Nangle bill to protect mobile home community residents heads to desk of governor

AUGUSTA – On Wednesday, June 11, the Maine Senate voted to enact LD 1145 “An Act to Protect Residents Living in Mobile Home Parks,” a bill from Sen. Tim Nangle, D–Windham, that would establish a Right of First Refusal for mobile home community residents – a policy that has proven effective in other states at preserving affordability and preventing displacement.

State Senator Tim Nangle's bill
to establish a Right of First
Refusal for mobile home 
community residents
preserving affordability and
preventing displacement is on
the governor's desk awaiting
signature into Maine law.
COURTESY PHOTO  

Under the bill, mobile home community owners would be required to notify residents when a sale is pending and give them the legal opportunity to match a third-party offer. If residents can organize and secure financing on substantially equivalent terms, the owner must honor their bid.

“For tens of thousands of Mainers, mobile home communities are not just affordable housing – they’re neighborhoods,” Nangle said. “They have gardens and porches, children playing outside, and neighbors who look out for one another. But too often, they’re being treated like commodities instead of communities – bought and sold by corporations that see profit, not people. This bill changes that. It gives residents a real, legal right to fight for the homes and the neighborhoods they’ve built their lives around. It gives them a chance to own not just their home, but their future.”

The goal is to give residents a fair and realistic opportunity to purchase the land beneath their homes, preserving one of Maine’s last forms of naturally affordable housing and reducing the influence of corporate investors that often raise rents and cut services.

“For many Mainers, mobile home parks are critical sources of affordable, stable housing,” Nangle said. “Too often, private equity firms swoop in solely for profit, drastically raising rents and destabilizing communities. This bill ensures residents are treated fairly and have a meaningful opportunity to preserve their homes and communities, it’s a step toward a Maine where stability, dignity and community well-being are valued over corporate profit.”

The LD 1145 bill addresses key issues faced by residents of mobile home parks by requiring mobile park owners to provide written notice to residents when they intend to sell; extending the waiting period from 60 to 90 days, giving residents more time to respond; establishing a clear "right of first refusal," enabling residents to match and purchase their park if they choose; clarifying that park owners are not required to complete a sale if residents cannot secure financing within 90 days; and introducing protections when park owners intend to discontinue park use entirely, including mandatory relocation assistance funded by the owner and restrictions preventing eviction until residents are safely relocated.

During debate on the Maine Senate floor, Senator Nangle delivered a personal and heartfelt speech about his family’s experience managing a mobile home community in Danvers, Massachusetts. He spoke about the values his father instilled – treating tenants with dignity, maintaining relationships, and putting people first. Thanks to Massachusetts’ Right of First Refusal law, the residents of that community were ultimately able to organize and purchase the land, preserving both affordability and a sense of ownership.

Last week, Nangle joined mobile home community residents, advocates and fellow lawmakers at a press conference in Augusta following the Senate’s initial vote on the bill. Residents shared their stories of organizing to purchase their communities and members of the Housing and Economic Development Committee spoke about the growing pressure facing mobile home communities from out-of-state investors.

State Senator Chip Curry, D-Belfast, and State Rep. Traci Gere, D-Kennebunkport, discussed the broader package of bills aimed at preserving affordability, while residents like Dawn Beaulieu of Friendly Village Cooperative in Gorham described the urgent need for protections like the Right of First Refusal.

Nangle’s LD 1145 passed with bipartisan support in both chambers and now heads to the desk of Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who has 10 days to sign it, veto it or allow it to become law without her signature. If LD 1145 goes into law, it will take effect 90 days after the First Special Session of the 132nd Legislature adjourns sine die.

State Senator Tim Nangle is serving his second term in the Maine Senate, representing Casco, Frye Island, Raymond, Windham and part of Westbrook. He serves as Senate Chair of the Transportation Committee and sits on the Health and Human Services Committee. <