Governor Josh Shapiro visited a manufactured housing community in Douglass Township on Wednesday to highlight proposed housing reforms aimed at protecting residents from steep increases in lot rent.
Speaking at a home in Douglass Village near Douglassville, Shapiro met with residents and advocates who say rising lot rents in manufactured home communities are making it increasingly difficult for people on fixed incomes to remain in their homes.
Residents of manufactured home communities typically own their homes but rent the land beneath them. While the homes are often among the most affordable paths to homeownership, rising land rents have become a growing concern across the state.
According to the governor’s office, about 56,000 Pennsylvania households live in manufactured home communities.
“In their dream homes, the price of the land that we’re standing on keeps going up and up and up at really, frankly, ridiculous rates,” Shapiro said.
The governor’s proposed 2026–27 state budget calls for legislation that would limit annual lot rent increases for manufactured home communities. Shapiro said the measure is part of a broader Housing Action Plan aimed at expanding housing supply, reforming housing laws and improving affordability across Pennsylvania.
Shapiro said the issue affects an estimated 360,000 Pennsylvanians who own their homes but rent the land underneath them.
“A lot of the land is owned by private equity,” Shapiro said. “Instead of having maybe some reasonable increase each year … what we’re seeing is their costs have gone up, in Christine’s case, 50% in the last just seven years.”
One of the residents who spoke during the event, Douglass Village homeowner Christine Ziemer, described how rising costs have affected her ability to remain in her home.
“When my husband, Joe, and I moved into Douglass Village in January of 2019, our lot rent at the time was $495 a month,” Ziemer said. “Today, my lot rent is $900 per month.”
Ziemer said many residents in the community live on fixed incomes and are struggling to keep up with the increases.
“I have been trying to stay in my home on a single, fixed income since my husband passed away, but as my lot rent continues to increase, it’s been hard,” Ziemer said. “People in manufactured home communities across Pennsylvania are dealing with the same challenges.”
Douglass Village is a 55-and-older manufactured housing community with 333 homes. The property was purchased in 2022 by Kingsley Management, a Utah-based company that owns manufactured home communities across the country.
Ziemer said she began volunteering in 2022 to advocate for reforms affecting manufactured home communities and is involved with the Coalition of Manufactured Home Communities of Pennsylvania.
Bob Besecker, a Douglass Village resident and founder of the coalition, said the organization now includes 134 communities statewide and communicates regularly with representatives reaching about 20,000 residents.
“We recognized the law needed to be addressed,” Besecker said. “We needed to get bigger, and thus we formed the coalition.”
Legislation that would cap annual lot rent increases — House Bill 1250 — has already passed the Pennsylvania House of Representatives with bipartisan support. In the state Senate, Senator Judy Schwank has introduced related legislation to establish protections for manufactured homeowners.
Shapiro said the measure now awaits action in the Senate.
“My view is they bring it up for a vote, probably at least 40 of the 50 senators will be prepared to vote for it,” Shapiro said. “So I’m calling on the Senate leadership to bring this bill up, protect wonderful people like Christine, and put the bill on my desk so I can sign it into law.”
