After Auburn’s attorney told the City Council on Jan. 7 it can impose a moratorium on mobile home lot rent increases, councilors will consider the issue during their Jan. 20 meeting, Mayor Jeff Harmon confirmed Wednesday.

“We received feedback from the city attorney that there is sufficient legal basis for the city council to consider a moratorium,” he said in an email.

At the Jan. 5 City Council meeting, residents from two Auburn mobile home parks asked councilors to enact a moratorium on lot rent increases, citing dramatic increases in rents over the past couple of years that are putting some people on the brink of homelessness. They asked that during the moratorium the city work to develop a lot rent stabilization ordinance.

Though there appeared to be some support on the council for considering a moratorium, officials at the time were unsure if they could implement a moratorium in light of recent state legislation giving residents some rights when it comes to rent increases.

The Maine Labor Climate Council has been helping residents of three of the city’s mobile home parks organize and call for regulations on mobile home park lot rents. They are among many mobile home lot renters in Maine advocating for change in an industry that has seen steep rent increases amid the state’s housing crisis.