When Bobbie Miller's mobile home community in Centre County changed owners last fall, her monthly lot fees climbed from $405 to $535 — a 32% increase in less than a year — according to a September 2026 report by Spotlight PA. The investigation found that private equity firms are purchasing mobile home communities across Pennsylvania and imposing steep rent hikes on residents who own their homes but not the land beneath them. Miller was quoted $6,000 to relocate her home less than a mile to property she owns, leaving her and thousands of others effectively trapped as costs spiral.
Pennsylvania has roughly 2,288 mobile home communities housing approximately 55,900 households, according to a 2023 Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia report cited in the investigation. Manufactured housing is widely regarded as a key source of unsubsidized affordable housing. In Lehigh County's Red Maple Acres, lot rent has nearly doubled in recent years and now costs almost $900 monthly for resident Peggy Hoffman, who's in her 60s and raising her granddaughter alone. The community was sold for $30.5 million over the summer. Miller's community faced three separate fee increases since the corporate takeover, including a $45 base rent hike plus new trash and sewer charges, with another increase expected later this year.
The Spotlight PA report notes that this tension inspired formation of the Coalition of Manufactured Home Communities of Pennsylvania, which is pushing back against rising lot fees. "We are homeowners in all respects, and the only thing that we're paying for is the postage stamp piece of land that our home sits on," coalition founder Bob Besecker told the outlet. A bill awaiting Senate consideration would cap lot rent increases by linking hikes to the Consumer Price Index — allowing increases between 2% and 4% annually with exceptions for extraordinary operating expenses — while requiring owners to disclose and justify increases. Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro said he'd sign the measure, calling out "greedy out-of-state corporations" that "buy up our communities, increase costs to unaffordable levels, and take advantage of Pennsylvanians, especially our seniors" during a March 2026 visit to a Berks County mobile home community.
The report explains that industry officials argue the legislation caps revenue without cutting operating expenses. Mary Gaiski, executive vice president of the Pennsylvania Manufactured Housing Association, told Spotlight PA that landowners must upgrade properties and maintain utility infrastructure and roads as costs rise. Nathan Jameson, founder of private equity firm Arx Capital, said legacy owners who held properties for years acquired them at lower prices and kept rents artificially low, leaving them without income to invest in repairs. "As a result, and because they relied on it for their income solely, they didn't have the income to invest in the property — to improve roads when they fail, to fix utilities when they don't work," Jameson explained. He defended his firm's approach by noting that the other bidder for Red Maple Acres planned to evict all 272 households and build industrial space, but acknowledged that "rent control, sabre-rattling" is "forcing landlords and fiduciaries to move faster than they otherwise would."
The bill passed the state House 144-59 in June 2025 but has remained in a Senate committee for over a year, with no commitment from Republican leadership to schedule a vote. The two-year legislative session ends in November, leaving just 11 voting days when the Senate returns Sept. 28. If the measure doesn't pass by then, it must be reintroduced in 2027. State Rep. Dan Moul, a Republican who owns a mobile home community, told Spotlight PA that private equity companies are exploiting older residents and compared the practice to scamming. "These people are trapped," he said. Linda Carranza, a Butler County resident, said she and her neighbors are "stubborn enough to wait" but aren't sure they'll live long enough to benefit. "Some of us are old enough we may not be here in two years, but hopefully, it helps the other seniors, the other vets," she said.