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Oceanside mobile home residents face rent hikes

An Oceanside spokesperson said 8 of the 17 parks did not pass inspection this year, and therefore were found to be non-compliant.

OCEANSIDE, Calif. — Mobile home residents at 17 properties in Oceanside are upset about an annual rent increase coming their way.

They live in rent-controlled mobile home parks. The city’s Manufactured Home Fair Practices Commission is set to vote on April 7 on the annual rent hikes.

Vickie Tillman lives in the Westwinds Mobile Home Estates, one of the 17 rent-controlled parks.

She grows her own vegetables on the side of her mobile home and shares what she grows with her neighbors to help them make ends meet.

“I grow my own food. I have been for 20 years. I can't afford to go buy anything,” Tillman said. "My monthly food bill is probably about $100 a month. That's what I spend on food a month, the a whole month."

The city commissioners are being asked to approve a 3.9% rent increase for the mobile home parks.

Tillman owns her mobile home and pays about $500 per month to rent the space in the Westwinds mobile home park. The proposed rent increase would amount to about $19 a month for Tillman.

That may not sound like a huge increase, but for Tillman, it’s a big deal. She has health problems and lives on a fixed income on Social Security.

“You want to eat. You want to go somewhere. You just want to enjoy life. But you can't,” Tillman said. “My kids have to help me survive. I didn't ask to be in this position. I didn't ask to be sick.”

In order for the rent increases to be approved, the 17 mobile home parks have to pass annual health and safety inspections.

“The majority of people that live in these communities are seniors, veterans, the disabled, the blind, and it's the health and safety issues are a big deal to these homeowners,” said Linda Walshaw, an advocate who works with the nonprofit Mobile Home Advisory Committee.

Walshaw said city inspectors walked through the parks but never spoke to residents about the problems they're living with.

“They didn't have an opportunity to accompany the code inspector and point out some of the areas of concern. These parks are aging out and a lot of the infrastructure, water, sewer lines, electrical, trip hazards, that kind of stuff. Those are the concerns for these seniors and disabled people,” Walshaw said.

Tillman said residents have been unable to reach the park manager during emergencies, and she has ongoing problems with sewage overflowing from a pipe near her mobile home.

“The sewer backs up and anything imaginable that goes through a sewer comes up in my driveway,” Tillman said.

The city of Oceanside emailed CBS 8 the following statement:

“The City of Oceanside is committed to protecting the health and safety of mobile home park residents and inspects our 17 parks annually. These inspections happen before any increase of rent and consist of a safety inspection of the Park’s general areas, common facilities, common buildings, common streets, utilities and street lighting.”

An Oceanside spokesperson said 8 of the 17 parks did not pass inspection this year, and therefore were found to be non-compliant.

The rent increases cannot be implemented for those properties until the parks have taken corrective action and are in compliance, according to the city.

CBS 8 requested the inspection reports and the city released the records late Wednesday afternoon. According to the reports, the results of the February 2022 inspections were as follows:

Compliant Parks (Nine Parks, 1785 Spaces Total):
Cavalier Mobile Estates – 1225 Oceanside Bl (348 Spaces)
Laguna Vista Mobile Estates – 276 N El Camino Real (272 Spaces)
Lamplighter Oceanside – 4660 N River Rd (161 Spaces)
Mira Mar Mobile Home Community – 900 N Cleveland St (173 Spaces)
Mission View Manor – 140 Douglas Dr (165 Spaces)
Rancho San Luis Rey – 200 N El Camino Real (433 Spaces)
Sandy Shores – 1429 N Coast Hwy (44 Spaces)
Trico Mobile Estates – 221 N El Camino Real (97 Spaces)
Westwinds Mobile Home Lodge – 4616 N River Rd (92 Spaces)

Non-Compliant Parks (Eight Parks, 793 Spaces Total):
El Camino 76 Mobile Estates – 220 N El Camino Real (80 Spaces)
La Salina Mobile Village – 1550 S Coast Hwy (101 Spaces)
Mission View West – 141 Douglas Dr (108 Spaces)
Oceanview Trailer Park – 1046 S Cleveland St (29 Spaces)
Pacific Trailer Park – 311 Oceanside Bl (62 Spaces)
Rancho Calevero – 3570 Calevero Ln (324 Spaces)
Royal Palms – 1120 S Cleveland St (15 Spaces)
Terrace Gardens – 3030 Oceanside Bl (74 Spaces)

Oceanside's Manufactured Home Fair Practices Commission will meet Thursday night at 6 p.m. Members of the public can log in via Zoom and comment about the proposed rent increases.

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