Arundel residents pass mobile home rent stabilization ordinance
Arundel Passes Mobile‑Home Rent‑Stabilization Ordinance and Municipal Budget
Arundel, Maine – In a crowded town meeting held Wednesday night at the Mildred Day School gym, residents voted to adopt a new rent‑stabilization ordinance for mobile‑home lots and to approve the municipal budget. Town Clerk Rachel Bull said 175 voters were present, filling bleachers and chairs in the school’s gymnasium.
All 39 items on the town warrant passed, Bull confirmed. The most contested measure was the rent‑stabilization ordinance, which limits the number of annual rent increases, prohibits raising the base rent after an eviction, and requires owners to give tenants advance notice of any increase.
Video footage of the vote shows a decisive majority in favor. “You could practically hear the wave of hands being raised in approval,” said Jennifer Moreau, a resident of Shady Oaks Mobile Home Park. “The park’s residents feel much more at ease with the ordinance approved, but the fight is far from over.” Moreau added that while owners can still petition for exceptions, the ordinance gives tenants a clearer safety net. “We’re not against businesses making money… We know the rates are gonna go up. We know inflation is happening,” she said.
Moreau, who is retired, emphasized the difference between modest increases and sudden, steep hikes. “We know it’s gonna go up, but there’s a difference between going up $40 a month and increasing by $170 a month,” she said. The ordinance, she explained, could curb a large jump in rents that would be difficult for many residents to afford.
The Shady Oaks community, largely composed of retirees and disabled residents, has spent months lobbying for stronger protections. “They want to be able to stand on their own two feet, but they don’t have the earning power necessary to do that,” Moreau told the reporter.
Alongside the rent‑control vote, Arundel approved its municipal budget request, allocating $3.25 million from the revenue fund to lower the town’s tax burden. The budget, which also included various other appropriations, is expected to be finalized in about two weeks.
The ordinance will take effect after the final minutes are posted, and it may prompt further negotiations with mobile‑home park owners. Residents will still need to monitor upcoming rent changes, but the new rules provide a clearer framework for addressing future hikes.
