New bill aims to help Osceola County mobile home park residents fight back against owners

Angela Silas lost 103 pounds over the last three years as the rent increased from $410 to $915 on her mobile home lot in Lake Runnymeade in St. Cloud after new owners purchased the park.

Silas said she has had to cut back on groceries and prefers to go hungry rather than giving her 14-year-old child or 38-year-old disabled husband less food.

“I feel like I have to penny pinch everywhere that I can and I’m going to take the hit first before my child,” Silas said through tears.

A bill filed by State House Rep. Paula Stark, whose district includes St. Cloud, aims to help mobile home owners like Silas dispute rent increases that leave them no choice except to pay up or undertake the arduous task of moving their home.

At a press conference Friday, Stark said HB 613 will encourage mediation of disputes between mobile homeowners, who often own the home but rent the land it’s on, and the park owner.

Stark said the bill also aims to tackle the affordable housing crisis, as raising lot rents at mobile home parks targets people who are typically low-income.

“We’re putting people who are on fixed incomes or perhaps lower incomes at risk when putting them out of their homes which is creating a whole other problem as it relates to affordable housing,” Stark said.

The bill also increases the cash assistance provided to mobile home owners who must move due to a change in the use of the mobile home park. The maximum payment to a mobile homeowner from the Florida Mobile Home Relocation Corporation would increase from $3,000 to $6,500 for single-section mobile homes and $11,500 for multi-section mobile homes.

“They’ve had the same payouts in that particular piece of legislation for many many years and frankly they’re just not high enough,” Stark said. “So we increased them so that they have a better opportunity in those particular cases to either move someplace else or move their mobile home.”

If passed the bill would have wide-reaching implications for mobile home parks across Osceola County and throughout Florida.

Good Samaritan Society in Kissimmee is on the market, leaving residents worried about lot rent hikes similar to those at Lake Runnymeade Mobile Home Park. Hurricane Ian forced Good Samaritan to demolish over 500 mobile homes and led to a lawsuit charging the park owner with misrepresenting the risk of flooding.

Many residents at the Kissimmee lot are on fixed incomes, leaving few options for those who have to relocate. New owners could raise lot rents, but Stark said her bill could help those residents with mediation and relocation assistance.

“Depending on who buys them and what they want to do the relocation part of this bill would be significant for them,” Stark said.

Across the state and country, there has been a trend of large corporations purchasing mobile home parks and increasing lot rents. In many places, bills similar to HB 613 have quickly followed.

“What’s happening across our state is we have a lot of these larger corporations who are buying these parks up for a couple of reasons,” Stark said. “One is because they make money and two is in some cases they may be looking forward as it relates to redeveloping the property.”

Lake Runnymeade was purchased by Homes of America, which residents say led to deteriorating communication, rent hikes and lack of basic maintenance. A representative of Homes of America could not be reached for comment.

Silas has lived in Lake Runnymeade Mobile Home Park for 13 years and before Homes of America bought the park it was “a dream” to live in, she said. Now she said getting communication from the owners is difficult, the community pool is green and rent is “ridiculous”.

She has thought about leaving the mobile home park in St. Cloud but said she cannot afford to save to buy another mobile home or move hers because her rent is too high.

“I’m hoping the bill will be able to give us more communication with the owners and give us more insight into what is going to be changed,” Silas said. “It’s been a headache and like I’ve cried a lot over the past couple years.”