Manufactured homeowners frustrated with legislative distractions

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(The Center Square) – Bills aimed at preserving affordable housing for tens of thousands of Pennsylvania residents living in manufactured home communities have stalled in the state Senate, leaving supporters with little hope of securing additional protections before the current legislative session ends.

With time running out, advocates are blaming Senate Republican leadership for the lack of progress and shifting their attention to the November election, which they believe could determine their future legislative efforts.

People living in manufactured home communities, or MHCs, typically own their homes but rent the land beneath them. Private equity firms and other large investors have acquired communities, with some imposing steep rent increases that residents say are making their once affordable form of homeownership increasingly unaffordable. 

In June 2025, House Bill 1250, introduced by Rep. Liz Hanbidge, D-Blue Bell, passed the House 144-59 with support from 42 Republicans. It joined Senate Bills 745 and 746, introduced by Sen. Judy Schwank, D-Reading, in the Senate Urban Affairs and Housing Committee. All three have bipartisan sponsorship. 

HB 1250 and SB 745 would tie lot rent and other fee increases to the consumer price index while allowing additional increases for extraordinary operating expenses. SB 745 also provides for temporary surcharges for qualifying capital improvements.

After approximately a year in committee, SB 746 was reported as amended and sent to the Senate Appropriations Committee, where it remains. The bill would give residents the opportunity to purchase their community when it is offered for sale. 

Bob Besecker, founder of the Coalition of Manufactured Home Communities of Pennsylvania, pointed out that the House bill passed in just 14 legislative days but has subsequently spent 16 months awaiting Senate action.

Besecker questioned why the bills have not received a hearing. He told The Center Square that meetings with Sen. Joe Picozzi, R-Philadelphia, chairman of the Urban Affairs and Housing Committee, and Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman, R-Indiana, were unproductive. 

Picozzi did not respond to The Center Square’s request for comments in time for publication. 

In an emailed statement, Schwank said Senate Republicans have had ample time to consider the proposed legislation, adding that manufactured homeowners she has spoken with are open to compromise. 

“We have not seen a good-faith effort from the Senate Republicans to provide these homeowners with common-sense protections that could make the difference between Pennsylvania veterans, seniors and people with disabilities staying in their homes and losing them,” Schwank said. 

Hanbidge similarly criticized Senate Republicans, calling it “unconscionable” that they “have held this legislation hostage for more than a year while their own constituents face housing insecurity and skyrocketing lot rents.” 

“The Senate’s continued failure to act leaves thousands of Pennsylvania families vulnerable to being priced out of the homes they own,” Hanbidge said. 

She said manufactured home communities are one of the last truly affordable housing options available to Pennsylvanians, and her bill strikes a balance between protecting residents from predatory rent increases and allowing community owners to cover operating costs. 

She added that the proposed protections would also provide greater transparency and help preserve opportunities for long-term housing security and wealth-building among low- and moderate-income families. 

“This is not and should not be a partisan issue. Families across Pennsylvania deserve leaders who will put housing security ahead of politics,” Hanbidge said. 

Both Hanbidge and Schwank have made previous unsuccessful attempts to advance similar legislation. Besecker said he expects them to continue pursuing the issue. 

For now, however, the coalition has shifted its focus away from the current bills. “We’re past that,” Besecker said.

After spending the last two years “trying to win the hearts and minds of the people in the House and Senate,” Besecker said advocates were largely successful. However, he acknowledged that they underestimated the level of opposition to their legislation within the Senate. 

The emphasis now is on the November election, which Besecker said will determine the coalition’s organizational structure and legislative strategy going forward. 

The coalition is endorsing and actively promoting candidates it believes could help shift the balance of power in the Senate. “Maybe we flip one seat,” Besecker said. “Even that, we would view as a victory, because now we will have sent a shot across the bow that we are serious about this.”

If Republicans retain control of the Senate, Besecker said the coalition will restructure its advisory team into a board-of-directors-style organization, with members overseeing various functions. The bills introduced during the 2027-2028 session would likely resemble the current proposals. “Those were good bills,” he said. 

By contrast, if Democrats gain control, the coalition would retain its current structure but pursue legislation with stronger protections for MHC residents. 

Besecker maintained that the Senate should have passed HB 1250 shortly after the House approved it in 2025, describing it as one of the more lenient proposals.

“We are not going away – we are continuing to grow,” he said.

According to Besecker, the coalition has grown to 178 communities across the state, with 700 coalition representatives and 28,500 residents.