Montana committee hears emotional debate over bill creating mobile-home park dispute-resolution program

Representative (sponsor) told the House Judiciary Committee that House Bill 305 would create a structured dispute-resolution program to enforce existing law for residents of mobile-home parks, paid for by a $24-per-lot annual fee split between park owners and residents and administered by the Department of Commerce.

Supporters who testified described a pattern of out-of-state investment firms buying mobile-home parks, raising rents, cutting maintenance and leaving residents — many of them seniors or people with disabilities — with little practical ability to challenge owners. Cindy Newman, a long-time resident, said the bill ‘‘fills a needed gray area’’ by giving residents an accessible forum to file complaints and seek remedies without costly litigation. Janice Bailey, representing Countryside Village in Great Falls, told the committee that seven Montana parks owned by a single…