Residents of a Maine mobile home park say lasting safeguards against lot rent increases are needed because even smaller hikes can strain their budgets and threaten their ability to stay in homes they own.
For residents, The Portland Press Herald reported, the question is not just the next monthly charge but the future of a housing option that many see as one of the community's few remaining affordable choices.
Here's what to know
During a Saco City Council meeting, Blue Haven Mobile Home Park residents pressed councilors to adopt a rent stabilization proposal. The measure would limit how often a park owner could raise rent in a year and require 90 days' advance notice before any increase, as the paper noted.
Resident Gail Janes said the proposal would help people remain where they are.
"Having this ordinance in place will support residents being able to stay in place, in a home they own, in a park they can afford," Janes told councilors, per the Press Herald.
The issue is especially significant in Saco because Blue Haven, with around 250 homes, is far larger than the city's only other mobile home park. Country Village has about 10 to 15 homes, as city spokesperson Andrew Dickinson noted to the publication.
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Resident Barb Thomas framed the matter as one of preserving affordability.
"Manufactured housing is one of the last true forms of affordable housing in Saco," Thomas declared, per the Press Herald.
More background
A key challenge for many manufactured home residents is that they often own the home itself while leasing the lot it sits on, so rising lot rents can quickly squeeze their finances.
That arrangement can be especially difficult to manage because moving a manufactured home is often costly, impractical, or both, limiting residents' ability to simply relocate when rent increases hit. It's why around the country, there is a movement to combat what residents believe are predatory rent increases.
The city has already tried a short-term response, as the Press Herald detailed. A moratorium on lot rents took effect in fall 2025 and was later extended, but the City Council rescinded it in March after Blue Haven's owners and most residents reached an agreement on planned rent increases.
That agreement set current tenants' rent at $660 and included credits for two years to offset part of the increase before newer rates begin in 2028, according to the paper. But the deal was temporary, and the city is now considering a rent stabilization ordinance that could create a longer-term fix.
What's being done?
If approved, the measure would not permanently freeze rents, but it could slow the pace of increases and give people more time to prepare.
The City Council is set to hold a second reading of the ordinance at its Sept. 14 meeting and is expected to vote then, the Press Herald reported.
"I just want to tell you how much this ordinance would mean to us," resident Susan Lalemand told councilors, according to the paper. "It's just a commonsense thing."
For Blue Haven resident Kathleen Felton, the debate remains deeply personal.
"I can't imagine another move," Felton said, per the Press Herald. "I love Blue Haven, and I hope to spend the rest of my days in Blue Haven."
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