At the May 10 Community Conversations held at the Menomonie Public Library, Steve Carlson, retired social worker from Trego, Wisconsin, presented on Manufactured Home Communities.
According to Carlson, since 2021 the purchase of Manufactured Home Communities by private equity firms has been happening throughout the country, and as a result the working poor, retired folks on a fixed income, the elderly, and the disabled are often losing this last avenue of affordable housing.
Mobile homes are not actually mobile as it is unaffordable to have these homes moved, Carlson said. Owners may become trapped paying large increases in their lot rents, sometimes thousands of dollars per year and also must put up with unsafe conditions – poor maintenance of roads, poor quality of water, and improperly maintained septic systems.
Carlson stated that there is currently no standardized inspections of Manufactured Home Communities in Wisconsin, plus there is no certainty about the process of investigating complaints about the parks. There are 56 counties (out of 72) in Wisconsin with no “delegated authority” for inspections of these communities by their public health officials. Dunn County falls in this category. Dunn County could establish “delegated authority” for inspection of Manufactured Home Communities, which would allow for inspections as is currently done in Eau Claire County.
Carlson has started a nonprofit “Wisconsin Manufactured Homes Alliance,” hoping to encourage state legislators to offer legislation for a cap on rents, transparency between the owners of parks and their renters, and regulations and inspections of the parks. He believes there is interest in doing a bill similar to one being proposed in Minnesota for Manufactured Home Communities. It would be important for the public to express their interest on this legislation.
Carlson said he is encouraged by affordable rent and correction of safety issues in the four Manufactured Homes Communities in Wisconsin where the land has been purchased by the renters. These communities are run as cooperatives. The first one was established in Cumberland.
Contact Steve Carlson at: [email protected] or 715-520-0717.
Lorene Vedder is a Menomonie resident, retired physician and coordinator of Community Conversations.
