Bill targeting private‑equity purchases of manufactured home parks advances after hours of testimony

Senator Roger Putnam described Senate File 1450 as legislation aimed at curbing predatory practices by private‑equity buyers of manufactured home parks. Putnam and multiple witnesses told the committee that since 2015 dozens of parks and several thousand lots in Minnesota changed hands to out‑of‑state investors, and that some purchases were followed by large rent increases and deferred maintenance.

Under the author’s A2 amendment, the bill would: 1) prohibit park owners who meet the bill’s private‑equity definition from stripping assets or undermining infrastructure; 2) restrict rent increases to no more than the Consumer Price Index (CPI) year‑over‑year unless the owner demonstrates commensurate cost increases; 3) prohibit actions that would adversely affect the health, safety or…