Mobile Home Park Rents

I would like to thank you for your coverage of the Country Club Mobile Manor Park court decision.

I have been residing in the El Toro Mobile Estates Mobile Park for the past 11 years. It would be difficult for anyone not having lived in a mobile park in Orange County the past 10 years to realize what has transpired in some of the parks. The great increase in land values has made it impossible to have additional mobile parks available. For the past three of four years, the park owners have taken advantage of park tenants, because there are no new parks available--and no laws to prevent rent increases.

Our park tenants were told for the first 10 years that their rent would be governed by the consumer price index published in The Times. We had increases of up to 15% some years. Then, in 1983 when the index was only a fraction over 3% our owners raised our rent over three times the index. This has resulted in a $100-a-month rent increase over the past three years. As you know, most of the tenants in mobile parks are seniors on limited incomes. I’m 76. Mrs. Lee is 78.

JOSEPH R. LEE

El Toro