Senate committee hears mixed testimony on proposed caps for manufactured-home lot-rent increases

The Senate Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs Committee heard competing testimony on April 25 about proposed limits on lot-rent increases in manufactured-home parks, with resident witnesses calling current increases unaffordable and park owners and co-op advocates cautioning that a strict cap could block infrastructure repairs and complicate resident purchases of parks.

Julia, identified as a co‑lead of the New England Resident Owned Communities program at the Cooperative Development Institute, told the committee the state law that enables resident or nonprofit purchases of parks has made Vermont a model nationally but that the bill as written could create "major unintended problems" by limiting owners’ ability to fund or finance multi‑year infrastructure projects.

Why it matters: Manufactured‑home parks provide…