The widespread purchase of manufactured home parks by out-of-state management companies in recent years led to the proposal of the bill SF2691, referred to as the “Manufactured Homeowner’s Bill of Rights,” that would establish rights for residents of manufactured home parks including lot rent increase limits. (Graham P. Johnson)
For Juan Lorenzo, a long-time resident of Hilltop’s Manufactured Home Park (MHP), little has changed about the park in the last decade — except for rising lot rents.
Lorenzo’s lot rent jumped $250 after GBH Properties acquired MHP in December 2024. That increase represents a 35% rise, up from $450 to $700 per month.
“It pisses me off,” said David Hesser, a resident at Hilltop MHP, who has lived in the park on and off since 1983. Hesser is retired and living on a fixed income, making similar lot rent increases hard to swallow.
“I’ll move somewhere else,” said Hesser.
Manufactured homes and affordability
Manufactured homes represent some of the most affordable housing available in Minnesota and offer a path to homeownership for many when other forms remain out of reach.
This affordability, however, comes with a cost: While residents often own their home, they rent the land it sits on from management companies that manage MHPs.
Despite being called trailers or mobile homes, moving them can be difficult and expensive.
MHPs can dictate which types of homes they accept, limiting residents’ choices. If a park accepts the home, the cost of moving can average $15,000, according to the Manufactured Home Residents Collective, an organizing group for manufactured homeowners.
This structure can leave residents susceptible to increased fees and lot rent when MHPs come under new management.
South Dakota-based GBH Properties manages properties across the Midwest, including Kansas, Indiana, Missouri and Pennsylvania. The company recently acquired several MHPs in the Twin Cities area, including Hilltop MHP, Sunnyside MHP and Maple Hill Estates.
This story of out-of-state corporations buying MHPs and raising lot rents is not unique to Hilltop and led to a bill seeking to provide additional rights to manufactured homeowners.
The Manufactured Homeowner’s Bill of Rights
“Over the last decade manufactured home communities have become prime real estate for private equity largely out of state whose primary business model is to buy a park and seek to increase its value by raising the rent, adding fees and cutting back and maintenance and services,” said Sen. Liz Boldon (DFL-25).
Boldon is the chief author SF2691, which, along with the House of Representatives companion bill HF2381, is often referred to as the “Manufactured Homeowner’s Bill of Rights.”
The bill would limit lot rent increases by 3% annually. Park owners would be required to prove that increases are reasonable by providing “clear and convincing evidence that the increase is necessary for the health and safety of residents,” according to the bill.
The bill would also allow residents the ability to submit an offer to purchase the park in the event of a sale.
Other provisions include requiring itemized receipts for utility charges, capping delinquent rent payment at 8% of lot rent and requiring park owners to manage trees so that they don’t become safety hazards.
The bill passed the Minnesota Senate 35-31, mostly along party lines. Senate Republicans said the bill was too broad and would hurt MHPs in the future.
Sen. Michael Kreun (R-32) compared the 3% limit on lot rent to the 3% limit on rent increases enacted by St. Paul in 2022, which slowed construction and was revoked in 2025.
“This 3% cap will hurt residents the very people that this bill aims to help,” said Kreun, calling the measure a “poison pill” that would stop it from passing through the House of Representatives.
Sen. Carla Nelson (R-24) said that the limits on lot rent increases didn’t take into account the external factors for those increases like inflation and rising property taxes, which would cause MHPs to close.
“I think it’s a recipe for disaster,” said Rich Draheim (R-22).
The bill faces an uphill challenge in the tied House of Representatives where bill HF2381 failed in the House Housing Finance and Policy Committee along party lines last year.
The future of manufactured home parks in Hilltop
The city of Hilltop is one of two incorporated cities in Minnesota where the majority of residents live in MHPs, meaning that a change to the law would affect the city’s residents more than most.
Despite recent changes to Hilltop MHP, including increases in lot rent, many residents were optimistic about their home, referencing close-knit communities and the walkable neighborhoods found there.
“It’s close to everything,” said Lorenzo.
For Lorenzo, the increased lot rent was something he was “willing to pay,” because the rising lot rents were still less expensive than other MHPs in the area.
GBH Properties did not respond to calls for comment.