03/05/2021
HF442 would be very helpful for all residents of mobile home communities!
It’s crunch time.
Last week because of the power of your voices, a House subcommittee unanimously approved HF 442, a bill to improve protections for manufactured home residents. But HF 442 is now stuck, awaiting attention from the House Judiciary Committee. The Committee has just ONE WEEK as of today to approve the bill before an important “funnel” deadline on Friday, March 5th, so it can be considered for a vote in this year’s legislative session.
What you can do right now: Email a personal note AND call members of the House Judiciary Committee!
• Contact information for key legislators: https://iowafairhousing.com/contact-these-legislators
• Summary of HF 442: https://iowafairhousing.com/highlights-of-bill
Messages to share with Judiciary Committee members:
• Please keep fighting for us! Thousands of Iowa manufactured homeowners are counting on you. We need your support of HF 442 to:
o level the playing field for Iowa residents and local owners
o give mobile home park residents at least the same rights as other Iowa renters
o stop abusive practices of out-of-state corporations.
• The time is now! Will you help get HF 442 through the Judiciary Committee right away? Residents don’t have another year to wait for basic protections.
• Doing nothing this year is not an option. Inaction will only encourage predatory out-of-state investors to buy up even more Iowa parks.
• HF 442 is important to me and my neighbors because ____________ [share your experience as a park resident].
• HF 442 doesn’t fix every problem facing residents, but it’s an important step toward equal treatment [choose from one of the points detailed below].
It’s Time to Fix State Law for Iowa’s Manufactured Home Communities
Iowa’s weak laws have left manufactured home residents vulnerable for too long. And now out-of-state corporate owners are taking advantage of Iowa manufactured home residents who lack the same basic legal protections of traditional renters. It’s left thousands of Iowans facing a crisis that can’t wait, and one that will only worsen if lawmakers don’t take action.
Manufactured Home Communities Can Provide Affordable, Healthy Homes
At least 550 manufactured home communities across Iowa have historically provided affordable homes and tight-knit communities to thousands of retirees on fixed incomes, veterans, low-income families, people with disabilities, and employees seeking affordable living near their workplaces.
Iowans Are Getting Pushed Around and Priced Out by Predatory, Out-of-State Investors
A rapid sell-off of manufactured housing communities to out-of-state interests has left thousands of Iowans at the mercy of predatory business practices. Out-of-state investors now control over 25% of Iowa’s manufactured home communities, including dozens more parks purchased just since 2018. Corporate owners are gouging residents with high lot rents (increases often ranging from 30-70%), utility overcharges, and new fees, while jeopardizing safety by failing to invest in local maintenance. Residents are suffering and communities are being torn apart.
Weak State Laws Are Failing Iowa
Iowa Code Chapter 562B, covering manufactured homes, has over decades become severely imbalanced in favor of park owners over residents. We need lawmakers to restore basic fairness to both sides, ensure manufactured home residents have rights at least as strong as those of other renters, and preserve affordable housing for Iowa’s future.
Iowa Needs a Manufactured Residents Bill of Rights – and HF442/SF403 is a Good Start
Proposals introduced as HF442/SF403 would provide important checks and balances in a system that is currently very one-sided. The bill ensures legal protections for manufactured home residents are at least as strong as they are for traditional renters, prohibits utility overcharges, requires fair notice of annual rent increases, and allows residents recourse against abusive practices under the Consumer Fraud Act. Under this bill, owners still have the right to set lot rents, establish rules, and manage their parks. The bill simply levels the playing field between Iowa residents and out-of-state investors who are using our neighborhoods to flip a quick profit which then leaves the state.
