Governor signs Sen. Reny bill to preserve affordable housing in Maine

AUGUSTA — On Tuesday, July 1, Gov. Janet Mills signed into law a bill sponsored by Sen. Cameron Reny, D-Bristol. LD 554, “An Act to Encourage Resident-owned Communities and Preserve Affordable Housing Through Tax Deductions,” creates tax incentives to encourage the sale of mobile home parks and other multi-unit housing developments to resident-owned cooperatives, cooperative affordable housing corporations, or municipal housing authorities.

“Maine now has another tool to preserve affordable housing options in mobile home and manufactured housing parks,” said Sen. Reny. “It gives residents of these communities a leg up when they want to buy the land under their homes. All Maine people deserve to be secure in their housing, and LD 554 demonstrates our commitment to making that a reality.”

LD 554 creates a tax deduction to incentivize the sale or transfer of housing developments, manufactured housing communities, or apartment complexes to resident-owned communities, cooperative affordable housing corporations, or municipal housing authorities. This bill allows for an income tax exemption of up to $750,000 on capital gains from these transfers. LD 554 also outlines the performance measures that would be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the tax deductions in meeting the goal of preserving Maine’s affordable housing supply.

As non-emergency legislation, LD 554 will take effect on September 24, 2025.

Sen. Reny represents Maine Senate District 13, which includes most of Lincoln County and the towns of Washington and Windsor.

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