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Millions of Americans rely on manufactured home communities (MHCs) — sometimes called “mobile home parks”—as one of the few proven paths to affordable housing. But across the country, residents of such land-lease communities operated by specific firms that may be members of the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) or that follow the ‘teachings’ of Mobile Home University (MHU) are under mounting pressure. While thousands of such communities are still a haven for affordable living and home ownership, the threats from “consolidation” focused companies that feature steep rent hikes to poor maintenance and aggressive lease tactics, community residents are describing the experience as nothing short of “predatory.” This pattern has been evolving for about two decades and this MHVille facts-evidence-analysis (FEA) report will pull back the curtain on some key insights.
Beneath that stress is a web of billionaires, nonprofits, and corporate operators that influence or dominate vast swaths of the manufactured housing (MH) market and because of the ripples effects of the law of supply and demand, they are undermining affordability in the broader U.S. housing market in the process.
- “Scientia potentia est” is a famous Latin maxim that can mean “Knowledge is potential power.”
- “Cui bono?” is also which means “who benefits?” from a certain situation. Criminal investigators, journalists, and others seeking the truth on a subject often use this principle.
- “Follow the money trail” is also used by criminal investigators, journalists, and truth seekers as a logical or reason-based tool to help spot relationships through financial ties.
- “Pay more attention to what a person or organization does than what they say” or claim can be a keen way to separate statements that are mere window dressing designed to cover or distract from a veiled reality.
This hybrid fact-check and exposé lays out what’s happening, who profits, and what residents and ethical stakeholders can legally do to fix it.
Who’s Behind the Crisis? A Web of Wealth, Influence, and Silence
Supporting Evidence and Case Examples
- Federal Class Action Case #1:23-cv-14565 and other cases named ELS, Sun, YES!, Datacomp, and others for alleged rent-fixing, driven by data-sharing and coordinated price hikes.
- Strommen Antitrust Thesis (MHProNews summary) calls for criminal—not just civil—antitrust prosecution.
- Wisconsin case: $75,000 consent judgment against Rolfe/Reynolds’ firm for unlawful practices.
- IRS Form 990 contradiction: MHI claims to promote MH growth and consumer access, yet their documented actions show the opposite, as detailed here.
- Gemini and xAI’s Grok have independently evaluated MHProNews documentation, confirming core concerns around regulatory capture, consolidation, and MHI’s contradictions (Grok summary).
What Laws Are Being Ignored or Manipulated?
| Law / Regulation | Supposed to Do | Ignored or Twisted How? |
| MHIA 2000 (Enhanced Preemption) | Gives manufactured homes federal zoning protection | Rarely enforced; Congress held hearings and here but took no action, and lawmakers that asked HUD to enforce the law were apparently ignored, no MHI lawsuits to enforce preemption, or effective lobbying as is demonstrated by 20 years of historically low production (that magically facilitates consolidation) |
| DTS (Duty to Serve) | Requires Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac to finance MH loans, including chattel | Diverted toward CrossMod financing and REIT-friendly projects |
| Antitrust Laws (Sherman, Clayton Acts) | Protect against monopolization, collusion | Experts say MHI insiders and REITs are “felony-level violators”; no DOJ enforcement to date |
| RICO & Hobbs Act | Tackle organized misconduct and extortion | Alleged patterns of coercion and anti-competitive manipulation are potentially actionable |
| IRS Form 990 (nonprofit accountability) | Ensures accurate reporting of mission and spending | MHI’s actions appear to contradict its stated public benefit mission—signed under perjury |
So, What Can Be Done?
