A steep rent hike at two Montana mobile home parks could have added hundreds of dollars a month to residents' housing costs. Instead, after tenants organized and bargained collectively, they secured an elusive rent cap, as the Montana Free Press reported.
For families who own their homes but rent the land beneath them, that kind of stability can mean the difference between staying put and being priced out.
What's happening?
After Oak Wood Ventures, a Texas company, bought Travois Village in Missoula, residents there saw their monthly lot rent go up by $200, the paper said.
The company later sought another $150 increase at both Travois and Harvey's Park in nearby Bonner, a change that would have brought monthly lot rent to $795 at Travois and $770 at Harvey's, according to the Free Press.
By first working with the Missoula Tenants Union and then forming resident unions in their own parks, tenants were able to pressure Oak Wood to scale that proposed increase back to $50. The paper noted the company also agreed to a 3% cap, which means this year's rent increase will be no more than $19.
"The lesson is that if you stick together and if you organize, this process can work," Travois resident Erik Brilz told the Free Press. "It's a matter of dedication and organization and everyone being willing to fight and fight together."
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Organizer Jackson Sapp put it even more bluntly to the outlet: "To say it more plainly, we won rent control in Montana."
Why does it matter?
Because Montana law limits traditional rent control, the Free Press noted the cap was achieved through bargaining between tenants and the landlord rather than through legislation.
"Montana is a conservative, a deeply conservative, red state, where our state government literally has prohibitions on instituting rent control," as Sapp said to the publication.
It also reflects a broader trend as renters in places such as Missoula and Bozeman face rising housing costs, limited supply, and mounting pressure from corporate or out-of-state property owners.
Greg Baltz, assistant professor of law at Rutgers Law School, said today's housing market is pushing more renters to organize.
"Between booming home prices, lack of availability of new homes, high interest rates and wages that aren't keeping up with inflation, we have an entire generation of tenants who don't see the pathway to homeownership," Baltz told the paper.
Moving a manufactured home is often costly or impractical, leaving tenants with fewer options when lot rents spike.
What's being done?
Tenant unions in Missoula and Bozeman, both founded in 2022, are trying to turn that vulnerability into bargaining power.
In addition to organizing mobile home parks, the Free Press reported they have pushed for broader tenant protections, including free legal help for renters facing disputes or eviction.
Bozeman Tenants United helped win a city program that offers free mediation and legal services to renters, per the paper. Missoula organizers say building tenant power property by property can also create momentum for future statewide action, including a planned push at the Montana Legislature in 2027.
"Whereas they might have been not super politically involved before, when it comes down to your life and to your home, you don't have any other option than to get involved," Sapp explained to the Free Press.
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