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Senator Townsend urges subcommittee after testimony about mobile-home rent spikes
Summary
Senator Townsend asked the Senate to convene a subcommittee so mobile-home residents can testify about rent increases she said in some cases have risen "3 or 4 times," pressing for the chamber to follow up on a bill that has not met in subcommittee.
Senator Townsend urged colleagues to create a subcommittee to hear from mobile-home residents who she said are facing sharp rent increases and evictions. "The way they're being treated is completely unfair," Townsend said, and she noted that out-of-state private equity firms have bought parks and, "in some cases, 3 or 4 times what they were paying before."
Townsend said a bill related to manufactured housing was assigned to a subcommittee but has not yet met, and she asked lawmakers to allow residents to speak at the Capitol about their experiences. She framed the request as part of a broader concern about affordable and workforce housing, asking, "How do we recruit workers here? How do we get more housing for our workers?"
The senator recounted accounts of families choosing between paying rent and buying medicine and urged colleagues to treat mobile homes as people's homes rather than mere trailers. Townsend closed by imploring the Senate to take the matter seriously and to schedule a subcommittee hearing so affected residents can tell their stories in a formal setting.
Senator Peterson later echoed Townsend's call, saying, "Let's make it happen," but no subcommittee date was announced on the floor by the end of the session.
