AUGUSTA, ME – The Maine Senate took initial votes in favor of two bills that advance legislative efforts to help residents of mobile home communities purchase their parks, preserving and protecting some of the strongest affordable housing options in Maine. Residents and legislators held a press conference at the State House to celebrate the positive votes and discuss more pending legislation that would combat the growing trend of out-of-state private equity firms attempting to buy up parks.

LD 1145, “An Act to Protect Residents Living in Mobile Home Parks,” sponsored by Sen. Tim Nangle, D-Windham, would create a right of first refusal for resident cooperatives to match a third-party offer to purchase the park they live in, providing them with the ability to control their future housing costs while ensuring that sellers receive the full market value of their property. The Senate took a strong, bipartisan vote of 25-7.

“When these communities get bought up by corporate landlords, rents rise,” said Sen. Nangle in remarks on the Senate floor. “Repairs get delayed. Evictions become more common. People who live their lives like any other homeowners suddenly are faced with seemingly insurmountable consequences: They own a structure, but not the ground beneath it. And the ground is shifting under their feet. [LD 1145] says: if the residents want to own their community — and they have the means to do so — we ought to let them.”

LD 1016, sponsored by Cameron Reny, D-Bristol, would create a per-lot transfer fee on the purchase of mobile home parks which applies only to purchasing entities with a net worth of more than $50 million, preserving the ability of local for-profit, non-profit and resident co-ops to buy and sell parks as they have for decades. Revenues from the transfer fee paid by equity firms and other high-end investor entities would go to a permanent Mobile Home Park Preservation Fund to support residents at risk of displacement.

“This bill helps protect affordable housing at a time when we need it most,” said Sen. Reny in remarks on the Senate floor. “It’s time to make rich, out-of-state investors pay their fair share and make sure our older Mainers, young families, veterans, and more, can afford to stay in their homes.”

Both bills have received strong support from the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future (GOPIF).

“Mobile home parks are an essential source of affordable housing in our state, providing homes to 45,000 Maine people,” said Greg Payne, senior housing advisor in the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future. “That’s why the Mills Administration partnered with the Legislature to pass the Opportunity to Purchase law and create and fund the Mobile Home Park Preservation Fund. These bills further protect mobile home park residents by helping them compete against wealthy investors when parks go up for sale and generating new funds to support housing stability and preservation.”

LDs 1145 and 1016 now await further votes in the House and Senate.

In a press conference following the Senate votes, the chairs of the Joint Standing Committee on Housing and Economic Development discussed the package of work the committee has done to protect mobile home communities from having their costs driven up by out-of-state investors.

“As legislators, we consistently hear that one of the top issues on the minds of Maine people is access to safe, affordable housing,” said Sen. Chip Curry, D-Belfast, Senate Chair of the Housing and Economic Development Committee in his remarks. “That’s why our committee has been focused on two deeply connected challenges: how to build more housing in Maine, and just as urgently, how to protect the affordable housing we still have. It has become very clear to us that a critical component of this mission is protecting the residents of mobile home parks. I’m incredibly proud to stand here with some of those residents and report that the Senate has just voted in favor of some really fantastic proposals to help them and thousands of Mainers.”

“We need every available tool to tackle the complicated housing crisis our state faces,” said Rep. Traci Gere, D-Kennebunkport, House Chair of the Housing and Economic Development Committee in her remarks. “Collectively, all of the bills we’ve mentioned here today will work together to protect Maine’s mobile home parks and their residents, which are one of Maine’s most vulnerable – and underappreciated – types of housing.”

“In March, we were notified that our park was for sale, and that there was an interested buyer from California,” said Dawn Beaulieu, a 30-year resident of Friendly Village Mobile Home Park in Gorham, and the President of the newly created Friendly Village Cooperative in remarks at the press conference. “After researching the interested corporation, we started organizing immediately to try to retain an affordable housing option for ourselves and our fellow residents. We, the residents, formed a cooperative and have since made a counteroffer to purchase the park. As of today, we are still waiting for a response to that offer. Our livelihoods should not be in the hands of an out-of-state conglomerate that sees us not as a community, but as an investment. The legislation being considered here in Augusta will help us put our fate in our own hands.”

Other legislative efforts from this year regarding mobile home parks that were discussed included:

LD 1183, “An Act to Ensure Rent-to-own Protections Apply to Mobile Home Park Tenants” Sponsored by Rep. Traci Gere, D-Kennebunkport

Signed into law by Gov. Janet Mills

LD 1723, “An Act to Amend the Laws Governing Manufactured Housing Communities to Prevent Excessive Rent and Fees Increases”  Sponsored by Rep. Cheryl Golek, D-Harpswell

Majority “Ought to Pass as Amended” report in committee, awaiting votes by the full Legislature

LD 255, “An Act to Support Mobile Home Residents in Purchasing Their Mobile Home Parks” Sponsored by Sen. Joe Baldacci, D-Bangor

Initially approved by the House and Senate, awaiting funding

LD 554, “An Act to Encourage Resident-owned Communities and Preserve Affordable Housing Through Tax Deductions”  Sponsored by Sen. Cameron Reny, D-Bristol

Initially approved by the House and Senate, awaiting funding

LD 1768, “An Act to Protect Residents of Mobile Home Parks by Amending the Real Estate Transfer Tax” Sponsored by Sen. Donna Bailey, D-Saco

Initially approved by the House and Senate, awaiting further action in the Senate.

 Dawn Beaulieu, a 30-year resident of Friendly Village Mobile Home Park in Gorham, and the President of the newly created Friendly Village Cooperative, speaks at a press conference at the Maine State House while Democratic legislators, advocates and mobile home park residents look on.