EL MIRAGE, AZ — Longtime residents of a Valley manufactured home community are worried about the impact of lot rental hikes on elderly neighbors and families struggling to get by.
People living in the Coppersun 55+ manufactured home community in El Mirage received notices this month of rent increases for the lots private homes sit on. One notice shared with ABC15 showed a projected increase from roughly $600 to over $1,100.
“Oh my god, I’m going to have a heart attack,” resident Paul Bodjanac said.
Many residents, with similar letters, expressed their frustration and anxiety at the initial letter.
“I wanted to cry,” Mary Noard said.
The community offered a concession agreement to those who had been living at the park for a long time.
According to the lease addendum, it would bring all residents up to market rates over the course of seven years, decreasing the cash given back by the company to renters per month each year, while also still adjusting the rent to annual market increases.
“They gave us mitigation prices for the next seven years, but who knows what the market rate is going to be then, and where am I going to get that money to pay the rent?” Noard said.
With the additional agreement, Bodjanac calculated that his rent would still increase by 15 percent come January.
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In looking at how that compares on a regional scale, it is double the annual percent change of 55+ manufactured home lot pad rents in the Southwest documented by Fannie Mae in a 2024 Q2 study comparing the same time from 2023.
Cobblestone Real Estate, which manages the community, said that the park has invested millions of dollars in recent years. They also have a rental assistance program, run by a third party, for residents who are struggling to pay rent.
Cobblestone COO Jason Hagen explained more in an emailed statement:
“Importantly, this year’s rent notice also includes information about a rent concession program designed specifically for residents whose current rents are significantly below market. Residents that have been with us since we initially purchased the property will receive these concessions for seven years. Those who have joined Coppersun since our purchase will receive up to three years’ concessions. While we are not obligated to offer these discounts, we’ve done so as a gesture of appreciation for those who have been part of the community for years. These concessions are meant to help ease the transition as rents gradually align with market levels. The majority of residents will receive these concessions for seven years.
Over the past several years, Coppersun has invested about $4 million into the community, improving infrastructure and upgrading and enhancing resident amenities such as the clubhouse, pool and pickleball courts. At the same time, we’ve kept rents for legacy residents well below market, sometimes by several hundred dollars. These residents are being assisted with the tailored, multi-year concession program, while new to join Coppersun residents will pay full market rent.
We believe we have developed a fair approach to implementing necessary rent increases — balancing gradual increases with direct support for the residents who have helped make this community what it is today.”
But this isn’t the only mobile or manufactured home community seeing increases.
The Arizona Association of Manufactured Home Owners frequently gets reports of costs climbing across the state, in many mobile home communities that have long served as some of the only affordable options for thousands of Arizonans.
“We get calls from people all over the state of Arizona telling us that they’ve got problems and we’re going to see what we can do,” District 2 AAMHO director Al Retherford said.
While there aren’t rent caps, state law requires that if a mobile home park increases rent by more than 10%, plus annual cost-of-living increases, the mobile home owners have the right to receive relocation funds.
More information on the relocation fund can be found here.
For people in Coppersun, some are considering leaving.
“I am selling my house because there’s no point in staying,” resident and former park manager Clyde Pechstedt said. “If this keeps going up year after year after year, and social security doesn’t go up at that rate every year.”
Many others, however, are taking the concession agreement, for now.
“This is no longer affordable, in fact, at some point we’re going to have to get out of here,” Bodjanac said.
