Report Publish Date: 2022

This evaluation report describes, from residents’ perspectives, how new mobile home park regulations put into place in Colorado in 2019 and 2020 affected their lives.

Primary Takeaways

• Colorado's new mobile home park policies were passed with limited resources for implementation and enforcement. It took two years for residents to be given a full understanding of the policies meant to protect them and improve their living situations.
• The policies introduced a dispute resolution system, but some residents were afraid to use it.
• Park owners have the upper hand, and mobile home park residents live in fear of retaliation, even for doing things like filling out a survey about their experiences.
• One of the policies created a pathway for residents to purchase their parks, but doing so came with many challenges.
• Trusted local organizations can help residents gain their legal rights.
   

Overview and Objectives

Because of the high cost of living in Colorado, mobile homes have become an important pathway to owning a home. But most mobile homeowners do not own the land their home is on. New statewide policies passed in 2019 and 2020 were meant to protect tenants against rent increases, overbilling, and eviction; improve the condition of parks; and provide a pathway to park ownership. 

The authors wanted to know if the policies had benefited residents two years later.
 

Hypothesis or Approach 

Partners in Research and Evaluation (PiER) Center worked with Gunnison Valley Regional Housing Authority and Hispanic Affairs Project to evaluate the policies’ adoption, survey residents, meet with community partners, and hear from residents in community advisory groups.
 

How This Influences Change

Understanding the resources needed to make new policies stick and to support mobile home park residents will help future work to advance housing justice.