The New Mexico congressman says residents face sharp rent hikes, neglected utilities and limited protections when institutional investors buy the land beneath their homes

Organ Mountain News report

WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez is calling for a congressional hearing on the impact of private equity firms and other institutional investors on manufactured home communities, citing reports of sharp rent increases, neglected utilities and other problems affecting residents.

Vasquez, a New Mexico Democrat who represents the 2nd Congressional District, led a letter with five other House members to the House Financial Services Committee, asking it to examine institutional investment in manufactured housing communities.

The lawmakers are asking committee leaders to look at reports from residents who say lot rents increased sharply and essential infrastructure deteriorated after investment firms purchased their communities.

“Manufactured housing is a critical pathway to stable, affordable housing for New Mexicans but private equity has continued to threaten this by failing to keep up their end of the deal in our communities,” Vasquez said in a statement.

Residents own homes but not the land

Manufactured home communities can leave residents in a particularly vulnerable position because homeowners often own the structure itself while renting the land beneath it.

The Land of Enchantment Manufactured Home Owners Alliance, which endorsed Vasquez’s request, said that arrangement can make homeowners effectively captive tenants when an investor buys the property.

Joanne DeMichele, president of the alliance, pointed to a recent case in Silver City where residents saw lot rents increase by 70% after investors purchased the land beneath their homes.

“One in six homes in New Mexico are mobile homes,” Vasquez’s office said.

The release also cited national figures showing institutional investors accounted for 23% of manufactured home purchases in 2020 and 2021, up from 13% between 2017 and 2019.

Vasquez points to earlier housing legislation

Vasquez said Congress recently addressed institutional investment in single-family homes through the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, but manufactured home communities were not given comparable protections.

He has also introduced the Keep Mobile Homes Affordable Act, which would apply additional requirements to investors owning more than 2,500 mobile homes or pads.

Vasquez’s office said that proposal grew out of concerns raised by residents in communities including Alamogordo and Albuquerque.

The Private Equity Stakeholder Project also endorsed the request for a hearing.

“Across the country, manufactured housing residents living in investor-owned communities are contending with extreme rent hikes, aggressive evictions, and cascading junk fees,” policy director Chris Noble said.

Vasquez and the other lawmakers are asking the House Financial Services Committee to hold a hearing examining those practices and potential protections for manufactured home residents.