Azusa May Cap Rents for Mobile Home Parks

Camille DeMascio, 61, a longtime resident of Arrow Pines Mobile Estates, said she is tired of living in fear of a rent increase that could disturb the delicate balance of her fixed-income budget.

So DeMascio is trying to organize like-minded neighbors to pressure the city to enact a rent-control ordinance to protect mobile home park tenants.

“I can barely make it now. I don’t know what I’ll do if the rent goes up any higher,” said DeMascio, an 18-year resident of the 103-unit park on Arrow Highway.

DeMascio said she has visited each of Azusa’s five mobile home parks, which together have 517 units, in hopes of drumming up support for the plan.

“Right now, I’m trying to get in contact with the residents at each of the mobile homes to see what their needs are and to see how willing they are to join us,” DeMascio said. “I want to get one representative from each park to discuss problems and alternatives.”

Azusa’s community development office is currently working on a report on the feasibility of rent control for mobile home tenants. As of now, no date is set for the presentation of the report to the City Council.

“There is a problem out there,” said Roy Bruckner, director of community development. “But it needs to be researched more so we can understand the extent of the problem in Azusa.”

Mayor Eugene Moses said he favors rent control for mobile homes. “Most of the people living there are senior citizens, and the rent increases are a real hardship on them . . . I really feel for them,” he said.

“Rents are escalating higher than the consumer price index, and something has to be done,” added Clarence Hannan, associate director of the Golden State Mobilehome Owners League, a statewide organization designed to protect the rights of mobile home owners. “This is an ongoing issue, not only in Azusa but all over, and it needs to be addressed.”

Councilman Tony Naranjo, who is running against Moses for mayor in the April 10 election, said he is not sure rent control is the answer. “I support some type of solution, but right now I can’t say exactly what that solution is.”

Opponents say rent control would be detrimental in the long run.

“We understand that there are people in the low-income brackets that need assistance, but there are alternatives, such as rent subsidies, long-term leasing and senior home-sharing,” said Michelle Brooks, representative of Western Mobilehome Assn., a trade group for mobile home park owners.

“Rent control would only create animosity between owners and residents,” Brooks said. “We like to see park owners and residents getting together to discuss problems without bringing the city in.”

Seventy-six California cities, including two in the San Gabriel Valley, now have some form of rent control for mobile home parks, Brooks said.

West Covina, which has two mobile home parks, in 1984 passed an ordinance that limits rent increases to the level of the consumer price index, currently 4.6%. Exemptions are allowed only with city approval.

La Verne, which has eight mobile home parks, also adopted a mobile home rent-control ordinance in 1984. Under the law, annual rent increases may not exceed 7% or the consumer price index level, whichever is lower. Any park owner who wants to impose a higher rent increase must get approval from the city.

“The ordinance has been very successful,” said Jeff Allred, La Verne’s assistant city manager. “People have accepted it very well.”

Azusa city officials, however, are afraid mobile home park owners may sue them if they pass a mobile home rent-control ordinance.

In a recent report to the council, Bruckner said cities often end up in court, because rent control “pits the residents against the owners, with cities often caught in the middle.”

He cited the case of Carson, which has been sued several times since it passed its rent-control ordinance in 1979. Carson’s ordinance does not place a limit on the size of rent increases at the city’s 27 mobile home parks, but it requires city approval of increases.

Carson has prevailed in all the lawsuits challenging its ordinance, said Steve Mandoki, administrative program specialist for the city. However, three pending lawsuits seek to force the city to modify its ordinance to allow owners to automatically increase rent whenever ownership changes, Mandoki said.

Escondido, which passed its mobile home rent-control ordinance in 1988, faces more than 10 lawsuits filed by park owners who contend the ordinance is unconstitutional.

DeMascio, meanwhile, said Azusa needs to do something to allay the fears of its mobile home residents.

“All we want is some protection and peace of mind, so we can live the rest of our lives with dignity and pride,” said DeMascio, who lives on $700 a month from Social Security, of which $296.67 goes for rent. She said rent increases at Arrow Pines have been about 5% to 10% a year.

“The government doesn’t raise our Social Security checks every time our rent are raised,” said Retha Crutchfield, 73, who has lived at Arrow Pines for four years.

Crutchfield, whose rent is $336.38 a month, said her budget is so tight that she doesn’t turn on her heater unless she has guests.

Kim Marr, owner of Arrow Pines, confirmed he has raised the rents regularly, but said the increases have been fair.

“The rent increases go up with living cost increases. . . . This is a business,” he said. “I put money in for improvements, and I have to get that money back.”

For example, he said, he has repaired the park’s electrical system, and in turn is charging residents an extra $37.60 a month for five years to reimburse him for the repair costs. Because of that charge, he said, “I haven’t raised the rent this year.”

He was, however, philosophical about the prospect of rent control coming to Azusa’s mobile home parks. “If the city decides to pass it, there’s nothing I can do.”

Loraine Harding, 79, who lives in another Azusa mobile home park, said rent control is essential to preserve a way of life many older residents had come to consider their most economical alternative. Now, she said, they see it slipping away.

“I have some neighbors whose children have to bring them food because, with rent and medication, they have nothing left,” said Harding, who lives in the 64-unit Sylvan Villa Mobile Home Park.

“Mobile homes used to be ideal for older people. Pretty soon we won’t have anywhere to go.”