Bipartisan bill introduced to add protections for manufactured home residents – Iowa City Press-Citizen

Zachary Oren Smith, Press Citizen Published 3:39 p.m. CT Feb. 13, 2020

State Sen. Zach Wahls, D-Coralville, knocked on doors at West Branch Mobile Village to see if there was appetite to organize among mobile homes tenants in his district, on Friday, April 19, 2019.(Photo: Zachary Oren Smith)

In 2019, Havenpark Capital, a Utah-based private equity firm, bought up manufactured housing parks in Johnson County and across the state. Residents of those parks quickly were hit with sharp rent increases, someas high as 58% in North Liberty's GolfviewMobile Home Park.

It became clear to residents and their advocates that protections afforded to apartment renters and other consumerswere not extended to mobile home residents who might own their home but rent the parcel it sits on.

On Wednesday, a bipartisan group of 15 Republican and 15 Democratic senators introduced S.F. 2238, a bill that aims to expand those protections for mobile home residents.

More: Taskforce releases recommendations for manufactured homes

State Sen. Zach Wahls, D-Coralville, knocked on doors at West Branch Mobile Village to see if there was appetite to organize among mobile homes tenants in his district, on Friday, April 19, 2019.(Photo: Zachary Oren Smith)

Sen. Carrie Koelker, R-Dyersville, introduced the bill in the Iowa Senate. She could not be reached by press time.

In the waning days of the last session, Sen. Zach Wahls, D-Coralville, attempted to pass legislation with similar aims but it was unable to clear both chambers.

"I think the big difference is the amount of education that went on in the interim. For seven months now, we've been engaged in writing legislation with members of both parties and both chambers," Wahls said. Both Iowa Legal Aid, who represents some Golfview residents, and the Attorney General's Office have weighed in on the crafting of the bill. "And we've been keeping the Governor's Office in the loop."

While he said the bill does not do all the actions he set out for, he said it takes two important steps. First, it aims to protect property and due process rights for people who own manufactured homes. Second, it provides legal protections that are at least as strong as people living in apartments."

The bill as introduced would do the following:

Candi Evans, the co-chair of the Golfview Residents Association, said that while the bill doesn't accomplish all she would like to see, she was heartened by the bipartisan support on the bill.

"Not all of it came through that we wanted, but this important. It has real impacton our families who are in need," Evans said.

Next week, she said mobile home park residents will head to the Capitol to share their stories. She said that Republican and Democrat lawmakers alike have been willing to listen before. She said she is hopeful to continue those conversations next week.

Republican Senators signed on:

Democratic Senators signed on:

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Zachary Oren Smith writes about government, growth and developmentfor the Press-Citizen. Reach himat zsmith@press-citizen.com or 319 -339-7354, and follow himon Twitter via @zacharyos.

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Bipartisan bill introduced to add protections for manufactured home residents - Iowa City Press-Citizen