Orofino mobile home park residents feeling trapped as rents continue to rise

Some residents of the Hidden Village Mobile Home Park in Orofino, Idaho are worried they are being priced out of their homes. The new park owners are raising rents and said they have made improvements to the community, but people fear they won’t be able to pay.

Floyd Eyneart’s manufactured home has a big white porch. Inside, the walls are covered with art and photographs. 

“ I’ve lived here for 27 years and I’m a veteran, my wife passed away four and a half years ago, and I can’t afford to live here if they keep jacking the rent up,” he said. 

Most residents of mobile home parks own their homes, but not the land beneath them. About two years ago, a company out of Washington called Community Management Group bought Hidden Village.

Eyneart puts aside his needlework and brings out a packet of documents sent by park management. They raised the rent by $75 last year, and the latest increase will come this May. Rent is going up by $100 for a total of $550 per month. 

Floyd Enyeart reads a letter notifying him of rent increase at the Hidden Village Mobile Home Park Wednesday in Orofino. (Credit: August Frank / Lewiston Tribune)

“ I can weather another year, but after that, I’m done,” he said. “You know, I’d have to move, but they ain’t gettin’ my trailer.”

Like many residents, Eyneart is in a tough situation. Moving a manufactured home can cost  thousands of dollars, and because he built an extension onto both sides of his house, Eyneart said it would cost even more to move his. 

“ They figure they got you over a barrel because there’s no way to go anywhere, I mean, you’re stuck,” said Eyneart. 

Further down the road in the park, residents Valerie Rivera and Laura Ashford are sitting at a table in Ashford’s woodsy backyard. It’s a few yards from the Clearwater River, and you can hear the water rushing by beyond the trees. 

Despite the natural beauty, Rivera is stressed.

“ We have people living in this park right now that are literally on the verge of being homeless due to this latest increase,” Rivera said. 

A lot of residents are on fixed incomes, like disability and social security, said Rivera. There are working class families, veterans and single moms, she said. 

Landlords in Idaho are free to raise the rent as much as they want, as long as they give 30 days notice, which the Hidden Village owners did. 

Nick Cebula is one of the founders of CMG, and co-owns Hidden Village Mobile Home Park.

He didn’t want to be interviewed, but he emailed a statement.

His Burien-based company has invested more than $130,000 into the park, he said. That includes hauling away abandoned cars and trailers, installing new mailboxes and putting in new plumbing. 

Residents acknowledge improvements have been made. But that doesn’t change the circumstances for people who can’t afford the rent hikes, Rivera said. 

“ There’s not been any maintenance to these roads. Our kids growing up out here used to rollerblade on these,” she said. 

Potholes are pictured along Hidden Village Drive at the Hidden Village Mobile Home Park in Orofino. (Credit: August Frank / Lewiston Tribune)

The roads were once asphalt, she said, as she pointed to multiple potholes. The roads are on the repair list, said Cebula.  

There is a building at the front of the park with broken windows. It’s scheduled to be demolished, Cebula said, but in the meantime, Rivera worries children who live in the park could get hurt.

A dilapidated building is pictured at the Hidden Village Mobile Home Park in Orofino. (Credit: August Frank / Lewiston Tribune)

“ We have a pond that needs to be fenced, we are worried about children falling in it,” said Rivera, whose grandchildren also live in the park. 

A consumer complaint was filed by some park residents with the office of Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador on behalf of the community. 

In it, they ask the Attorney General to intervene, requesting help to negotiate a “fair and equitable agreement.” They also listed multiple park maintenance concerns, many of which the owners said are on the list to be taken care of.

The process with the residents’ complaint is moving forward, said Dan Estes, a Public Information Officer with the Office of the Attorney General.

“With any consumer complaint, there is a process to follow to ensure due diligence and fairness to all parties involved,” Estes said. 

Rivera and Ashford said they have also written to Idaho politicians.  

“ We started with this letter of an impending homelessness crisis in Orofino,” said Ashford. 

They sent it to local, state and federal lawmakers. They have not received responses.

The new park owners are investing back into Hidden Village for the first time in more than a decade, said Cebula, who said the community had been neglected, and was at risk of being shut down when it was acquired. 

The residents admit what’s happening is legal, but say people are being put in an impossible situation. 

“ Idaho needs to be able to provide affordable housing for its residents and they need to enact laws that protect the citizens in this state that have lived here and pay taxes in this state and take our concerns over out of state money,” Rivera said.