TAUNTON, MASS. (WHDH) – This isn’t the retirement Ann Hartley imagined.
“At 76 years old, I’m cleaning homes and substitute teaching,” Hartley said. “I love to garden… and I’m just not here to do that because I have to work. That’s very sad for me because that’s not what I thought my final years of enjoying my grandkids and living my life out would be like. This is not what I had in mind.”
Standing between Hartley and the vision of her golden years are rising rent prices. She lives in Leisurewoods, a community in Taunton composed of manufactured homes, also known as mobile homes. The model is designed to offer affordable living, but now some say they are being priced out.
“It’s beautiful, the birds. It’s just a wonderful community, so I’d hate to leave,” Hartley said.
But, Hartley said, she and others may not have a choice.
Residents in Leisurewoods own their units but must pay rent for the land, and that rent continues to rise.
“A good portion of the people here are seniors, and some are handicapped. We cannot just do extra hours of work or ask the boss for overtime. We are locked into an income, our social security and it doesn’t go up,” Hartley explained.
A big concern for Hartley and others is that rent is not equal despite state laws saying it should be.
Leases shared by Leisurewoods residents show that some homeowners are paying nearly $300 more in rent than their neighbors. Those facing the higher bills are often newer residents, who are also hit with steeper annual rent increases.
“Everyone should be paying the same rent. You are renting the land, not the houses,” said Jeff Waite, another Leisurewoods resident.
Massachusetts has laws designed to protect the affordability of manufactured home communities. One of those laws states that rents must be the same regardless of when people move in.
The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Guide to the law stated, “owner/operators may not be able to charge new residents…