ANAHEIM, CA – The seniors at Rancho La Paz Mobile Home Park in Anaheim and Fullerton are organizing themselves into a group to find ways to protect themselves from dramatic rent increases imposed by the new property owners.
- Senior mobile home park facing drastic rent increases
- Rent increasing between $297-397
- Many won’t be able to afford to live in their homes
The residents received 90-day notices from Star Mobile Home Management in late February notifying them that their base rents will be increased between $297-397 effective June 1, 2019.
“A lot of people here won’t be able to live here anymore and we have people who are going to be so displaced and they’re panicked,” said Lupe Ramirez, a grandmother and resident of Rancho La Paz.
Ramirez says she stayed up all night researching if the increases were legal after she received the letter.
“They can do whatever to you so long as it’s legal and just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s right,” said Ramirez.
The grandmother calls herself a fighter as she is battling the first stage of Leukemia, but didn’t expect to be a contender in a battle against this rent increase.
“I bought this mobile home. It’s my home. I fixed it up. I put new plumbing. I put new electric. I put a new roof on it because I moved here with the intention of staying here forever,” said Ramirez.
She and 396 other residents of Rancho La Paz say they’re facing a 44 percent or more rent increase.
“A lot of people here won’t be able to live here anymore and we have people who are going to be so displaced and they’re panicked,” said Ramirez.
Ramirez says she’s currently undergoing exploratory treatment for her cancer that isn’t covered by insurance and is worried she won’t be able to get enough treatments due to the increase.
“That cuts down how many transfusions treatments I can actually, and that means to me that our new owners just shortened my life. He doesn’t have that right,” said Ramirez.
She and her neighbors organized their first community meeting last week which the residents quickly filled up. They are forming a team to reach out to local elected officials and higher ranked officials in hopes they can help them in some way. Ramirez says not many officials have responded to their pleas.
Besides Ramirez, there are other residents in the park who say they live on fixed incomes and cannot afford such a drastic increase. There are some mobile home owners who have put their homes up for sale following the 90-day notice.
Our calls and emails to Star Mobile Home Management were not returned.
UPDATE:
The City of Anaheim published a press release this afternoon notifying the community that the owner of Rancho La Paz Mobile Home Park has agreed to rescind the drastic rent increases he was planning to impose on residents by June 2019.
According to the city, the property owner, John Saunders of Newport Beach-based Saunders Real estate met with Rancho La Paz residents in a meeting organized by Mayor Harry Sidhu which included Council Members Stephen Faessel and Trevor O’Neil.
“We will work with residents on a more gradual transition,” said Saunders, who acquired the park in February. “I look forward to meeting with residents to talk about a way forward that allows time to adjust and also brings improvement to the community.”