King Cosponsors Effort to Protect Affordable Housing Market in Maine

July 11, 2024
WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Angus King has joined in the introduction of critical legislation to protect the affordable housing market in Maine and across the country. TheManufactured Housing Community Sustainability Actwould encourage manufactured home park owners interested in selling their properties to sell the land to their residents, rather than another landlord or a developer. If passed by Congress, this would allow more Americans to stay in their homes and protect them from excessive rent increases.
Currently, 22 million Americans are living in manufactured housing in over 50,000 manufactured housing communities (MHC). Without rent control, out-of-state and corporate ownership can result in higher lot fees and rents, pushing long-term residents out of their homes. Maine has over 600 MHCs, the most out of any New England state, 10 of which are resident-owned housing cooperatives. Up to one-fifth of MHCs in Maine are owned by out-of-state investors, with little connection to the residents or community profile.
“Communities across America are facing a serious affordable housing crisis, so we must continue to provide creative solutions to lower housing prices across the country,”said Senator King. “TheManufactured Housing Community Sustainability Actwould give residents the opportunity to form a cooperative and buy the land to keep large out-of-state investors from buying out their landlord and jacking up rent prices. This step is a simple way to ensure that Maine residents can stay in their homes at an affordable price, while also giving tenants a stake in their property.”
Specifically, theManufactured Housing Community Sustainability Actwould create a 75 percent federal tax credit offsetting capital gains if the property is sold to a resident-owned cooperative or nonprofit. This economic incentive would empower communities and keep more families in their homes, while protecting the long-term viability of this important sector of our nation’s affordable housing market.
Maine has already passed a state law that requires owners of MHCs to give residents advance notice if they are selling the property—providing an option for residents to offer a purchase price two months prior to the sale date and three months for residents to acquire financing. Recently, tworesident-owned communitiessecured funding to buy the land they live on in Rockland and Thomaston.
Joining King on the legislation are Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Jon Tester (D-MT), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).
Senator King has long been committed to ensuring Maine people across the state can access safe and affordable housing. He recently cosponsored abipartisan effortto encourage the renovation of historical structures to boost affordable housing availability in Maine. He has also introduced the bipartisanAffordable Housing Credit Improvement Actto create nearly two million new affordable homes across the country – including thousands in Maine. He also worked with his Republican colleagues to improve affordability of rural homes and farms through theAccess to Credit for our Rural Economy (ACRE) Act of 2023. Additionally, he hasworked to expand affordable workforce housingon Mount Desert Island to support the economic development surrounding Acadia National Park.
The full text of thelegislationcan be foundhere.
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