Residents tell lawmakers private hydrants, fee hikes put manufactured-home communities at risk

Dozens of manufactured-home residents, local elected officials and park owners told the General Law Committee on March 20 that recent lot-fee increases, poor park maintenance and privately owned fire hydrants have left some communities unsafe and residents at financial risk.

Residents and local officials pressed the committee to back House Bill 5428, proposed changes that would add consumer protections, increase required relocation payments when parks redevelop and give towns more tools to enforce safety standards. Testimony focused on a September 2024 propane-line explosion in an East Hartford park, recurring problems with private fire hydrants and rapidly rising monthly lot fees that many residents say outpace their fixed incomes.

The committee’s hourlong public record included harrowing detail about the East Hartford blast and its aftermath. Representative Henry Jenga, who has brought constituents’ concerns to the panel, described the emergency response and the park’s deficiencies. "This is the primary responsibility of government, public safety. There's none higher," he told the panel, urging stronger state oversight of privately owned park infrastructure. Several residents described living without reliable water or heat for days after the explosion; one witness said a boil-water order lasted 11 days for parts of the community.

Why it matters: Manufactured-home residents own the structures on lots they rent; moving a home is usually expensive or impractical, so increasing lot fees can effectively force longtime owners to sell at a loss. Speakers said that wide differences in lot fees across nearby parks and rapid year-to-year increases are raising affordability and safety questions for a population that includes many seniors and veterans.

What residents described - Fire-safety gaps. Testimony detailed a September 2024 explosion triggered when a demolition crew struck a propane line. Firefighters found inadequate hydrant pressure on private park lines, delaying suppression efforts. Representative Jenga urged legislation to ensure privately owned hydrants meet state standards and to require testing and repair when needed. "This is the primary responsibility of government, public safety. There's none higher," he said (transcript: s2378.195). - Long water outages and poor communication. Residents said park management provided little or no timely information in the days following the blast, and that some displaced families received minimal assistance. - Rapid fee increases and opaque charges. Multiple residents and a homeowners’ association president described lot-fee hikes that far exceed inflation and new monthly charges for trash, pet fees and other services. One resident testified that his park’s lot fee rose from about $485 a month to more than $700 over several years.

Owners’ perspective Park owners and industry representatives said rising operating costs — including insurance, property taxes and utilities — are squeezing margins and that limits on revenue would reduce needed reinvestment in roads, septic systems and other infrastructure. "Owners’ operating expenses include but are not limited to taxes, insurance, general maintenance, water and trash pickup," said Mark Berkowitz, a park owner and Connecticut Manufactured Housing Association board member (transcript: s11061.976). Owners also warned that caps could push some communities into sale to institutional investors.

Points of agreement and friction Witnesses from both sides agreed the status quo can fail residents when owners reduce maintenance or are slow to fix safety problems. They disagreed on solutions: residents pressed for explicit limits on fee increases or a straightforward pathway for local enforcement and relocation assistance; owners pushed back that a statutory cap (for example CPI + 1%) would make long-term capital and safety investments impossible and could accelerate sales to large REITs.

What HB 5428 would do (as discussed at the hearing) - Increase statutory relocation assistance to help homeowners who must move when a park redevelops. - Require stronger notice and transparency around lot-fee increases and certain ancillary charges. - Create additional inspection or reporting duties for privately owned hydrants and other park infrastructure (safety provisions discussed in public testimony). The bill’s exact text remains under discussion.

Next steps and what lawmakers asked for Committee members asked staff to compare mechanisms used elsewhere: regional fair-rent panels, town-based enforcement models and targeted exceptions for capital emergencies. Several legislators suggested exploring a regional or state-level panel to hear manufactured-home disputes where towns lack capacity. Lawmakers also said they would examine the interaction of relocation assistance requirements with financing, property-tax treatment and homeowners’ ability to sell their manufactured homes.

Ending note: Residents repeatedly described life-or-death risks tied to park maintenance and safety systems, while owners warned that blunt price controls could reduce capital for needed repairs. The committee will weigh both sets of concerns before recommending draft language to the larger legislature.