When private equity firms buy up manufactured housing communities, the families living there often have nowhere to turn. A new report from the Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP) and Manufactured Housing Action (MHAction) lays out concrete policy strategies to change that—highlighting how residents are being squeezed by rent hikes, neglected maintenance, and eviction threats in parks owned by just 23 private equity firms across the country.
WASHINGTON, DC, DC, UNITED STATES, October 29, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — A new report from advocates the Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP) and Manufactured Housing Action (MHAction) analyzes emerging policy solutions aimed at protecting residents of manufactured housing as private equity and other corporate landlords continue to buy up manufactured housing communities. The report, “Protecting Manufactured Housing From Private Equity,” is the fifth installment in PESP’s Tools for Tackling Corporate Landlords policy analysis series.
Over the past several years, institutional investors—particularly private equity firms—have aggressively expanded their footprint in the manufactured housing sector. Nationwide, just 23 private equity firms now control more than 1,900 manufactured housing parks, representing over 400,000 home sites. In the states where this ownership is most concentrated, private equity firms already own as many as one in four manufactured housing lots.
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The private equity business model creates unique risks for tenants because these firms are under pressure to deliver high returns over relatively short investment timelines. Manufactured home residents are especially vulnerable to exploitation by corporate landlords: when park owners hike lot rents, tack on new fees, neglect maintenance, or cut staff, homeowners often have no choice but to endure it. Across the country, residents at corporate-owned communities have reported rent increases of as much as 100% after private equity-owned landlords took over their parks, along with egregious maintenance issues.
“We need policymakers to think bigger to address the crisis facing manufactured housing residents across the country,” said Sam Garin, spokesperson for the Private Equity Stakeholder Project. “Justice for manufactured housing residents means regulating against the worst abuses of corporate landlords, which include egregious rent hikes, unjust evictions, and retaliation against tenant organizing.”
While the recently passed 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act attempted to address the risks created by private equity ownership of single-family housing on the federal level, the law largely overlooked private equity ownership of manufactured housing. On the state level, policymakers have begun to adopt measures such as rent control, eviction protections, and portfolio size limits that protect manufactured housing residents and prevent corporate exploitation. The report explores a number of such measures, including:
- Rent stabilization policies to prevent extreme rent increases
- Eviction prevention measures, including just cause eviction protections, opportunities to cure, and protection from retaliation
- Support for cooperative resident ownership of parks, including opportunity to purchase laws and tax reforms
- Landlord-tenant communication improvements, including improved requirements around record keeping, notice periods, ownership disclosure, and others
- Measures to prevent private equity from amassing large portfolios of manufactured housing
- Transparency and disclosure requirements, including park licensing, ownership tracking, and public dashboards
- Requiring federally-backed home loans to include tenant protection provisions
- Increasing enforcement capacity and accountability mechanisms
To demand action by corporate owners and government officials, manufactured home residents across the country are organizing their neighbors, establishing resident associations, collaborating with tenants, and fighting to protect their homes and communities. MHAction and PESP work closely with such residents and have worked to translate their experiences and desires into the real, urgent policy solutions outlined in this report.
“Manufactured home parks can once again be the vibrant, caring communities longtime residents recall fondly,” said Paul Terranova, Midwest Community Organizer at MHAction. “But it will require legislators to step up, stand up for their constituents, and rein in the predatory companies that have taken over the industry.”
This installment builds on the series’ previous reports, which explored landlord licensing and rental inspections (Part 1), state preemption of housing justice measures (Part 2), and pro-competitive housing policy reforms (Part 3), and proven and proposed solutions (Part 4).
Read the full report here: https://pestakeholder.org/reports/protecting-manufactured-housing-from-private-equity/
Sam Garin
Private Equity Stakeholder Project
+1 248-303-7020
Why it matters: Manufactured housing is one of the last affordable homeownership options for millions of Americans, but private equity’s rapid consolidation is turning that dream into a trap. Without stronger state and federal policies—like those outlined in this report—residents will continue to face unchecked rent hikes, retaliation for organizing, and deteriorating living conditions in parks they don’t own but call home.
