Mobile home tenants sue park owner

“Through the years it’s been difficult to make rent when you do not know what your rent increases are going to be since your landlord choses not to disclose any information,” said veteran Jonathan Davis as he sat beside two other residents in a Burlingame law office. “I feel like I live in a house of cards, and I’m right at the bottom of it. I feel like he’s going to flick the card and my housing is going to tumble.”

Attorneys representing the tenants say the owner of Trailer Villa — where 127 families reside in an unincorporated portion of the county near Redwood City — took advantage of residents by ignoring the law. In 2003, San Mateo County capped rent increases at mobile home parks located within unincorporated areas of the county to 75 percent of the consumer price index but no more than 5 percent. As recently as last week, supervisors have taken additional efforts to preserve this dwindling type of affordable housing.

On Wednesday, eight Trailer Villa residents filed a lawsuit against the park’s owner with support from Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County and the firm Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy.

They’re suing John Vidovich and his family company De Anza Properties, owners of the park since 2004, according to the complaint. Vidovich is a reported Los Altos millionaire, real estate developer and leader of Sandridge Partners, which owns vast Central Valley farms and has been in legal disputes over the sale of water rights, according to court records and media accounts.

De Anza Properties and Vidovich did not return requests for comment.

Legal Aid Directing Attorney Shirley Gibson said park ownership has not returned calls seeking resolution to the allegedly illegal rent increases levied against at-risk tenants.

“In the spirit of preserving what little affordable housing stock we have to work with in this county, we are insisting that this park owner needs to put a lid on the rampant revenue grab that has been happening in this park,” Gibson said. “There’s no justification whatsoever for the escalation we have seen, there’s no investment structure that would justify the revenue that this park is demanding from the people that can afford it least.”

The park at 3401 E. Bayshore Road is home to 127 households that include seniors, families with children and people with disabilities. The residents rent the space on which their homes are situated, according to the lawsuit.

Francoise DeWeese has lived at the park since 1994. The 69-year-old DeWeese continues to work as a housekeeper to support herself and her disabled son. But as her rent has increased from $850 in 2013 to now $1,320, DeWeese said she and others are faced with challenging decisions.

“I represent not only the elderly but the working families and the disabled. It has now come to the point of paying our ridiculous rent amounts, or putting food on the table and medication,” DeWeese said. “We ask for some help and focus on this matter. We ask that the owner of the park be a human being and follow the law.”

Many of the tenants have been handed rent increases up to 15 percent, in violation of the county’s ordinance capping rents at below CPI, according to the lawsuit. Many were also unaware their homes were protected by rent control until the county recently conducted outreach — meaning the abuse has gone on for years, Gibson said.

Further complicating the matter is the local ordinance does not provide for explicit administrative enforcement by the county. Instead, residents are left to try and defend themselves in court, Gibson said.

In an effort to promote compliance, starting last year the county instated reporting requirements and developed an educational outreach program for mobile home park residents as well as owners. At one point, San Mateo County also enacted a moratorium on mobile home park closures.  

New county rules

As the housing crisis continues, the county is now prioritizing preservation of its seven mobile home parks and amended its rules as recently as last week. Soon, the county will require mobile home park owners to seek approval from the county before converting their properties to other uses — a decision perhaps informed by Palo Alto’s fiasco to preserve the Buena Vista mobile home park. It also expanded the definition of mobile homes to explicitly include RVs.

The new rules would require a nine-month notice before park owners apply for a change of use permit and provide residents another six months if the request is approved. Park owners may also be required to pay for relocation assistance and temporary lodging, according to the county.

Gibson said mobile home parks are typically very profitable for owners as they require very little overhead costs and are essentially just renting land to people who own their homes. She also questioned Vidovich and De Anza’s decisions to illegally raise rents, alleging there have been no commensurate investments into improving the property.  

The residents are asking a court to find their landlord in violation of the San Mateo County Mobilehome Rent Control Ordinance and allow them to recover rent overpayments for the last four years, according to the lawsuit.

Patricia Dunsford, a single mom who spent the last nine years living at the park, said she hopes the lawsuit will provide some relief to her family.

“I am struggling to put them through school and also, to again provide food. And now, we have encountered some pretty high medical expenses,” Dunsford said. “All we’re requesting is if we could possibly get our rent lowered down according to the law and so that we can live at reasonable rates and be able to survive like everyone else.” 

samantha@smdailyjournal.com

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Twitter: @samantha_weigel