Bill Banning Rent Gouging for Mobile Home Residents Passes Committee

SPRINGFIELD, Ill – The House Housing Committee today advanced a bill from Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid (D-Bridgeview) that would end rent gouging by manufactured home park landlords, bringing much needed relief to mobile home owners and renters.

“Greed is rampant in the manufactured housing industry. One prominent investor likened his tenants to hostages, saying ‘we’re like a waffle house where everyone is chained to the booths.’ 50%, 60%, even 70% rent hikes in a short period of time are common – and devastating for manufactured home owners,” said Rashid. “This bill provides a reasonable guardrail against the most egregious rent increases, so our seniors and families are not at the mercy of robber barons seeking maximum profit at any cost.”

HB3526 would prohibit a manufactured or mobile park owner from increasing rent more than 3% plus inflation per year. Currently, institutional investors have been buying up manufactured home parks, leading to skyrocketing rents for residents who have few alternative options. Residents typically own their homes, but rent the space the home sits on in manufactured home parks, meaning they are vulnerable to potentially losing their homes if they cannot afford spiking rents.

The manufactured housing industry is highly profitable and stable, and can absorb reasonable rent stabilization that keeps residents in their homes. Research shows that between 2004 and 2018, net operating income from mobile home parks rose by 87%, and notably never declined even during the Great Recession. In fact, a 2017 analysis found this sector was the only major real estate asset class with no year-over-year income declines in any year since 2000, outperforming apartments, offices, and other property types.

“There is no reason that we can’t provide relief to manufactured home owners and help keep folks in their homes,” said Rashid. “I urge my colleagues to support this very necessary cost-of-living protection for our Illinois residents.”