BILLINGS — Mobile home owners at a Billings West End park are organizing after seeing their monthly lot rent increase by $175 this summer.
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Residents at Golden Meadows Mobile Home Park say their lot rent increased from $530 to $705 a month. That amounts to an increase of about 33%, or roughly $2,100 more per year.
The increase applies to the park's roughly 520 lots, with some newer renters seeing larger increases.
Now, residents say they are forming a homeowners association to give them a stronger voice in decisions affecting the park.
"We actually own the homes. We don't just live here," said owner Jolitta Besel during a gathering Thursday at the entrance to Golden Meadows. "There is power in numbers."
The group gathered Thursday to rally support and encourage more residents to join the association.
Golden Meadows is managed by Hillside Communities, which purchased the mobile home park earlier this year. Park manager Jackie Law told MTN News the company would not comment on the rent increase.
A longstanding issue for mobile home owners
The dispute comes as Montana mobile home owners continue to push for greater protections against rent increases and other changes to mobile home parks.
In 2023, lawmakers passed House Bill 889, a proposal sponsored by then-Rep. Jonathan Karlen, D-Missoula, that was described as a mobile home tenant bill of rights.
The Daily Montanan reports the bill would have required 60 days' notice before rent increases and certain other actions, extended minimum lease terms from month-to-month to at least one year, prohibited sales disapprovals based on the age of a mobile home and restricted retaliatory conduct by park owners.
HB 889 passed the Montana House 68-31 and the Senate 30-20 before Gov. Greg Gianforte vetoed it.
In his veto message, Gianforte argued the bill infringed on property rights and could discourage park owners from maintaining or expanding available rental lots. He also objected to provisions governing lease terminations following changes in park use.
The bill did not become law.
For Golden Meadows residents, the latest rent increase has renewed questions about what options mobile home owners have when they own the structure but rent the land underneath it.
Residents say they hope organizing as a group will give them more leverage as they address the increase and future decisions involving the park.
"We need all, as many people in Golden Meadows as we can get to be a part of this association, because, as we all know, there is power in numbers," said Besel.
Related: Billings mobile home residents alarmed by sharp lot rent increase at Golden Meadows
