Building Community While Rallying Around High Rent Increases
Tonopah Village in Harbor, Oregon, is a lovely 55+ manufactured home park on a hill overlooking the Brookings harbor. Longtime residents were horrified in 2023, however, when a large, out-of-state corporation bought their park and raised the rents 14.5%. The company hired a Portland-based management group to “run” the park as allowed by law.
Resident leader Robbin McCain says the Portland company has been unresponsive and neglectful. Residents have dealt with numerous problems such as when the owners decided to install meters in all the homes and force residents to pay for their own water, and when a major water leak was not repaired last winter and one resident was injured due to frozen ice on the pavement.
But, says Robbin, the crisis has brought the community together and empowered them to more fully stand up for their rights and care for each other. Residents quickly created an association and started getting to know each other better. When the 2023 Legislature first considered a bill to limit rent increases, residents quickly mobilized, wrote letters, and provided testimony to their legislators in support of Senate Bill 611. They feel proud that the bill was passed on July 6, 2023, although some of ther terms of the initall bill had to be watered down with some compromises before passage due to landlord testimony and Republican objections. (Watch for our upcoming article summarizing the victories that tenants achieved this year, and a summary of the losses as well.)
With that effort and the passing of SB 611, landlords can increase rents annually more than 10% and THAT is a win!
Robbin and her neighbors are happy to live in a community that has become a true neighborhood of friends and helpers. They hope that as the more they stand together, the better they can withstand future challenges with the new park owner and management company. We cannot forget our collective power.
