Renters need limits placed to prevent gouging by landlords

Published 1:30 am Thursday, March 2, 2023

I own a manufactured home in the Twin Creeks manufactured housing Park. When I moved here in 2019 the monthly rent for space in the park was $650, including water, garbage and sewer. A few months after I moved in, the park was sold. This is where all my pains started.

The new park owners have raised our monthly rent five times from $650 to $775 to $860 to $925 and now to $970. That is $320 more per month, a rent hike of over 49 percent in four years.

I bought this manufactured home after my previous landlord raised the rent on the room I had been renting for 10 years from $390 to $890; for just one room!

I moved to Twin Creeks because it’s convenient to my health clinic, my bank and where I shop for food. I also like the community here. It’s quiet and for the almost four years I’ve been here, it has not had any problems.

I am a 90 year old man living alone with no one to help me, with no job and limited savings. I spent $25,000 for repairs and items I had to replace inside the home I bought because I never thought I would have to move again. I really don’t know what to do. There are no lots available for me to move to, and it would be extremely expensive to do so even if I could find a new park.

I hope that our Reps. Strom Peterson and Lillian Ortiz-Self, and Sen. Marko Liias understand what renters are going through and take action to pass policy that will stop landlords from continuing to gouge and displace us.

Pedro Alfaro

Everett