Is there a storm coming?

by Attorney Justin Joseph


Let’s look at what’s going on in mobile home living today. Rent increases are as sure as death and taxes. Pass-on charges are just as bad. There is always some kind of charge being passed off on the residents. Services and amenities aren’t what they used to be, and more and more people cannot afford to live in these “affordable housing” communities. So what is being done to stabilize this situation which is spinning out of control at a faster pace every year? The answer lies in you!

Chapter 723 of the Florida Statutes offers protections that were hard fought for back in the 1980s, by residents who saw their community living being destroyed by park owners looking for big profits with little regard for residents. In the early 1980s, residents got together, raised money, supported the FMO, lobbied politicians, wrote letters, and made sure their voices were heard. And it worked. They were active in shaping their destiny.

For many years, the protections of Chapter 723, F.S., were utilized and there was some stability in manufactured/mobile home living. As time passed, residents began to relax and that’s when the changes began to take place. Park ownership started lobbying for changes; they pressed the boundaries of the law of Chapter 723, and they would threaten to sue the Bureau of Mobile Homes if any ruling was issued contrary to the park owners’ position. While this was happening, a new breed of resident had come to Florida: People who hadn’t been involved in the fight for Chapter 723, who hadn’t seen what it was like before the protections were in place. They assumed it would always remain that way, so they didn’t notice when the erosion of their rights began to occur. Over time, everything began to change back to the way it was before Chapter 723, which is where we find ourselves today.

Litigation: The moment of truth

A typical scenario for the manufactured/mobile home practitioner is this: a Board of Directors arrives at the attorney’s office with a rent increase notice in hand asking for a $15.00, $20.00 or more rent increase. The Board states that the residents are finally fed up with these yearly increases while their parks are getting less service and the amenities are not being kept up. A review of all factors is made and the matter proceeds to mediation. At mediation, the park owner may give in on a couple of dollars, but the attorney for the residents thinks it is not enough and explains to his clients that they have a good case and should litigate.

The moment of truth has arrived. Do we take the poor offer or do we go to litigation as recommended by the attorney? In almost every case of this type, the members of the Board inform the attorney that they have polled members and they can’t get a commitment from more than 50% of the people to go to litigation, so the offer is taken.

Chapter 723 is still there with its protection against unreasonable rent increases and protections for decreases in services; it requires that attorney’s fees be recovered by the prevailing party, so why don’t the residents want to go forward? The answer [most often] given is one of the following: “We don’t have any money in our Association to bring a lawsuit as we can’t even get members to pay $10.00 to $15.00 a year to be a member of the Association, so it can put on functions.” Or, “We can’t get enough people to contribute to a legal fund when it is needed.” Why are these the types of reasons given at such a critical time for the park residents? My answer to the question is [both] apathy and not being educated about the ramifications of what will eventually happen in the park.

A prescription for failure

Apathy is easy to explain. People just don’t want to get involved and feel that someone will come along and bail them out. After all, they didn’t retire to Florida to engage in fighting for their rights. Well, that’s just being lazy.

Not being educated on the ramifications of letting unreasonable rents and decreases in services and amenities, occurs because there generally is a dichotomy in the park. On one hand, you have residents who have retired in the 70s and 80s on pensions that may have been sufficient at the time, but have not kept up with the rapidly rising rent increases and the difference of a few dollars in a rent increase may mean the difference between two meals and three meals a day for that person. On the other hand is the more recently retired resident who sees a $15.00, $20.00, or more increase as no big deal as they used to pay a lot more than that before they retired. They don’t see why they should contribute to any legal fund to challenge a rent [increase that] they don’t find that bad.

This is where the failure to recognize what will happen if recently retired persons don’t see how their lack of commitment to the entire community will hurt them. What they don’t see is that continuous rent increases that aren’t challenged lead to long-time residents no longer being able to afford to live in the park. They can’t pay the rent. They don’t have $5,000.00 to move their homes to another park. Even if they did, what park would take them and why would they want to face the same thing later down the road.

So they either abandon their home or turn it over to the park owner and they go to live with family or friends. Over time, the home that has been left behind is not making revenue for the park owner, so he either rents it to whomever he wants (claiming that he has the right to rent up to 20% of the park to people under 55 years old) or the continued loss of revenue causes him to reduce maintenance, service, amenities, or change the park to a family park or undergo a change in the use of land. Now that recently retired resident realizes his park environment is changing in a way he does not want to see and chooses to move out. Good luck because who will buy his unit under those circumstances.

Turning things around

If something isn’t done soon, affordable housing in a mobile home community will disappear. So what can be done? The first step begins in your own back yard in your own park. Strengthen your homeowner’s association by volunteering, by financing it, by recognizing not just your own needs but also those of your neighbors. Get involved with making your association as strong as possible, so its group voice can be better heard when dealing with your park owner.

Second, support your association’s appointed negotiating committee and trust them when they report on what their research and legal consults have advised them is the best approach to handle the problem at hand. Then support their recommendation and show the unity necessary to make your position as strong as possible.

Third, you should support the FMO and what it tries to do for all mobile home residents. It is the only organization that exists to assist you in maintaining the quality of the community living you deserve. It is the only entity out there lobbying politicians for stronger laws and better protections. It is the only group whose primary function is to make your life better. Even if you don’t care for present policies or feel it [FMO] is not doing what you would like to see it do, you must still support it and get others to support it too. Then get proactive in the FMO and make your ideas known.

Finally, let your Representatives, Senators, Commissioners, and all other politicians know how you feel on issues. Let them know you’re going to be watching how they vote and if they are not for you, they are against you.

Is there a storm coming? Yes, there is! Will you get wet? That’s up to you. Get involved!

The legal opinions and analysis expressed in the above article are not necessarily those of the FMO or its publisher. The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements. Before you decide, ask for written information about the lawyer’s qualifications and experience.