A state panel says Maine should do more to support mobile home parks and keep them affordable for residents.
The report, which was written by officials at the Governor's Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, mobile home residents, park owners and other advocates, comes as corporate investors show growing interest in purchasing mobile home parks in Maine.
The panel told state lawmakers Thursday that Maine should offer more financial support to help expand mobile home parks or build new ones.
Many park owners are interested in adding homes to vacant lots or expanding existing parks. But the infrastructure upgrades needed to expand are expensive, housing officials said.
"The degree with which we can fill all the lots, maybe expand the parks, maybe develop new parks, is really an opportunity to produce more affordable housing," said Dana Totman with the Governor's Office of Policy Innovation and the Future.
That help could come in the form of new subsidy programs or construction loans offered by MaineHousing. The Legislature would have to get involved in both activities.
In addition, the panel suggested that the state revamp its oversight of mobile home parks to better serve residents who are facing a number of economic pressures.
Greg Payne, the governor's housing adviser, told lawmakers that the goal is to ensure residents have a reliable place to take their concerns about living conditions and other challenges.
"This is a group of people who I think often feel like the world looks past them, does not hear them, does not respect them," he said Thursday. "And we are recognizing that that needs to change."
Other recommendations include allowing mobile home residents to take out traditional mortgages. Currently, many are forced to take out "chattel" or personal property loans at higher rates and with fewer consumer protections compared to the traditional mortgages.
The report also includes a model rent stabilization ordinance that municipalities could adopt. The group did not weigh in on whether municipalities should regulate lot rents, as some advocates have called for. Manufactured home residents in several communities — including Auburn, Searsport and Waterville — are calling on their municipalities this winter to adopt some form of rent control.
The Legislature has passed a number of new measures in recent years intended to better protect residents in manufactured home parks. Because many residents own their homes but lease the land underneath them, they face unique financial pressures when lot rents go up suddenly.
