Sen. Angus King (I) announced Thursday that he has signed onto a bill encouraging owners of manufactured housing parks to sell their land to residents instead of a developer or different landlord.
According to Sen. King’s press release, Maine has the highest number of manufactured housing communities in New England, coming in at more than 600.
King goes on to explain that while ten of these facilities are owned by resident housing cooperatives, as many as one-fifth of these properties are owned by out-of-state investors.
If approved, this legislation — known as the Manufactured Housing Community Sustainability Act — would establish a 75 percent federal tax credit offsetting capital gains if owners sell their property to a resident cooperative or nonprofit.
King explained his statement that lawmakers hope this incentive would “empower communities and keep more families in their homes, while protecting the long-term viability of this important sector of our nation’s affordable housing market.”
“Communities across America are facing a serious affordable housing crisis, so we must continue to provide creative solutions to lower housing prices across the country,” King wrote in his Thursday press release.
“The Manufactured Housing Community Sustainability Act would give residents the opportunity to form a cooperative and buy the land to keep large out-of-state investors from buying out their landlord and jacking up rent prices,” said King. “This step is a simple way to ensure that Maine residents can stay in their homes at an affordable price, while also giving tenants a stake in their property.”
Click Here to Read the Sen. King’s Full Press Release
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) have signed onto this legislation alongside King.
Click Here to Read the Full Text of This Bill
Earlier this year, Gov. Janet Mills (D) signed into law a bill that implements new regulations on the fees that landlords can impose upon their current and potential tenants, as well as for mobile home parks.
Among the changes made by this legislation were the extension of existing restrictions and notification requirements for landlords to mobile home park owners.
[RELATED: New Regulations on Fees Charged by Landlords Signed into Law by Gov. Janet Mills]
It also prohibits mobile home park owners from charging potential tenants an application fee beyond the cost of a background check, credit check, or other screening process.
Gov. Mills signed this bill into law on April 3, 2024, and its changes will take effect on January 1 of next year.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="29259 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=29259">4 Comments
It has to be election year, the freebies from King, Collins and the rest are coming fast and furious.
Has Anguish Hussein Rodham King proposed any spending cuts to offset this gift to trailer park owners?
Note the democrat company with whom our so-called “independent” Senator runs: “Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)”.
As usual – this all sounds wonderful, but how much can other taxpayers afford to keep gifting in these giant tax credits, when we can barely afford our own rent or mortgage and taxes every year? DC fatcats like King are addicted to spending OPM. – Other Peoples’ Money in case someone doesn’t know.