Some of the residents at Okotoks’ Heritage Estates mobile home park are finding support from the Town for their concerns about the park’s owner bittersweet.
At its meeting on Feb. 8, Okotoks council voted to send a resolution forward to the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) to have legislation for mobile home park tenants brought more in line with the province’s Residential Tenancies Act.
In addition, council directed Town administration to ask Highwood MLA Wayne Anderson and request he lobby to support changing legislation on behalf of the residents of mobile home parks.
Residents of Heritage Estates first approached council in September to request the formation of a mobile home advisory board to help address issues they faced with park’s owner, Lansdowne Equities, including significant pad rent increases, maintenance and what residents call a lack of concern for the welfare of park tenants.
In the fall, council requested further information regarding mobile home legislation and the Residential Tenancies Act. Service Alberta provided an information session for Heritage Estates residents, council and Town staff in January.
Okotoks Legislative and policy services manager Cathy Duplessis said there are mediation services and protection offered to Alberta tenants under the Residential Tenancies Act that currently do not apply to residents of mobile home parks.
“The resolution would offer dispute services to mobile home residents and prohibit any potential economic eviction,” said Duplessis.
According to the draft AUMA resolution, economic eviction occurs when park landlords target some or all residents and raise pad rental rates to a point where the resident is forced to leave. In addition to taking the matter to the Province, the Town is turning to surrounding municipalities to gauge interest in the formation of a regional mobile home advisory board, she said.
“Council really empathizes with the residents and is concerned with their plight,” said Duplessis. “But the Town has no authority to intervene.”
Heritage Estates resident Ken Hood said mobile home park tenants are pleased the issue is moving forward, though they wish the matter could be resolved locally and more immediately.
“There was a certain amount of disappointment in the fact our mayor and council were not prepared to act on their own,” said Hood. “It looks very positive, but it’s going to drag on.”
The 2016 AUMA meeting is schedule for the end of September.
In the meantime, he said, residents expect to see another rent increase announcement in June – six months notice ahead of Jan. 1.
“This term ‘economic eviction’ has come to bear quite a bit now, and it’s scary as hell,” said Hood. “It means we just have to fight, because I don’t want to be evicted and I can’t afford to walk away from my place.”
Hood purchased his home eight years ago for $80,000 and has since upgraded the unit. He said his total investment is now closer to $120,000.
He and his wife intended Heritage Estates to be their retirement home, with minimal maintenance and affordable payments. Lot rent at the time was $600, compared to the $950 per month they currently pay.
Coun. Carrie Fischer said as much as she would love to be able to help the mobile home park residents in their fight, her concern is that there is nothing the municipality can do on its own.
“I think we need to focus on making sure legislation is in place to make sure these people have an avenue to address their concerns,” said Fischer.
She said bringing forward the issue to AUMA is the best way to offer support to residents of Heritage Estates, by making more municipalities aware of the gap in legislation for park tenants.
“The many voices of different municipalities can bring power in numbers,” said Fischer. “I just don’t want to create an expectation we can offer help we may not be able to realistically provide.”
Coun. Ed Sands said he is pleased to see the issue go before the provincial government, but said moving items through the AUMA can take “a horrendous amount of time.”
Reaching out to surrounding municipalities like Black Diamond or High River, he said, is a good first step in studying the merits of a regional mobile home advisory board that could potentially mediate disputes between residents and landlords.
“We need to figure out how we find a good fit,” said Sands. “Is it having councillors on a regional board, or residents outside the park? We haven’t figured it all out yet and there is a lot of discussion yet to come.”
