Mobile homeowners feel the squeeze

Eron Ben-Yehuda

Sensing a need for more affordable housing, the leader of a group of

renters spoke out at last week’s City Council meeting and proposed a

method of rent control on mobile home parks in the city.

“We’re fed up,” said Steve Gullage, president of the Huntington Beach

Mobile Homeowners Assn., which represents 800 members, many of whom are

senior citizens living on fixed incomes.

They’re paying an average rent of about $515 per month for their

mobile home plots, more than 10% higher than park residents in the rest

of Orange County, he said.

“Anything over $460 is not affordable, and that’s for sure,” he added.

To limit rental increases at the 18 mobile home parks throughout the

city, Gullage proposes a law that creates a “ceiling” on how much park

owners can charge their residents.

“Parks that have been fair over the years won’t be affected,” he said.

One of the owners of Rancho del Rey park said fixing lease rates would be

“disastrous.”

“It’s an artificial control on a market,” Craig Houser said.

The City Council hasn’t taken a position yet, but a subcommittee is

studying the issue.

“I certainly need some education and additional information,” City

Councilwoman Shirley Dettloff said.

Mayor Peter Green, who acts as a council liaison on the subcommittee,

said he’ll keep an open mind, but he feels focusing on mobile homeowners

doesn’t make sense when apartment renters face a similar money crunch.

“I believe we should look at low-cost housing in the entire city,” he

said.

But Gullage said apartment renters shouldn’t be lumped together with

mobile home owners, who deserve a bigger break because they’re

responsible for much more of the housing costs.

The park owners only provide a plot of land, a driveway, utility hookups,

and common areas such as a clubhouse, he said.

“We provide the home, and we maintain the home,” he said.

Additionally, park owners benefit from a “captive market” because their

tenants have to move their entire home if they want to relocate, while

apartment renters can pack up and leave relatively easily if they’re

unhappy with the rent, he said.

“It’s just like comparing apples and oranges,” he said.

The subcommittee needs more time to produce a report for the council’s

consideration, but 76-year-old Gullage fears that many of the seniors who

depend on affordable housing may not find relief soon enough.

“They want to be heard before it’s too late,” he said. “And it may be too

late for some of them.”