The manufactured housing tenants must unite to effectively stop landowners from continuing predatory pricing practices. In 2013, then Gov-Jack Markell signed the Rent Justification Act sponsored by Democrat Bruce Ennis and co-sponsored by several others in his party. The law was enacted to finally give over 70,000 tenants in almost 200 manufactured home communities protection from unscrupulous landowners that have been using predatory pricing practices against defenseless, low-cost/low-income tenants.
The new law’s intent is to provide protection to tenants from landowners who continue to believe they have the right to raise rents for basically any reason.
Unfortunately, over the past few years since the law was enacted, various actions or inaction by our state’s legislative, judicial and executive branches and by some landowners have effectively rendered the law useless. While the law enacted was extremely vague and ambiguous, one thing that was clear was that landowners needed to actually justify their rent increases in writing, and that tenants are protected against unreasonable and burdensome rent increases.
In 2016 a judge made a legal error when he ruled based on his interpretation of the law, once capital improvement costs are used to justify a rent increase, they remain in the base rent in perpetuity (forever) even though the cost of that improvement has been paid off. This ruling has provided some landowners with huge, unjustified windfall profits clearly contrary to the intent of the law. In addition, landowners have been allowed to impose rent increases in excess of 14 percent per year in multiple years. They have done this by charging tenants for the entire cost of a capital improvement in one year, instead of over its useful life. Again, clearly against the intent of the law that was enacted to protect tenants from pricing abuses.
Historically, the Democratic Party has championed the working class while the Republican Party favored big business and the rich. I know some of you actually believed Republicans when they said they would help you. However, if you look at their tax bill - the Congressional Budget Office has said over 80 percent of the savings will go to the rich. So look in your pocket - how much has actually trickled down to you? If you want legislation that will protect you - you must unite to vote more Democrats into office because they are your best hope for actually saving you money!
Robert Weymouth
Rehoboth Beach
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