The challenges that public officials commonly associate with manufactured home communities and “mobile home parks” generally include poor quality and failing infrastructure, rising rents, and/or risk of closure and redevelopment.

At the root of all of these challenges are basic market forces and public policies that attempt to improve this unusual situation of homes on the land of another. ROC USA promotes the alignment of ownership between home and land as a means of correcting the challenges and preserving and improving these communities.

Resident-owned communities in many states have secured loans and grants to make much needed health and safety improvements as a part of their community acquisition plan. Municipalities have benefited from a stable and secure source of affordable housing that is safe and decent.

Resident ownership can also be a solution to community closures. By supporting resident ownership before a “change of land use” is proposed, local officials can avoid the displacement and disruption that a closure represents. ROC USA seeks to build the basic infrastructure of technical assistance and financing to make resident ownership viable, recognizing that additional public support and policies will be critical to saving communities in the throes of closure.

Such closures often lead to irreplaceable loss of affordable housing and which constitutes your community’s workforce housing. It may make former homeowners a part of the demand for housing services locally, creating further pressures on public officials and local governments to solve the nation’s housing crisis. For this reason, we view state and local officials among the most important stakeholders with the power to prevent emergency situations.

Converting manufactured home communities to resident ownership when the community owner puts the property on the market can lead to more stable neighborhoods that you and your citizenry value as part of the greater community.

A recent study conducted by The Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire documents the positive economic gains that can be produced by resident ownership, and we encourage you to access the report and download it free of charge by clicking here. (Because Adobe Acrobat reader is required to view this document click here to download your free version if necessary.)

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