New analysis outlines policy strategies to protect manufactured housing from corporate landlords

Report from Wall Street watchdog PESP and advocates Manufactured Housing Action draws on resident experience as private equity buys up manufactured housing

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.

In recent years, institutional investors such as private equity firms have increased their presence in the manufactured housing market. In the United States, just 23 private equity firms own over 1,900 manufactured housing parks, totaling over 400,000 home sites. In the states where private equity ownership is the most dense, private equity firms now own as many as one in four manufactured housing lots.

The private equity business model creates unique risks for tenants as a result of the need for private equity firms to deliver high returns over relatively short timelines. Manufactured home residents are particularly vulnerable to exploitation by corporate landlords: when park owners hike lot rents, add 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 as well as 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