Mobile Home Park Residents Protest Rent Hike

Residents living in mobile home parks in Milpitas benefit from rent control on their lots, but all that could change in the near future.

A property owner of one of three mobile home parks in the city wants to raise the rent to a flat $875 per month, which means most residents who own their home, but not the lot, would see their rent increase about 50 percent. A letter from an attorney was sent out at the end of June with detailed tables.

At the City Council meeting on Tuesday night, the tenants from Friendly Village came out in force, mostly because new appointments to the Mobile Home Park Rental Review Board were on the agenda. 

"As residents, we want the city to honor the rent control ordinance we had in place," said Kathleen Loveall, who would see the rent for the lot of her three-bedroom mobile home rise from $700-$875 this coming October.

The group delivered a petition to the council that requests a hearing within 45 days (by Sept. 28). On the same night, the council approved four appointments to the previously vacant mobile home review board.

The rent control ordinance for mobile homes allows an annual increase of half of the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This year's normal increase would be 1.41 percent.

There are just under 200 lots inside the  owned and managed by Santiago Communities. 

Oakland-based attorney Anthony C. Rodriguez, representing Santiago Communities, said that other than the 1.41 percent increase, the other proposal will need to go before the mobile home review board.

If it is rejected by the board, Santiago Communities could take the city to court, he said.

"A lot of these people make significant income," he said. The applicants list their income, and he has seen as much as $70,000 a year, he said.

The city's rent control ordinance does not have a hardship clause, found in San Jose's ordinance, he said, which means that Santiago Communities is subsidizing residents who may be able to pay.

The lots at Friendly Village were appraised at market value at $875, he said, which is still lower than other mobile home parks in Fremont and San Jose. According to the table mailed to all residents in Friendly Village, a few people are still paying under $500 a month.

That means that Santiago Communities is subsidizing the Friendly Village at $639,000 a year, he said.

The special rent increase could be waived if residents who give more than a third of their income to rent apply and qualify.

One speaker at the podium, Rosemary Ward, who said she lived on a fixed income with her daughter, said she did not feel she could trust Santiago Communities with her personal info, such as a Social Security or bank account number.

Rodriguez has sent a letter (see above and to the right of the article) to city asking for Milpitas to create its own subsidy program.

"The government is abusing its power," he said, requiring Santiago Communities to subsidize its tenants regardless of their income.

Other tenants said Santiago Communities was not spending money on maintaining the facilities, so they wait to wait for weeks if something breaks.  

"This [mobile home] park is an absolute cash cow," said resident Carol Kolodzeij. She and several tenants of the Friendly Village complained to the council about the poor maintenance of the facilities.

"Every time it rains, I get flooded out," said Kolodzeij, who lives at the low end of the park. Sometimes, she gets out with push brooms to move the rainwater.

She also said the staffing levels had declined. The gardeners used to come once a week; now they come around once a month. She said there are fewer managers and meter readers and less security.

Regarding any code violations or issues, the city agreed Tuesday night to set up a meeting with residents and to send building inspectors to take a look.

"Our mobile park residents are entitled to the same services as everyone else in this city," said Councilman Armando Gomez, liaison to the mobile park review board. 

Any mobile home operators who operate like slumlords need to be held accountable, he said.