Saint Paul, Minn. — Yesterday, the Minnesota House of Representatives Housing Finance and Policy Committee heard three bills to improve the way of life and clarify rights for residents of manufactured homes. The first, HF 156, authored by Rep. Sandra Feist (DFL - New Brighton), will provide utility price transparency to residents of manufactured home parks. The second, HF 817, also authored by Rep. Feist, provides the opportunity for residents to purchase when a manufactured home park owner announces the sale of the park. The third, HF 814, authored by Rep. Matt Norris (DFL - Blaine), invests a total of $65 million over the next two years through grants and loans to improve park infrastructure, finance the purchase and repair of manufactured homes, and allow residents to purchase parks when an owner looks to sell.
“The entire country is facing an extreme shortage of low-income housing and Minnesota is no exception. With these bills we will greatly increase the amount of affordable housing in Minnesota while making manufactured homes a more secure investment for families,” said Rep. Norris. “My district is home to the most manufactured housing of any legislative district in Minnesota, so I look forward to continuing to carry and advocate for this legislation which will make the dream of owning a home a reality for thousands of hard working Minnesotans.”
Manufactured homes are an important source of affordable housing and fill an important need in the overall housing market. Manufactured homes provide housing to nearly 180,000 Minnesotans, almost all of whom are classified as low or very low income.
“These bills are about providing stability and fairness in the lives of residents in manufactured housing communities,” said Rep. Feist. “These housing units are unique. Residents own the home, but not the property beneath them. When a park owner decides to sell the property, entire communities can be uprooted, or their rent dramatically increased. We saw this in Lowry Grove in my district, where the entire community was displaced after the sale by the park owner. Providing an opportunity for residents to purchase the land beneath their homes, and to ensure that they are only paying the actual cost of utilities are both measures that will support these residents who reside in nearly every county across Minnesota.”
HF 156 and 817 were passed on to the Commerce Finance and Policy Committee and HF 814 was laid over for possible inclusion in a later omnibus budget bill. The committee presentation and discussion will be posted here.
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