Today, the House Financial Services Committee passed Rep. Cindy Axne’s (IA-03) legislation designed to keep manufactured housing communities (MHCs) affordable by providing federal assistance for acquiring and preserving these communities.
The Manufactured Housing Community Preservation Act would create a new grant program to help nonprofits, resident-formed cooperatives, and other local entities purchase and maintain an MHC through awards of up to $2 million.
The legislation, which was re-introduced with Rep. Ro Khanna (CA-17) and Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01) earlier this year, would require that rents remain affordable and that the community is managed for the benefit of the residents for at least 30 years after the grant is awarded.
“Providing residents of our manufactured housing communities a pathway to acquiring their own community through a co-op or partnering with a nonprofit will help ensure we can keep these communities affordable for this and future generations of tenants,” said Rep. Axne. “I’m proud to see this legislation advancing out of my committee today, and I will be pushing to get this legislation all the way to the President’s desk to provide these grants to folks who want to preserve their communities for themselves and their children.”
Last year, the Manufactured Housing Community Preservation Act was added to the House’s infrastructure package by a unanimous vote of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The bill has the support of Prosperity Now, Manufactured Housing Institute, MHAction, and ROC USA.
Background:
Rep. Axne is also the author of the Manufactured Housing Tenant’s Bill of Rights, which would establish a set of minimum standards for MHC tenants that receive federal financing through Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or the Federal Housing Administration.
In 2019, Rep. Axne toured Midwest Country Estates homes with Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) to meet with residents and hear about the financial hardship and requirements imposed in the community by the new ownership.
Rep. Axne also wrote to Havenpark Capital to demand answers on the significant rent spikes at five different Havenpark-owned MHCs, including Midwest Country Estates in Waukee.
Original source can be found here
