Sask. mobile home community members concerned about rising monthly fees

Residents of a mobile home park community near Saskatoon are expressing concerns after their rental prices have taken a jump. Hallee Mandryk reports.

Angus Mackay has lived in the Sunset Estates mobile home community for more than 20 years. While it is the place he calls home, he is one of many residents worrying about the future of the community.

“It’s gotten to a point now where it’s become almost unaffordable for most people out here. We have lots of people here who are elderly, we have people who are on a fixed income, and it is getting increasingly harder for people to survive and afford to live here,” Mackay said.

Mackay shared that he is one of more than 200 community members affected by the increase in monthly fees from the landowner, Compass Communities.

Since December, Mackay has seen his monthly expenses increase by about 25 per cent.

These lot fees include property tax, water, and a licence fee, in addition to the actual rent of the site.

“It’s not just affecting a group of people. We have 247 homes in this community. It affects every single one of us,” Mackay said.

In mobile communities like Sunset Estates, residents typically own or mortgage their houses, while paying a rental fee (also known as a pad fee) for the lot their home sits on.

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After raising the issue with neighbours, a gathering was held at the community hall to address the issue.

“We all met at the hall and the conversation was pleasantly surprising. Despite all of the fear and high emotions, we were able to keep it very respectful and informative, and we made an action plan as a community and we all came together and it was super beneficial,” Melissa Hawgood, another Sunset resident said.

After the community meeting, Sunset community members are now in the process of individually filing applications with the Office of Residential Tenancies, as residents believe that these charges were not properly communicated.

“We do have members in our community who don’t have access to the internet or a computer. We decided that we’re going to set up another meeting at the community hall for those residents so that we can help them and support them through. Another thing that may hinder some is there’s a $50 filing fee. I know myself and some others have offered to help those in the community who may not be able to file, just help them with that $50 so that they can also save their homes, essentially,” Hawgood said.

The Office of Residential Tenancies sais landlords must provide written notice of rent increases 12 months before the effective date of the increase.

“If the landlord is a member of a prescribed landlord association, the landlord can provide the notice six months in advance. For fixed-term tenancy agreements, rent cannot be increased during the term unless the increase was agreed to in the original agreement,” The Office of Residential Tenancies said in a statement.

“A landlord must give the tenant with a “Two Month Notice of intention” form which allows the landlord to increase rent after the agreement ends.”

Compass Communities said any monthly fee increases imposed would have come along with notice.

“We are providing residents with six months’ notice of any adjustments to ensure they have ample time to plan. These changes reflect the rising non-discretionary costs of operating a land-lease community, including the ongoing maintenance and capital expenditures required to replace aging water infrastructure. These adjustments are necessary to align with current operational realities, including snow removal and essential community maintenance that protect the long-term value of our residents’ homes,” Compass Communities said in a statement.

Mackay explained that while some residents have had communication with Compass Communities, the explanation provided by the landowners has left many in the community feeling taken advantage of.

“Some people have gotten letters stating that they’re their rental increases are caused by the R.M., and because of that, it’s no longer a property tax increase, but it’s actually a ‘licensing fee’. And these loopholes make people who live in mobile home communities extremely vulnerable to rental increases as we don’t have a rental cap in Saskatchewan,” Mackay said.

According to Compass Communities, this licence fee is a result of the R.M. raising property taxes.

“The ‘licence fee’ is a property tax set by the Rural Municipality and is a direct pass-through cost. For residents with homes over 1,000 square feet, this fee doubled from approximately $42 to $80 effective Jan. 1, 2026. Compass has no role in setting this tax, which is a direct pass-through, and we understand the R.M. attempted to notify residents of this increase directly.” Compass Communities told CTV.

The residents of Sunset Estates who spoke with CTV all echoed that the sense of community within the park is incredibly strong.

Mackay emphasized that the Sunset Community Association is responsible for many of the improvements that have been made to the community, including a playground park area in recent years.

“This park was completely paid for by members of the community and our community board. Compass Communities hasn’t offered any funding to the gentrification of our park, along with any of the other amenities. Those are solely, paid for by members of the community,” Mackay said.

Hawgood added that negative stereotypes regarding mobile home communities can often create untrue ideas regarding those who live in them.

“We’re proud of sunset. Sometimes people are think ‘it’s just a trailer park’. We’re not, we’re a mobile home community. And we take pride in the way that our homes look and pride and caring for the community and caring for each other,” Hawgood said.

The Sunset community is continuing to work together as they navigate the process of fighting these price hikes. The community has been in communication with the local MLA and plans to meet with the provincial minister of housing.

“This is our home. We’re not just numbers on a piece of paper. This is where we raise our families. This is where our seniors retire. This place is very special to a lot of people. And we’d like to continue to keep it our home,” Hawgood said.

Mackay added that he and his neighbours want to stay in their homes, and they plan to exhaust all of their options when it comes to finding a way to remain in Sunset Estates.

“We feel that we’re being treated unjustly. So hopefully we can work with them and we can find a compromise to bring the rent back to a controllable level and actually see progress in the park instead of just seeing the rent go up,” Mackay said.