Residents from some of Auburn’s mobile home parks made heartfelt pleas to the City Council on Monday night, asking for a rent moratorium while councilors work on an ordinance to stabilize lot rents.

Many of the residents who spoke said their rents had been raised by $100 or more during 2025. They also complained that maintenance had fallen to the wayside in recent years.

Washington Street Trailer Park resident Juliette St. Amand’s lot rent has more than doubled from $250 per month to $550 per month in the past few years, she testified in front of councilors during Monday’s meeting. She also talked about how unkept the park has become, with broken pipes, rats and trash strewn about some lots, she said.

At 80 years old, she cannot afford to move, she said.

“I’m not ready for a nursing home, far from it,” she said. “But if he raises that rent again I will end up in the street, I’ll be sleeping in my car and it’s not right. … Please if you can, help us, keep us off the street.”

Maine Labor Climate Council is helping residents of Ja-Lynne Mobile Home Park, Washington Street Mobile Home Park and Stevens Mill Mobile Home Park push for better rent control. It’s part of the Labor Council’s larger effort to organize trailer park residents across the state.

Patricia Rea, who has lived at Ja-Lynne Park for nearly 45 years, also spoke at the meeting, despite her fears of retaliation from the park owner. Through much of that time, rent remained affordable with modest increases over the years, she said.

But in the past couple of years the owner has implemented sharper increases in lot rents, including one that took effect last fall raising her rent to $600, she said, though she does get a $40 discount if she pays her rent early.

On top of that, she thinks park maintenance has fallen to the wayside, with substantial potholes and frost heaves forming in the park’s road. There are also problems with snow plowing and water and sewer pipes, she said.

It all makes her feel like the owner and the company hired to maintain the park do not care about residents, she said.

“They want their money but they sure don’t want to improve things,” she said.

The rent increases are putting residents, many of whom are seniors on fixed incomes, at risk of becoming unhoused, she said. She said she hopes the town will help control trailer park rent increases.

However, Mayor Jeff Harmon is unsure if the city can implement a moratorium after new state legislation on the issue took effect last fall, he said. The city is awaiting legal advice from its lawyer.

The new state legislation stipulates that residents have the right to mediation, as requested by 51% of park residents, if a rent increase is above the consumer price index plus 1%.

The new law also implements requirements around how much notice park owners must give to residents ahead of an increase in rent, along with some other factors around rent.

Harmon said the city needs to hear from its lawyer on whether the legislation has any effect on its ability to impose a moratorium on lot rent increases. He expects that response to come within the next couple of weeks.

But Dan Neumann with the Maine Labor Climate Council said nothing in the law limits Auburn’s ability to regulate lot rent increases. Old Orchard Beach recently implemented a rent stabilization ordinance. Saco passed a lot rent moratorium last November, and as of December Jay’s Select Board approved drafting a retroactive moratorium on lot rent increases.

Whether or not a moratorium is implemented in Auburn, councilors can still discuss the issue and try to come up with solutions that will help keep people from being priced out of their homes, Harmon said. In the meantime, any possible code enforcement violations should be reported to the city.

Councilor Rachel Randall on Monday thanked the mobile home park residents for coming forward and sharing their concerns and struggles. She believes the issue is worth the council’s attention and hopes to continue the conversation.

The council understands the challenges and issues mobile home park residents are facing, Harmon said.

“We’ll move forward to see what role the city might have in helping these residents,” he said Tuesday. “It’s something that the city will diligently work to address, but I think there were some folks (Monday) night that perhaps thought they could come in and the council would just vote on a moratorium, and I understand why people think that.

“This might take a bit longer than they would like, but the city is working to address their concerns,” Harmon said.

Rea said she would like to see the city cap mobile home park lot increases or at least hold park owners to more reasonable rate increases. She would also like to see more compassion from her mobile home park owner and its management.

“I just want more compassion because it’s time to stop the bleeding of our residents here, because we can’t keep paying all this rent and not getting much in return,” she said.

RCM Property Management declined to comment for this story on behalf of Ja-Lynne Park owners. The owner of Washington Street and Stevens Mill mobile home parks did not respond to a request for an interview.