HELENA — Affordable housing is a big topic at the Montana legislature, and a proposed bill in the Montana House of Representatives would provide more security to residents of mobile home courts with their landowners — something proponents say is currently a David and Goliath situation.
"I spent, in this interim, numerous meetings in people's homes where they had sewage coming in and a park management that just wouldn't deal with real public health issues," said Rep. Jonathan Karlen, D-Missoula.
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Karlen proposed House Bill 305, which aims to revise the Montana Mobile Home Lot Rental Act by "creating the Montana Mobile Home Park Dispute Resolution Program."
The program would handle disputes between landlords and tenants, providing remedies and penalties.
Litigation can be costly, and proponents testified to the need for the program, especially for poeple on a fixed income like many mobile park residents.
"This isn't about the mom and pop's who treated people fairly. It's just a situation where a dispute resolution program like HB 305 would really offer a solution to those of us that are facing a huge corporate giant that's our landlord," Mobile home court resident Cindy Newman said.
The Montana Department of Commerce would run the program and be partially funded by a fee of $24 per year for each lot, half paid for by the tenants and half paid for by the landlords.
Opponents said the bill is unnecessary and would be a burden on the department .
"I encourage any tenant who has been wronged by their landlord to take their grievances to court," said Nathan Grovom, who owns a mobile home park in Great Falls.
"The Department of Commerce is not a regulatory agency. That's not work that we have done. That's not work that we are equipped to do. We have concerns regarding the cost that will then trickle down from the landlords to the tenants for that fee," Montana Department of Commerce deputy director Mandy Rambo said.
The program would also require landlords to give notice before the sale of a mobile home park, allowing residents time to make an offer to purchase the land.
Residents of mobile home courts typically own the manufactured home but rent or lease the land from court owners.
"They'd have to compete just like any other buyer, but I think it's frankly inhumane to sell land from underneath somebody's property without so much as telling them that it's going to be sold," said Rep. Karlen.
HB 305 is similar to the proposed legislation from the last session, which saw bipartisan support, passing through the House and Senate, but was ultimately vetoed by Governor Greg Gianforte.
This bill is a long way from becoming a law. It would have to pass through the committee, both the House and Senate and not be vetoed by Gianforte, something proponents say is another David and Goliath situation.
You can find previous reporting on mobile home courts here.
Watch the related coverage: Mobile home owners win Montana Supreme Court case regarding evictions
