A legal battle has surfaced in Salt Lake City after a landlord has continued to increase the rent for his mobile home tenants in a mobile home park in the area. Residents within Cottonwood Coves are furious at the constant increases but say that they don’t have the means to afford moving. Two tenants in the park, Steve and Nancy Anderson, told the paper that they have been involved in a lawsuit against this landlord at the part since earlier last year. The husband and wife say that their landlord has changed the terms of the contract that he served them in 2004 when they moved into the park.

The landlord, Terry Robison, says that he and his wife signed the contract in November of 2004 and that he is changing the rules, not the contract itself. The landlord decided that he would install individual metering devices at each mobile home to cover the expenses of sewer and water. While these fees used to be included in the monthly rent, they are now going to be charged separately. To offset the increase, the landlord decided to drop each rent by $18. The landlord also reduced the 10-day grace period for submitting rent payments to five. He believed that this would keep the tenants from procrastinating on their payments.

As well, Robison added higher penalties for any men or woman who failed to pay their rent on time. While late fees at been 10 percent of the total rent plus $2 per day in the contract, he changed the rules so that it was now $100 for a late payment and $5 per day beyond the five-day grace period. If the payments for the late fees are not enclosed with the payment for the rent, then it will be considered a default payment. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, many of the residents at Cottonwood Coves are in a difficult situation. They own their homes or are paying mortgages on the unit. Then they also pay for the land underneath, which is the land that Robison is charging them for. For many homeowners, the changes are almost cause for a move. Unfortunately, they would have to pick up their home and move to another park, a task that is not easy and often costs thousands of dollars.

The only other options are to abandon their homes or sell them and take a significant loss. The Andersons filed their complaint for breach of contract in a 3^rd District Court, but the case was dismissed din October. The couple has now amended their complaint and they have asked for a jury trial in the case. Anderson is a president of the Utah Manufactured Homeowners Action Group and he serves on the executive board of the National Manufactured Home Owners Association. He has been active in fighting to secure more rights for men and women in mobile homes in the state of Utah. When the resident s of Cottonwood Coves received a notice in November that claims that the lot rent was going to increase $39, they were furious. Some residents may even be forced out of their homes if they can’t afford to pay.

Anderson says that he is acting on behalf of many of the people in the part who can’t handle the increase in payments any longer. He says that there are seniors within the home that can’t afford to pay with an increase because their incomes are so low to begin with. Robison is sure that Anderson’s second lawsuit will also be dismissed. He says that he is just doing his job and rent increases are a part of the landlord business. If you are in a similar situation and your landlord has continued to raise rent without just cause, then you need to contact an attorney today for more information!