(Radio Iowa) – Residents of mobile home parks say the property tax proposals being touted at statehouse would be of little to no benefit to them because they rent the land on which the manufactured home they own sits. Karla Krapfl lives at the Table Mount Mobile Home Park in Dubuque.

“Rent increases are the real crisis,” Krapfl said. “…These are results of a system that allows out-of-state corporations to raise rents without limits.” Krapfl is a co-chair of the Iowa Manufactured Home Residents’ Network. The group is calling for passage of legislation that would make violation of a rental agreement the only reason a landlord could evict a mobile home park resident.

Matt Chapman, who lives in Midwest Country Estates in Waukee, says month-to-month leases give owners and renters in the park little time to find a new place to live if their lease is cancelled. “This has a chilling effect on residents who have told me numerous times that they are afraid to say anything, because they are afraid of being evicted,” Chapman said. Chapman is among a group of mobile home residents who — for several years — have been asking legislators for help on a variety of fronts, from the poor quality of the drinking water supply in some mobile home parks to crumbling streets in others.

Dana Lubbers has lived at Lake Ridge Estates in Iowa City for 20 years. Lubbers says she’s worried the manufactured home she owns is sinking due to drainage issues on the lot she rents. “Havenpark maintenance came and took pictures underneath the home back in 2021 and has not followed through on fixing the erosion,” she said.

The Iowa Manufactured Home Residents’ Network has for the past few years called for legislation that would set limits on rent increases.