Michigan lawmakers are biting back. A package of bipartisan bills related to manufactured mobile home parks will give local municipalities and the state more teeth, when confronting predatory owners taking advantage of vulnerable people in need of affordable housing. Among the advocates supporting the legislation on behalf of her neighbors is Holly Hook.
When she moved into Swartz Creek Estates it was a mobile home park operated by small business owners. The roads and sidewalks were nothing to brag about but it was a nice place to live. “I bought my home because it was affordable and I knew I could pay it off in five years,” said Hook, who has been working with the Manufactured Housing Action (MHAction), a nonprofit group representing the interest of manufactured home residents that’s been spearheading the legislation.
Then the community was sold and she received a faceless declaration from the owners. “They just said, ‘We’re raising your rent.’ There was no warning; there was no explanation,” Hook said.
That was in 2018. Since then her rent has not only doubled but she has received notice of other fee increases on services that were once included in her rent but had become amenities. It took its toll on her financially and emotionally.
. ”I became overwhelmed, and I started having health issues,” said Hook. As with many residents put in this situation she began to feel trapped: She couldn’t afford to move and with the prices rising monthly couldn’t af.