Senior Residents Fight 44% Rent Hike at Rancho Villa Mobile Home Park

Photo bySusan Shain / NWPB

In Walla Walla’s Rancho Villa, a once-peaceful senior mobile home park, a looming 44% rent hike is shaking up the community. Rancho Villa, established in the 1960s, has been a place where residents own their homes but pay rent for the land. For decades, the park was a tranquil and affordable haven, but that changed when First Commercial Properties NW bought the park three years ago.

Since the acquisition, the Bothell-based company has raised rent annually, with the latest spike increasing monthly lot rents to $600—more than double what it was before the sale. On top of that, residents now face separate charges for water, sewer, and trash, services that were previously included, along with a monthly billing fee.

Resident Beverly Barksdale, who lives there with her husband and two sisters, recalls the shock of the sale and the rapid rent increases. “It just hurts my heart,” she said, noting the burden it places on neighbors, many of whom rely on fixed incomes. Her 94-year-old sister receives $1,200 a month from Social Security. After covering rent and utilities, she is left with less than $300 to live on.

This situation is not unique to Walla Walla. Mobile home parks across the U.S. are being purchased by corporations that raise rents or push out long-term residents to redevelop the properties. To counter this trend, Walla Walla passed a moratorium on redeveloping mobile home parks, but it hasn’t stopped rent from skyrocketing.

Rachael Myers, executive director of the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance, expressed concerns about the impact of such rent increases on vulnerable populations. “Even small amounts can be devastating to people on fixed incomes,” she said, adding that rent hikes of 20-50% are legal and not uncommon in Washington—unlike in Oregon and California, where rent stabilization laws cap annual increases.

Despite advocacy efforts, rent stabilization bills have repeatedly failed in Washington’s legislature. Some, like Rep. Mark Klicker, argue that such legislation would reduce incentives for new housing developments and drive landlords to raise rents by the maximum allowable amount each year. He favors other solutions, such as vouchers and tax incentives, to help struggling tenants.

Meanwhile, Rancho Villa’s residents have filed complaints with Washington’s attorney general, accusing First Commercial of neglecting park infrastructure and fostering a hostile environment. They’ve also called on the attorney general to halt the rent increase, citing that local parks charge an average of $475, including utilities. However, they’ve yet to receive a resolution.

For residents like Sharon Sweeney, who has reached out to First Commercial multiple times without a response, the situation feels bleak. "They’re promoting this as affordable housing, but it’s not,” she said.

Despite the uncertainty, Rancho Villa’s residents are determined to fight. As Dorothy Knudson, a former minister, put it: “We need more affordable housing everywhere. And this, at least, provides somewhat affordable housing.”