North Fort Myers mobile home residents face financial strain from rent hikes

NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK)—Residents at Royal Coach Village mobile home park say they're struggling to pay rising lot rents that have increased dramatically over the past decade.

Tina Chabot, who lives in Royal Coach Village, initially fell in love with her home.

"It's a nice place. I liked it because it doesn't look like a mobile home. To me, it looks like a little house," Chabot said.

But what started as a dream home became a financial burden. "They have increased our lot rent every year, but it started out as a reasonable amount, you know, $20," Chabot said.

The increases grew from $20 to $50, then $70 more per month. Over 10 years, the Chabots' monthly rent jumped from over $500 to over $800.

"When you're on Social Security, you don't get 50 extra dollars a month to cover that increase," Chabot said. Other neighbors told WINK News off camera they face similar challenges, with some selling their homes.

The situation prompted residents to attend a recent WINK Listens event. "For other people out there, like us, they can't always speak up, or they're afraid to speak up, which I was too for a long time. And finally, I said, this is getting ridiculous. Someone has to bring it to someone's attention," Chabot said.

House Bill 267 and Senate Bill 594, which aim to ease the financial burden on mobile home owners facing rising lot rents, are now one signature away from becoming law. The bills expand local housing assistance plans by allowing counties and eligible municipalities to use certain funds for lot rental assistance, rehabilitation and emergency repairs for mobile home owners.

"Not everyone retires rich and has a big bank account, just little people like us, and we're just being pushed out of everything," Chabot said. If signed into law, the bill would go into effect July 1.