 30 year, the rent will rise up 432%. This evil scam can be recognized by comparing the increase on space rent to the increase in minimum payment by government or an employee salary increased based on inflation, or the price of the house increased and decreased in the market.

By restricting sublease (798.23.5) and exempting on rent control (798.17) the California Mobilehome Residency Law 2009 kills the property right of the homeowners. This allows for the park owners to steal the value and in other words to rob mobile homes from innocent people. The law makers mistakenly treat the mobilehome owners as tenants who have no property, basically the same as if they were renting an apartment.

To run away from any potential punishment for this evil scam, park owners sell their park and this requires evictions to all of the mobilehome tenants, disregard the Detrimental Reliance/Estoppel doctrine.

It is the injustice that American cannot tolerate.

mike james
1 week ago

"In a written statement, company officials say the economic crisis has prompted them to offer rent subsidies to help mobile home owners in need."

Every time I hear that the company is offering rent subsidies it makes me sick. Their supposed "Rent Stabilization Program" required that residents sign and agree to an addendum to their already unconscionable long term lease. The addendum is nearly 30 pages long and is filled with legalese and has one sentence that exceeds 200 words. If you want to qualify for Mobile Community Management's rent stabilization you must agree that you will never take part in a failure to maintain lawsuit against them, you must agree to allow them to charge for services that they are not charging for under your original contract, you must agree that if they are sued and loose the costs of that lawsuit can be passed on to you via rent increases and the list goes on and on. What does all this have to do with stabilizing our rent during our economic crisis??? The resident must agree to all of the above in order to receive a rent reduction of less than $20.00 per month.

It is hard for us to understand why our local and state officials do nothing about the economic havoc that has been placed upon us by these sanctimonious fakes. This is why we protest.




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