Peggy Kuhn stands in her backyard at Sans Souci Mobile Home Park, located in unincorporated Boulder County, Colorado.
Peggy Kuhn became an听activist the day听two of her neighbors were threatened with eviction.听 After an August 2018 purchase of the Sans Souci Mobile Home Park by a large corporation, Kuhn's听two neighbors听were given four days to clean听their decks, paint the exterior of their homes, remove weeds, prepare soil and听install grass in their yards.听听One of the residents utilized听oxygen for heart issues and had lived in the park 42听years; the other, who had lived at Sans Souci more than 50 years, had retired early due to health problems.
"You could see the stress in the residents' faces,"听said Kuhn, 67, a former program analyst who was laid off during the pandemic.听 "It hurt to听see seniors verbally threatened and be stressed out that they were going to lose their homes鈥搘hen their homes were probably the only thing of value in听their lives."
Kuhn听formed a neighborhood group of volunteers to help the neighbor听who would accept听help. The group听painted his home, pulled weeds and installed sod in his yard, but the听homeowner, who is on a fixed income, was not reimbursed for materials.听
Another pathway to eviction
Immediately prior to the sale of Sans Souci, lot rents were听raised 6 percent, whereas for decades the increase had been听2 to 3 percent per year. Since then the听new owners have implemented听a 12 percent annual lot rental increase. Residents听on fixed incomes are struggling听to听pay their lot rents, Kuhn said.
Kuhn said the new owners' "welcome pack"听included 12 pages of rules, including requiring residents to plant lush lawns听and only听painting homes听with approved colors. The rules听included听a 9 p.m. park curfew. Workers could enter private听yards at any time and charge residents for the work. The rules also stated that anyone breaking more than two rules would be evicted.
Although the residents听were outraged, those wanting听to leave听could not afford the roughly $20,000 it would cost to move their homes.
"Immediately eviction became a huge fear in the park," said Kuhn, who began a path of advocacy that included helping to start an HOA.
Kuhn and other HOA resident members and board members听met听with city and county officials and legal advocates. The residents learned it was common for corporate-owned park management companies to treat residents poorly, Kuhn said.听Individual residents were encouraged to work with Boulder County Legal Aid听and attend听a "Know your Rights" workshop organized听by a group of attorneys听and county officials. Because of the HOA members' advocacy, Boulder County Commissioners sent a warning to the mobile home park's management company, which resulted in a few rules lifted, including听the curfew. The other senior threatened with eviction had become听active in the HOA group; she听was not evicted.听
Evictions from MH parks are traumatic for residents and can result in听lifelong repercussions, including permanent homelessness. Peggy Kuhn offers residents the following tips to help neighbors avoid eviction:
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- Take the time to get to know your neighbors.
- Realize that some neighbors听who need help,听especially seniors or those with disabilities听or mental illnesses,听might听not reach听out. They may be feeling overwhelmed or in denial.
- Ask your neighbors specific questions about where they are in the eviction process.听
- Offer to become听a third-party听witness to assist in explaining lengthy legal documents and their ramifications. Helping neighbors听before the eviction has progressed to the courts听may result in an agreement being reached between the resident and landlord instead of eviction.听
"All the other park听residents听talked听about the same things happening," Kuhn said.听"Vulnerable people were being taken advantage of and threatened with eviction. The owners听would evict the older residents, get rid of their homes and then听would put in a new mobile home and rent it.听My听heart just went out to these people who lost their homes."听
Interested in expanding her efforts for better protections for park residents,听Kuhn joined the Colorado Coalition of Manufactured Home Owners (CoCoMHO) as it was forming.听 CoCoMHO's听statewide organization helps mobile home residents understand their rights and helped pass several bills that focus on the rights of Colorado's mobile home park residents.听She has since stepped down from the organization for health and personal issues.
Kuhn worries about her own future in Sans Souci. She purchased her 1996 manufactured home 14 years ago with the idea that听living at the mobile home park would be affordable throughout her future retirement.
"But at 12 percent a year rent raises compounded, I won't be able to afford that as a senior with a fixed income," Kuhn said.听听"I don't know what I will do. I will probably move somewhere cheaper."
Kuhn is one of the "lucky" ones. Those owning听homes manufactured before 1976 cannot sell them due to regulations by the State of Colorado's听Division of Housing鈥檚 Building Codes & Standards. Still, she would rather stay in her home than move.
"I would lose the community and the friendships," Kuhn said.
Read more stories from the "Voices" collection.
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