After hearing from residents, Delaware officials are telling manufactured home community operators to review how they raise lot rent, concerned that some owners may have used more than one legally recognized method of increasing rent within a single year.
Here's what to know
As WRDE reported, the Delaware Department of Justice disclosed in a letter to community owners that it had received several consumer complaints about rent changes in manufactured home communities.
Those complaints alleged that some landlords used both CPI-based increases and phased-in market-rent increases during the same 12-month period.
State law permits lot-rent increases based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, on market rent, or on a separate written agreement with a homeowner.
But the Manufactured Homes and Manufactured Home Communities Act allows only one increase during any 12-month period.
The DOJ noted that owners cannot combine the inflation-based method and the market-rent method in the same year. The law sets different calculation rules for each approach.
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When an owner chooses to bring rents up to market levels, the increase must be introduced in equal increments over seven or 10 years.
Residents must also be informed of that schedule in the first year.
What's being done?
The agency's letter said owners who have imposed more than one lot-rent increase within the same 12-month period should fix the issue so the increases comply with Delaware law.
The DOJ warned that applying an inflation-based increase alongside a market-rent increase could violate the Manufactured Homes and Manufactured Home Communities Act and may also be in violation of the Delaware Consumer Fraud Act.
Residents reviewing such notices may want to confirm whether an increase was based on CPI, market rent, or a separate written agreement, and whether they were charged more than one increase within 12 months.
The DOJ's Consumer Protection Unit said community owners who have imposed more than one rent increase in the same year should correct it, adding that failing to do so could lead to further enforcement action.
Where can I learn more?
Disputes over lot rents and homeowner protections often spill into bigger battles over housing costs and property rules.
• In New Hampshire, residents bought the land under their homes and now control rent hikes.
• Across the country, cities are testing regulations on self-sufficient living that can limit homeowners' property use.
• In Colorado, lawmakers forced HOAs to allow water-saving landscaping instead of grass lawns.
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