A bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Cindy Axne (D-IA) that would keep manufactured housing communities affordable has passed out of the House Financial Services Committee, the Congressmembers said Thursday.
The Manufactured Housing Community Preservation Act would provide federal assistance for acquiring and preserving those communities by creating a new program that would award grants of up to $2 million for non-profits, resident-formed cooperatives, and other local entities to purchase and maintain an MHC.
“The housing situation in the Bay Area is simply unsustainable,” Khanna said. “Homeownership is critical toward building a pipeline for generational wealth & stability in the middle class. The federal government must step up and protect manufactured housing and mobile home communities, some of the only pathways left toward homeownership in Silicon Valley.”
The legislation was re-introduced this year and would require that rents in those communities remain affordable and that the community is managed for the benefit of the resident for at least 30 years after the grant is awarded.
“Providing residents of our manufactured housing communities a pathway to acquiring their own community through a co-op or partnering with a nonprofit will help ensure we can keep these communities affordable for this and future generations of tenants,” said Rep. Axne. “I’m proud to see this legislation advancing out of my committee today, and I will be pushing to get this legislation all the way to the President’s desk to provide these grants to folks who want to preserve their communities for themselves and their children.”
The bill is supported by Prosperity Now, the Manufactured Housing Institute, MHAction, and ROC USA.