ALBANY, NY — Assembly Member Paula Elaine Kay announced that she has signed on and is advocating for legislation that requires manufactured home park owners to provide a written justification for any rent increase exceeding three percent of the current rent. Additionally, property owners must make supporting documentation available to residents upon request, ensuring that increases are clearly explained and tied to legitimate costs. This bill passed the Senate this year and is currently in the Assembly Standing Committee on Housing.

“I’m a proud co-sponsor of bill A340A, a measure aimed at strengthening protections for residents of manufactured home parks by increasing transparency and accountability around rent increases,” Assembly Member Kay said.

The bill will also establish stricter standards for justifying rent hikes related to maintenance and repairs. Under the bill, manufactured home park owners must demonstrate that such work is necessary to meet legal habitability requirements and that any increase in rent reflects only the actual and reasonable cost of that work.

“This legislation is about fairness and transparency,” said Kay. “Residents of manufactured home communities deserve clear, honest explanations when their housing costs rise, especially when those increases can have a significant impact on working families and seniors living on fixed incomes. My constituents have felt the real-world impacts of neglectful manufactured home community management as demonstrated in the The People of the State of New York v. River Valley Estates, LLC (2025), a case decided in favor of the People just last year. The State Supreme court ruled that the owners of River Valley Estates were taking advantage of residents through illegal fees, and improper rent increases. I advocated years ago as the town attorney for the Town of Fallsburg for the Attorney General to take action against the owners of River Valley Estates, LLC, and its predecessor entity Foxcroft Village, and just as I did then, I will always fight for the residents of these communities. This legislation is a step toward delivering the transparency and decency they deserve.”