Sen. Reny bill to establish the Manufactured Housing Community and Mobile Home Park Preservation and Assistance Fund receives committee support

AUGUSTA — On Monday, May 12, the Joint Standing Committee on Housing and Economic Development voted to advance LD 1016, “An Act to Establish the Manufactured Housing Community and Mobile Home Park Preservation and Assistance Fund.” This bill, sponsored by Sen. Cameron Reny, D-Bristol, would support the affordability of manufactured housing communities and mobile home parks.

“I thank the Committee for voting to support some of the last affordable housing options in our state — mobile homes and manufactured housing parks,” said Sen. Reny. “As private equity investors and wealthy companies continue to buy up mobile home parks, rents are skyrocketing and leaving Mainers with nowhere to go. This bill would add another tool to our toolbox to preserve this vital affordable housing.”

The Manufactured Housing Community and Mobile Home Park Preservation and Assistance Fund is currently a temporary fund, authorized by last year’s supplemental budget to maintain housing affordability in manufactured housing communities and mobile home parks and to support ownership of manufactured housing communities and mobile home parks by owners’ associations, resident-owned housing cooperatives or other nonprofit entities. So far, this fund has helped residents of two Maine communities purchase of their parks, preserving 400 units of affordable housing.

As amended, LD 1016 would make the fund permanent, funded by a fee of $10,000 paid by certain buyers of manufactured housing communities or mobile home parks. The fee would be assessed for each manufactured housing community lot or mobile home park lot in the community. The bill directs the Maine State Housing Authority to administer the fund.

State and municipal housing authorities, resident/owner cooperatives and smaller companies and individuals with a net worth less than $50 million would be exempt from the fee. Structuring the fee in this way would encourage ownership of mobile home parks by smaller local businesses or residents themselves.

LD 1016 now faces votes in the Senate and House.

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

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