In a story MHProNews.com has been following for over a year, voters in Oceanside, California overwhelmingly voted down Proposition E which would gradually eliminate rent control in the city’s 17 MHCs. City council Councilman Jerry Kern, who championed eliminating the rent control measure that has been in effect since 1984, says, “Reform is hard. When you let people vote themselves a subsidy, they’re going to vote themselves a subsidy.” Kern adds in the next 10-15 years, the MHCs “will either close or become condos because the system is unsustainable.” Amy Epsten, whose family owns two MHCs in Oceanside, says “”We will regroup. One thing you definitely can count on is we will always continue fighting for our property rights.” According to NCTimes, under the original ordinance MHC owners can raise site rents annually by 75 percent of the increase in the regional consumer price index. A greater increase must be appealed to a city rent control board.
