WASHINGTON – In case you missed it, this week U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee, launched an investigation into several corporate owners of manufactured housing communities, often referred to as mobile home parks. As corporate ownership of these communities has surged in recent years, so have reports of exploitative rent increases and neglected living conditions. In letters to six investment firms that own manufactured housing communities in New England, Senator Hassan requested information about their business practices. 

Read coverage highlights of Senator Hassan’s investigation in outlets across the country below:

NBC News: Senator launches probe of investment groups buying up trailer parks

The top Senate Democrat on the congressional Joint Economic Committee launched a new probe Monday into investment firms that hold large stakes in mobile home parks.

Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire has asked six firms to produce internal documents and materials showing the impact their business practices have had on mobile home residents and the profits their investments have generated.

About 22 million people in the U.S. live in mobile home communities across the country, and in recent years, investment companies and private equity firms have bought up many of the parks.

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Residents of mobile home communities are often vulnerable, Hassan’s letters notes; many are seniors, families on limited incomes and people with disabilities. They can find it very difficult to move if their rents rise significantly or if their lease terms change. 

Unlike traditional renters, many mobile home residents own their homes but lease the land they sit on. If the rental costs increase dramatically, they could be forced to move their entire homes to new locations, which typically involves significant costs and risks structural damage. 

Hassan has also asked for details of ownership stakes the firms hold in the communities and how they have been financed.

“The thousands of Granite Staters and millions of Americans who live in mobile home parks deserve fair rent, safe living conditions, and the ability to protect themselves from mistreatment,” Hassan told NBC News in a statement. 

“As corporate investment firms buy up more and more of these communities, they still have a responsibility to meet these basic standards for each and every one of their residents," she said. 

Realtor.com: They Own Their Homes, Investors Own the Land—Now, One Senator Is Asking Questions

Private equity and corporate investors have snapped up mobile home parks across the country, to the tune of nearly $9.4 billion in acquisitions in 2021 alone, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Affordable housing advocates say that the wave of investment is driving rent hikes and evictions in one of America’s last affordable paths to homeownership. 

Now, Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Congressional Joint Economic Committee, is demanding answers.

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Behind Hassan’s questions is a growing concern: At least 27 mobile home parks in New England—more than 5,200 housing units—are now owned by private equity–backed companies, according to a database compiled by the Private Equity Stakeholder Project and Manufactured Housing Action.

Her inquiry could be the first step in forcing those investors to account for what that ownership has meant for the people who live there.

ConsumerAffairs: Hassan presses corporate mobile-home park owners over rent hikes, poor conditions

Hassan said the requested information will help Congress better understand how corporate consolidation is affecting affordability and safety in a critical segment of the nation’s housing stock. “Given this impact on our economy… and the pressing need to increase access to safe, reliable housing that people can afford, I seek more information on your business practices,” she wrote.

The six companies have been asked to respond to the committee with detailed information about their rent-setting practices, ownership structures, maintenance policies and procedures for addressing resident complaints.

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