In Massachusetts, mobile home parks have become the last stronghold of rent control, offering rare protection for low-income residents against rapidly rising housing costs. But now, even this safeguard is under attack. Across the state, rent control boards are caught in bitter disputes between park owners demanding massive rent hikes and residents who fear losing their homes due to unaffordable living expenses.
In Ludlow, Springfield, and other communities, housing advocacy group Springfield No One Leaves (SNOL) has taken up the cause, helping tenants organize to resist increases they describe as excessive and unjust. One of the flashpoints is West Street Village Mobile Home Community, where residents are fighting a proposed 142% lot rent increase—from $207 to $500.06 per month—approved by the local rent control board. Veteran housing rights attorney Joel Feldman, representing the residents, is challenging the decision, alleging that the landlord, Tom Lennon, presented inflated expenses to justify the hike.