House Bill 22-1287 passed in the Local Government and Transportation Committee yesterday. This bill will make housing more expensive and puts mobile-home parks at-risk of closure or sale. These regulations will decimate the mobile-home park industry and reduce affordable housing in Colorado. It limits mobile-home park owners’ abilities to successfully operate in the state and maintain these businesses.

This bill places additional and costly regulations on park owners. As proposed, it will make it impossible to operate a mobile-home park while also making ends meet because of the additional regulations. This will force many operators to withdraw from the state or change the use of properties for higher and better uses, or sell to large companies that can afford these expenses – exactly what this legislation is trying to avoid.

This affordable-housing option is critical to preserve. According to a recent study from the Manufactured Housing Institute, the United States is experiencing unprecedented challenges in affordable housing due to drastic single-family home price appreciation (averaging $384,000 nationally), multi-family rental rates (averaging $1,450-$1,800 per-month) and escalating HOA fees for single-family homes and condos (approximately $500 per-month, and as high as $1,100 per-month).

The Affordable Housing Transformational Task Force of Colorado explored solutions to aid the state’s affordable-housing crisis. According to the Task Force’s report, Colorado has lost more than 10% of housing units that people making $45,000 can afford, which equates to not spending more than 30% of their income on housing. One of the Task Force’s top recommendations was directing funding to support construction of factory-built housing. And yet, the legislature is putting forth a bill that would destroy the ability to successfully operate mobile-home parks in Colorado.

Mobile-home parks address this critical gap for a cost-effective home (averaging $87,000), as well as a safe community with desired amenities and services. Additionally, mobile homes are available for both rent and purchase in mobile-home parks and the majority of parks offer quality, value, experience and housing benefits that result in satisfied residents who choose to remain in their parks long-term.

Not only would this bill destroy the current state of this affordable housing option, but many of the bill’s provisions are unnecessary. HB19-1309, which passed in 2019, HB20-1196 and HB20-1201, which both passed in 2020, and HB21-1121, SB21-173, which all passed in 2021 ushered in sweeping changes to the park industry that include limiting the number of times per year that park owners can raise rent, instituting a statewide oversight program to handle disputes between residents and owners, and enacting vast requirements for park owners if they decide to sell their parks.

Additionally, many local governments already have laws to protect mobile home park residents and ensure owners act in good faith. Before the legislature attempts additional broad reforms, it should determine how well the revised bill is working.

Individuals with low incomes face the great challenge of accessing affordable housing. Mobile homes solve that challenge, and the legislature should be focused on enhancing and expanding opportunities for affordable housing solutions, such as creating favorable zoning for manufactured and modular homes, rather than creating more regulations for mobile home park owners and fostering an us-versus-them mentality between park owners and tenant homeowners. Instead, HB22-1287 is focused on attacking the park owners rather than working to create alternative funding sources and additional avenues for affordable homeownership – thus, doing nothing to make affordable housing in Colorado more accessible.

Tawny Peyton is executive director of the Rocky Mountain Home Association.