Residents of Shady Oaks Mobile Home Park in Arundel are bracing for a sharp rent increase set to take effect December 1, raising fears that dozens of seniors and low-income homeowners could be forced out after the town declined to intervene.
Roughly 70 households own their mobile homes but rent the lots beneath them, currently paying between $530 and $680 a month. Tenants say they were notified that rents will rise by as much as $130 per month – a jump many say they simply cannot afford.
Longtime resident Jennifer Moreau, who relies on a fixed income, warned that “a whole other group of our population is about to be homeless.”
Residents had urged the Arundel Select Board to impose an emergency moratorium, but at a Novembver 10 meeting, the board said it lacked the legal authority to halt the increase. Town Manager Keith Trefethen told residents that the town charter does not permit such a moratorium, leaving tenants without short-term protections.
The situation at Shady Oaks mirrors a broader trend across Maine, where mobile home parks purchased by out-of-state investment firms have issued steep rent increases. Some towns, such as Brunswick, have adopted temporary moratoriums while exploring additional safeguards, but no such pause is in place in Arundel.
A statewide law enacted earlier this year requires 90 days’ notice for lot-rent increases and allows for mediation when hikes exceed inflation plus one percent. But the law does not cap rent, and residents say park owners are using the statute to justify large increases.
Shady Oaks tenants say they are now weighing mediation options with the park’s California-based owners, though many fear it will not provide relief in time.
“They know who they’re targeting … and they absolutely know there’s not a darn thing that we can do about it,” Moreau told town officials.