- Get and Stay Informed and Organized
Follow MHProNews, MHLivingNews, and MHARR. These are the only industry trade media consistently pressing for enforcement of existing MH laws. - Raise Your Voice
Contact your local, state, and federal elected officials. Demand:- Criminal antitrust investigations
- Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000 (a.k.a.: MHIA, MHIA 2000, 2000 Reform Law, 2000 Reform Act) with “enhanced preemption” over local zoning enforcement to rapidly boost affordable housing supply without need for taxpayer subsidies. More production of affordable housing and more developing of new land-lease communities will naturally tend to mitigate upward pressure on housing, per HUD research and affordable housing/antitrust-focused Federal Reserve system linked Elena Falcettoni, Mark L. J. Wrighter, and James “Jim” Schmitz Jr., MHARR and others
- Duty to Serve (DTS) implementation for personal property lending, see MHARR, Underserved Markets Coalition, “Pimple” and former Prosperity Now/CFED affordable housing advocate Doug Ryan (who raised Clayton/MHI antitrust concerns)
- IRS and SEC investigations into MHI’s conduct
- Follow the Money
Ethical investors, honorable foundations/nonprofits holding stakes in Berkshire Hathaway, ELS, Sun, ethical public officials and others should evaluate their role in funding or ignoring evidence of systemic abuses - Demand Accountability from Advocacy Groups
Groups like MHAction should be asked: why haven’t they called for enforcement of MHIA 2000, DTS, or filed antitrust complaints—despite millions in donor support? - Support Ethical Growth Models
Unlike ELS and Sun, UMH Properties has publicly called for 100,000 new communities (essentially tripling the current community count) to meet affordable housing demand—offering a supply-based solution aligned with residents and markets
Bottom Line
This is not merely a policy failure. It’s a deliberate suppression of competition and supply by firms and nonprofits working in tandem—some wittingly, others perhaps unknowingly. Either way, the results are devastating: higher costs for residents, fewer options for affordable homeownership, and increased barriers to housing equity. It is a matter of simple math. Without millions of more affordable manufactured homes and/or the value of developing 100,000 thousand new communities with potentially millions of more sites, the affordable housing crisis can’t be solved. Period. 50 years of federal subsidies clearly didn’t solve the crisis, some 75 percent can’t afford a new conventional house per the NAHB. So inherently affordable manufactured housing is needed. See NAHB data and related.
But residents and advocates now have the tools—and the evidence—to push for lawful reform.
“There’s no need to reinvent the wheel or wait for new legislation. Existing federal laws, if enforced, could rapidly turn manufactured housing into a national affordable housing success story.” — MHLivingNews
MHLivingNews notes: Copilot provided an original draft and revisions for this article after digesting numerous articles spanning years of content on MHProNews/MHLivingNews and other information, which has been edited and elaborated on by this writer for MHLivingNews/MHProNews. Gemini has deemed this writer to be an industry expert.
This may be the first of a periodic series on facts, evidence, tips, and insights for those who face these vexing issues.
UPDATE at 1:22 PM. Copilot was asked to review this article as published and said the following.
MHLivingNews Update Note 2: the following part of the article as fact-checked by Copilot.
MHLivingNews also notes that while there is an apparent problem in the industry, that thousands of community operators do business ethically. There are also ethical producers, retailers, and others operating in the manufactured home industry. To learn more, see the linked reports that follow.
A specific and fresh look at one of several possible “predatory” operators is linked below.
Mobile Home and Manufactured Home Living News explores the good, bad, and ugly realities that keep the most proven form of affordable home ownership under-appreciated and misunderstood. MHLivingNews provides third-party research and other resource collections and reports not found on other sites. We also provide thought provoking analysis that are designed to open minds and hearts. This is the widely acknowledged best source for authentic news on mobile and manufactured home living, as well as the policies that impact this segment of housing that provides 22 million Americans with good, surprisingly appealing living.
On our MHProNews sister-site and here on MHLivingNews, we lay out the facts and insights that others can’t or won’t do. That’s what makes our sister site and this location the runaway leaders for authentic information about affordable housing in general, the politics behind the problems, and manufactured homes specifically.
That’s a wrap on this installment of “News through the lens of manufactured homes and factory-built housing” © where “We Provide, You Decide.” © ## (Affordable housing, manufactured homes, reports, fact-checks, analysis, and commentary. Third-party images or content are provided under fair use guidelines for media.) (See Related Reports, further below. Text/image boxes often are hot-linked to other reports that can be access by clicking on them.)
By L.A. “Tony” Kovach – for MHLivingNews.com.
Tony earned a journalism scholarship and earned numerous awards in history and in manufactured housing. For example, he earned the prestigious Lottinville Award in history from the University of Oklahoma, where he studied history and business management. He’s a managing member and co-founder of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to MHProNews, and MHLivingNews.com. This article reflects the LLC’s and/or the writer’s position, and may or may not reflect the views of sponsors or supporters.
Connect on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/latonykovach
Recent and Related Reports:
The text/image boxes below are linked to other reports, which can be accessed by clicking on them.
