Some mobile home park residents in San Luis Obispo will see expanded rent protections starting October 1, following a city council vote to update a decades-old ordinance.
San Luis Obispo is among the U.S. cities where residents need the most income to afford a home in 2026, according to the journal Consumer Affairs. Some community members say mobile homes offer a more affordable alternative.
"It was the most affordable option in this area for us," said South Peak Mobile Home Park resident Jessica Villegas.
But affordability remains a challenge even in mobile home parks.
"Even me in middle age, I still need help from my family to live; otherwise it's impossible," said South Peak Mobile Home Park resident Brian Caldas.
Villegas said the financial pressure is widespread.
"I mean it's hard to ignore that everyone is kind of struggling with rent prices," Villegas said.
San Luis Obispo Housing Coordinator David Amini said there are more than 1,500 mobile homes across 12 parks in the city. For more than four decades, the city has had an ordinance regulating mobile home park rent hikes. However, California state law previously required that leases longer than a year be exempt from those protections.
"The majority of leases for mobile homes, people are living there long-term, so they have longer than 12-month leases," Amini said.
In 2025, state law changed to expand rent stabilization protections to include long-term leases. That change did not automatically update local rules. Following calls from mobile home residents for local leaders to act, the city council approved an updated ordinance on September 1.
"That more clearly outlines now that mobile home space rent increases are capped at 10%," Amini said.
The updated ordinance is facing pushback from some park owners, who say the city has not included them in discussions. Harmony Communities, which owns South Peak Mobile Home Park off South Street, issued a statement opposing the changes.
"The City is overstepping with these ordinance changes. Removing the long-term lease exemption and attempting to invalidate existing legal contracts between consenting parties attempting to retroactively impair constitutionally protected rights. We will file a lawsuit against the City shortly after this contract impairment," the company said.
I reached out to the city for a response. Deputy City Attorney Sadie Symens said a law or ordinance that modifies existing contracts does not violate the Constitution if it furthers a significant and legitimate public purpose.
The expanded protections take effect October 1.
