GENESEE COUNTY/Town of Batavia/Residents at Country Meadows organize after rent, water increases and cutbacks in needed repairs

A group of residents at Country Meadows gathered on Saturday morning with MHAction to discuss some of the issues they have been experiencing the past two years. Residents say they are worried that they are being priced out of their homes by the park’s owner Cook Properties.

Country Meadows Manufactured Home Community, off Clinton Street in the Town of Batavia, received letters from MHAction late last week, a group fighting for affordable housing and economic security at Manufactured Home Communities.

“I decided to print flyers and go door to door knocking and viola, we’re here,” says one resident who did not want to be named.

Residents say they are concerned about the 6% raised lot rents that took effect this past spring, that could increase each year. They are also concerned with high water rates. One resident, who says she lives alone, went from paying $30 per month to over $120 per month to Cook Properties for water service. Residents also say that maintenance throughout the park is not being done, especially tree trimming.

“I don’t think you are going to get anywhere as an individual, being a group, you have a bigger voice,” says the unnamed resident.

Yvonne Maldonado, Co-Director of MHAction (right), and Gail Travers/Volunteer Leader(left) at Manufactured Housing Action, speak to residents on Saturday. Travers lives at Akron Mobile Home Park, another Cook Property.

Yvonne Maldonado, Co-Director of Manufactured Housing Action spoke to residents about organizing themselves to protect their homes and their communities.

“I’ve been in many communities across NYS to organize residents to lift their voices and protect the affordability of their communities and fight the abuses in their communities. The takeover by these real estate speculators is making these homes very unaffordable. MHAction is actually a grassroots movement of residents that are organizing in their neighborhoods and communities. It builds strength to protect their community,” says Maldonado.

Link to website below:

MHAction

Currently, Cook Properties owns 100 Manufactured Home Parks across NYS. They are currently looking to expand Country Meadows and add 76 more mobile home lots on a portion in the northwest corner of the park. Asking price is $80-$100,000.

Residents say they plan to meet monthly and discuss the issues and collect emails from all 175 residents in the park so they can communicate their concerns with each other.

Currently there is a petition to pass a bill in NYS to assist those in Manufactured Home Parks.

Taken from the Assembly Bill: Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly (nyassembly.gov)

JUSTIFICATION: Manufactured homes are a critical source of affordable housing for residents in New York State. The rights of manufactured homeowners who rent space in a manufactured home park in New York State are covered under Section 233 of the Real Property Law, also known as the “Manufactured Homeowners Bill of Rights”. Provisions of this law address land use changes and the right of first refusal. Currently, when a manufactured park owner decides to sell the park, the requirement of offering a right of first refusal to the homeowners is only invoked in the event that a prospective buyer certifies that there is an intent to change the use in the land once purchased. In this case, the homeowner’s association or the homeowners themselves, have the right to match any offer that the owner has received to purchase the park. This legislation removes this restrictive provision to give manufactured homeowner’s the right of first refusal when the park in which they reside is put up for sale regardless of land use changes. This would afford a fair opportunity to preserve the integrity of their park and protect against any company whose management techniques would contrast with values of the manufactured home community. It also ensures that the 140-day right of first refusal period that this bill imposes on all sales will not create any uncertainty that will deter buyers or jeopardize their financing or harm residents if new ownership is needed to address financial or operational problems at the park by requiring homeowners/homeowner associations provide a 60-day notice of intent to make an offer to purchase. The enactment of this legislation balances manufactured home park owners’ and residents’ interests while providing a robust tool for protecting manufactured home parks as vital affordable communities and strengthens the “Manufactured Homeowners Bill of Rights.”

The Bill passed the Assembly in June 2023 and was delivered to Governor Hochul on June 13, 2023.

Link to petition below:

Governor Hochul: Protect our communities and stand with us to stop buyouts by predatory owners (actionnetwork.org)

NYS bill S5881A/A5549A is an act to amend the real property law, in relation to manufactured home parks. The bill removes certain requirements for prospective purchasers of manufactured home parks. It was introduced by M. of A. Thiele, Norris, Barrett, Woerner, J. A. Giglio, Rivera, Kelles, Wallace, Smith, Gandolfo, Brabenec, Hunter, Steck, Santabarbara and Meeks on March 16th 2023¹². The bill was passed by the Assembly on June 10th 2023 and was delivered to the Governor on June 13th 2023