More support needed for mobile home owners: MLA

Interview: MLA on need for mobile home protections Jon Carson, MLA for Edmonton-West Henday, is advocating for protections for residents of mobile home parks in Alberta.

An Edmonton MLA says the Mobile Home Sites Tenancies Act is not being enforced properly and needs to be reviewed.

Jon Carson, MLA for Edmonton-West Henday, called on the provincial government to review the Act so that changes that would effect 30,000 Albertans could be made.

He specifically called for a landlord/tenancy resolution board to be formed, regulations to enforce property maintenance, and caps on rent increases to prevent homeowners from being priced out of their own homes.

“They bought these properties several years ago, they’ve worked their entire lives to be able to pay off these homes, and they are being priced out of their own homes,” Carson told CTV News Thursday.

The way that mobile home sites traditionally work is that a person would buy a mobile home that already exists in a mobile home park much like a house or condo is purchased.

Then the person pays pad rent to the mobile home park in addition to their payments for the home they just bought—sometimes paying more for the pad rent than their monthly payments for their new home.

Currently, the MHSTA offers no protections to tenants in regards to pad rent caps or rent increases outside of frequency and notice of increase.

It also does not offer any type of resolution board to settle disputes between landlords and tenants, which is available to people who rent traditional residences.

MLA Carson added that the response from his video of his member statement has elicited responses from across the province from people who feel that these concerns have not been addressed for far too long.

In a statement to CTV News Edmonton, Service Minister Nate Glubish said, "We know that mobile home tenants and landlords have different concerns than those living or owning other residential property. Our UCP government are listening to those concerns and take them seriously."

Glubish added the NDP refused to address the issue during their four years in government and says he welcomes a discussion with the NDP about the concerns that have been raised.