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\t\t\tOakland Town Council Chair Mike Perkins responds to comments Wednesday during a public hearing at the Oakland Town Council meeting. (Abigail Pritchard\/Staff Writer)<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOakland Town Council Chair Mike Perkins responds to comments Wednesday during a public hearing at the Oakland Town Council meeting. (Abigail Pritchard\/Staff Writer)<\/p>\n
OAKLAND \u2014 Town officials voted to place a 90-day moratorium on mobile home park lot rent increases effective immediately, following Waterville and other communities across the state where residents say they face \u201coutrageous\u201d price increases.<\/p>\n
Four of the five councilors voted to sign the moratorium and to waive the customary second vote on the issue, with Councilor Su Leigh opposing on both votes. <\/p>\n
The decision comes after several communities across Maine<\/a> have placed moratoriums on lot rent increases before signing ordinances to stabilize rent. For some residents, an ordinance like this is their only hope of keeping their homes.<\/p>\n William Cochran, 76, said he and his partner were practically homeless when they bought their trailer and rebuilt it about 18 years ago. On a fixed income, Cochran said the rent increases he\u2019s seen are more than he can keep up with.<\/p>\n \u201cThis year we barely survived,\u201d Cochran said. <\/p>\n Cochran lives at Breens Mobile Home Park at 54 Fairfield St., where rent is $600 per lot, $215 higher than it was in November 2024. <\/p>\n \u201cThey say it\u2019s going up another $100, and I ain\u2019t got it,\u201d Cochran said. \u201cSomebody\u2019s gotta do something.\u201d<\/p>\n Cochran and Rhonda West, also a resident at Breens, are both on fixed incomes, and said they deal with frequent rodent and maintenance issues at the park, for which West often pays out of pocket. The standard Social Security monthly payment for an individual is $994, according to the Social Security Administration<\/a>, almost two-thirds of which covers rent at Breens.<\/p>\n Caroline Clark, a community organizing fellow with the Maine People\u2019s Alliance, said the moratorium is a huge victory, especially since Oakland had a \u201creluctant council<\/a>,\u201d and she\u2019s hopeful for the future. Clark said there\u2019s no point in passing a moratorium if the town has no intention of passing an ordinance.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the public hearing that preceded Wednesday\u2019s vote, town residents voiced concerns about rent stabilization.Waterville Mayor Michael Morris and state Rep. Cassie Julia, D-Waterville, said a rent stabilization ordinance has been effective in neighboring Waterville.<\/p>\n Waterville approved an ordinance<\/a> stabilizing lot rent in February, and Morris said he wanted to make it clear that lot rent stabilization is different from rent control on apartment buildings.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are very captive tenants,\u201d Morris said. \u201cIf you own your home, and we\u2019re talking about increases in lot rent that doesn\u2019t match income, you can\u2019t just pick up your home and move it.\u201d<\/p>\n Kevin Violette, of L.N. Violette, manages real estate across central Maine, including mobile home lots. He said a rent stabilization ordinance would punish the \u201cgood guys\u201d who keep rent at $400.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>Kevin Violette speaks at a public hearing Wednesday before the Oakland Town Council meeting. Town officials enacted a temporary ban on increases to mobile home park lot rent increases to allow an ordinance to be developed for consideration. (Abigail Pritchard\/Staff Writer)<\/p>\n