ESCONDIDO — For the third time since late February, the City Council has increased the rent for residents of a local mobile home park.
As a result of the council’s unanimous March 20 decision, nearly half of the residents at Greencrest Mobilehome Park will see an average monthly increase of about $20.45, averaging between $13.74 and $27.51. The increase will apply to 69 of the park’s 129 spaces, subject to rent control.
Before last week’s decision, the council approved rent hikes at Casa Grande Mobile Estates and Town and Country Club Mobilehome Park, which are age-restricted to seniors only.
The city’s Proposition K, which voters passed in 1988, requires owners of mobile home parks to get permission from the city to raise rents on controlled spaces.
The park’s owners applied for a rent increase using the short-form application process, which is less tedious than the long-form application. Under the short form, applicants can request a rent increase based solely on the San Diego Metropolitan Area’s Consumer Price Index change.
To qualify for a short-form application, a park must apply at least 12 months after the last rent increase was completed. Additionally, the rent increase must apply to all rent-controlled spaces and may not exceed 90% of the increase in CPI since its last application or 8% of the current rent, whichever is less.
For Greencrest residents, this is the second rent increase in over a year. Greencrest previously applied for a $39.04 average rent increase in January 2023, which was 8% of the rent for rent-controlled spaces. The most recently approved rent increase is 3.87% of the current rent.
According to Housing and Neighborhood Services Manager Danielle Lopez, no resident representative of the park was identified, nor were there any people who signed up at the March 20 public hearing to protest Greencrest’s requested rent increase.
Lopez said the park has a considerably large clubhouse with a kitchen, laundry facility, seasonal pool, playground and soccer arena — something she noted was unique from other mobile home parks in the city—and a new picnic and barbecue area is in the works.
Code enforcement found two violations before the council considered the rent increase application. As of March 12, both violations were corrected.
Lopez noted that some residents were generally happy with the park and enjoyed living there.
One resident asked if the pool’s open season could be expanded and if the fence facing Centre City Parkway separating the road from the park could be repaired. According to park management, the pool is not heated and is therefore limited in its open season. However, management would consider expanding the open season dates.
Additionally, Lopez said that even though Caltrans owns the fence, it is the city’s responsibility to maintain it.
“A work order has been issued, and fence repair is supposed to begin Wednesday (March 27), Lopez said.
The average rent-controlled space at Greencrest currently pays approximately $548.24. Residents must be given a 90-day notice before the new rent rates go into effect.
Like Greencrest, Casa Grande’s rent increase was approved through a short-form application process. Residents there will see an average increase of about $34.58 per month.
Meanwhile, Town and Country Club owners had to apply using the more complicated long-form process. Those residents will see an increase between $26.92 and $79.86 monthly per space.
