Mobile home park capital improvement return rate would stay at 12%

In plain English

Under the county's mobile home park rent rules, when a park owner makes a capital improvement (a major upgrade to the park), part of the cost can be added to residents' rent, spread over ten years, plus an interest-like "rate of return" on the unpaid balance. The Board of Supervisors sets that rate each year, and it has been twelve percent (12%) since 1982. The Mobile and Manufactured Home Commission held a public hearing on July 15, 2026 and voted to recommend keeping it at 12%. A yes vote accepts that recommendation and leaves the rate unchanged.

The rate decides how much extra residents of rent-controlled mobile home parks pay on top of the improvement cost itself when an owner upgrades the park, and how much owners earn on money they put into those improvements.

Key facts

The reasonable rate of return for qualified mobile home park capital improvements would remain at twelve percent (12%).
The rate has been set at twelve percent (12%) since 1982.
Fifty percent (50%) of a capital improvement's cost can be passed through in the annual automatic general rent adjustment, amortized over a ten-year period, with the rate of return applied to the remaining balance; the other fifty percent (50%) is passed through under Subsection 13.32.030(d)(5)(g).
The Mobile and Manufactured Home Commission voted to recommend the 12% rate after a public hearing at its July 15, 2026 meeting.
Staff state there is no financial impact to the county; the item is on the consent agenda, meaning it can be approved together with other routine items without separate discussion.

Reasons to support

The rate was recommended by the Mobile and Manufactured Home Commission following a public hearing on July 15, 2026, the body set up to review this question.
Keeping the rate at twelve percent (12%) continues the figure used consistently since 1982, giving park owners and residents a predictable number when improvements are financed.
Owners who believe the general rent adjustments do not give them a fair and reasonable return can still file a petition for a special rent adjustment, so the fixed rate is not the only avenue available.

Reasons to oppose or change it

Residents of rent-controlled parks pay the twelve percent (12%) return through higher rents on the outstanding balance of improvement costs for up to ten years, so holding the rate steady keeps that cost on tenants.
The twelve percent (12%) figure dates from 1982, and some may argue a rate set more than four decades ago no longer reflects current borrowing or investment costs.
Park owners could argue the opposite — that twelve percent (12%) does not cover today's cost of financing improvements, leaving them to seek relief through a special rent adjustment petition instead.

Official wording

Accept and adopt the recommendation of the Mobile and Manufactured Home Commission that the reasonable rate of return for qualified mobile home park capital improvements remain at twelve percent (12%) (Human Resources)

Official agenda Staff Report MMHC_Rate of Return Rec_20260715_FINAL

Summary written by claude-opus-5 from the agenda and the Staff Report. It can contain mistakes. The official documents govern.