DOVER, Del. (AP) - The state Senate has given final approval to a bill restricting the ability of manufactured home park owners to raise lot rents.
The Senate approved the bill Tuesday 18 to 2 after rejecting an amendment exempting out-of-state residents with vacation homes in Delaware from its protections.
The bill requires park owners to obtain state approval for rent increases that exceed the average annual increase in the Consumer Price Index for urban consumers in the Philadelphia-Wilmington area for the preceding three years.
If a park owner can't demonstrate that the rent increase is justified and directly related to operating, maintaining or improving the manufactured home community, the Delaware Manufactured authority would deny the request. If the authority believes the costs have exceeded the CPI, it would determine an appropriate increase.
