Some mobile home owners feel like they’re being treated as second-class property owners. And when problems arise, they don’t know where to turn, Edmonton city councillor Mike Nickel says.
On their behalf, Nickel has written an open letter to all candidates in the upcoming Alberta election.
The Ward 11 councillor has heard complaints about Twin Parks in east Edmonton’s Maple Ridge area, regarding drainage, tenancy and other issues.
Nickel contends the Mobile Home Sites Tenancies Act is leaving owners “frustrated.”
“There appears to be a large misunderstanding of who’s responsible for what,” Nickel writes.
“Depending on the nature of the issue, residents need to contact the city or one of several ministries for a resolution.”
Then they get redirected from ministry to ministry, Nickel tells Global News.
“The problem is that we have each municipality interpreting the act one way, while the province is interpreting the act a different way, with no clear lines of authority and accountability drawn,” he writes.
“When a mobile home resident experiences difficulty with a property management company, they have two options they can pursue; ask nicely or take them to court.
“While the city has the authority to create a Mobile Home Sites Advisory Board, which we have done, this option offers no ability to issue orders. An advisory board is not an effective option.
“These trailer home parks are clear across the province and they’re all having the same problems,” he said in an interview. “We don’t get to a point where we can resolve the issues.”
“We can’t have two standards of home ownership. One for trailer park people, in terms of what happens on their property, and what happens as a private home owner.”
Nickel’s hope is MLAs will commit to giving everyone the same ownership rights.
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