A disputed $161 water meter fee set off a prolonged fight between a Minnesota resident and her manufactured home park, eventually leading to blocked rent payments, added charges, and an eviction filing.
Here's what to know
According to Minnesota Reformer, in 2023, Katherine Kilbride was charged $161 for a "damage fee," said to be a "cost to replace and install [a] new water meter."
Kilbride was confused by the charge and wrote to the management company of her manufactured home park.
"How am I supposed to pay rent with an extra charge of $161?" she said, per the Reformer. "I never signed a meter agreement or an amended lease."
At the heart of the dispute was Big Lake Estates' move in 2022 to individual water submeters after the property was bought by Big Lake MHC LLC, which the Reformer said is a Delaware-registered company operated by Sado Management and owner Joel Mazur.
Records reviewed by the Reformer indicated that Kilbride's lease promised water and sewer "at no extra charge," and she never signed an addendum changing that arrangement.
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Because the park's payment portal reportedly would not process a rent payment unless the contested fee was included, late charges accumulated. In April 2023, Kilbride paid the full amount, including the $161 charge, so her rent would go through.
Lilly Sasse, an organizer with the Manufactured Home Resident Collective of ISAIAH, described this kind of dispute as common in investor-owned parks.
"These new private equity firms come in and set new rules, telling people that they're supposed to abide by them, even though the lease they signed indicates that they don't have to," Sasse told the Reformer.
More background
Minnesota changed the rules around utility conversions in 2023.
According to the Reformer, current law bars owners from passing along capital or administrative utility costs, including late fees. It also requires sample bills before utility billing begins, limits certain rent increases after conversions, and requires that meters be installed or repaired by licensed professionals.
The contractor hired for the work, Clayton Hultman, reportedly does not appear in the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry's database as holding a state plumbing license.
Department of Labor and Industry plumbing inspector Charles Olson wrote that "new installation of a water meter would require a licensed plumber." Big Lake city administrator Hanna Klimmek confirmed that no permits had been filed.
What's being done?
In January, Kilbride was hit with an eviction notice. Although she had fallen behind on rent in December, the Reformer noted that when Kilbride attempted to eventually pay it, she ran into a payment portal that was disabled.
The eviction case ended in a settlement rather than a judgment against her. Represented by Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, she resolved the case with the park after nearly four months by paying rent and utilities only — not the disputed fees — and the court expunged the case in May.
In June, the city of Big Lake sent Mazur a formal code complaint notice citing five categories of complaints, including sewage concerns and unpermitted water meter installations.
The case has also made waves outside of Minnesota. The Reformer reported that U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, who serves as ranking member of the Joint Economic Committee, sent a formal document request to Mazur related to business practices across manufactured housing communities.
Kilbride kept screenshots, ledgers, portal messages, and written complaints, building a paper trail that helped support her case.
Years of records and the investigations that followed led Kilbride to see her experience as part of a wider pattern affecting many manufactured home park residents.
"Everyone here thinks low income means less rights," she told the Reformer.
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