The Shasta County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 Tuesday to bring mobile-home rent protections back for discussion in 30 days, giving Supervisors Thomas Long and Chris Kelstrom time to meet with residents and Harmony Communities.
The board did not adopt a rent-stabilization ordinance. Instead, the motion calls for another review if the discussions do not produce an agreement that residents find acceptable. The motion was made by Long and seconded by Supervisor Kevin Crye, according to the meeting transcript.
The decision followed testimony from mobile-home owners who said they own their homes but rent the spaces beneath them, leaving them vulnerable to losing both housing and equity if space rents become unaffordable.
Crystal Baker, an Anderson mobile-home owner, told the board her space rent rose from $450 to $495 and then $645 within a year, with another increase to $921 scheduled for December. She said residents in her park had submitted a petition with 31 signatures.
Supervisors said Harmony Communities had offered residents a $300 rent credit and had put that offer in writing. Saulo Londono, speaking on behalf of mobile-home park owners, urged the county to continue working directly with residents and housing providers rather than adopt rent controls.
Long said the county’s discussion could eventually lead to an ordinance modeled on the protections in state law, while Kelstrom said he wanted more meetings before taking that step. The board’s next action will determine whether those discussions lead to a local ordinance, another interim measure or no new regulation.
