Arundel residents pass mobile home rent stabilization ordinance

Arundel residents voted at their town meeting Wednesday night to pass a mobile home lot rent stabilization ordinance and the town’s municipal budget requests.  So many residents showed up to the meeting that the town had to host it at the Mildred Day School rather than its usual location at the Arundel Municipal Building, according to Arundel Town Clerk Rachel Bull.  Bull said 175 voters showed up, sitting in the bleachers and chairs inside the school gym to cast their votes.  All 39 articles on the [town warrant](https://arundelmaine.org/vertical/sites/%7BD63E0E70-9926-49A9-AFBA-B7C340B02A1F%7D/uploads/Town_Meeting_Warrant.pdf) passed Wednesday, Bull said. One of the most prominent votes on the agenda was the [mobile home rent stabilization ordinance.](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/04/28/arundel-finalizes-language-for-mobile-home-rent-stabilization-proposal/) Related [Arundel finalizes language for mobile home rent stabilization proposal](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/04/28/arundel-finalizes-language-for-mobile-home-rent-stabilization-proposal/) The ordinance limits how many rent increases can be imposed per year, blocks base rents from being raised after an eviction, and requires residents to receive advance notice of rent increases. Advertisement While the official minutes won’t be finalized for roughly another two weeks, a video of the vote shows a large majority of the residents voting to approve the ordinance.  Jennifer Moreau, a resident of Arundel’s Shady Oaks Mobile Home Park, said you could practically hear the wave of hands being raised in approval.  [](https://w2pcms.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/35105-20251129_ArundelPark_01.jpg) Homes at Shady Oaks Mobile Home Park in November in Arundel. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer) Moreau said Thursday that the park’s residents feel much more at ease with the ordinance approved, but that the fight is far from over. She noted that park owners can still apply for exceptions to the restrictions.  “ We’re not against businesses making money,” Moreau said. “ We know the rates are gonna go up. We know inflation is happening.”  While she and her neighbors still anticipate a rent increase in just a few months, getting the ordinance passed ahead of it was crucial. “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. Related [Rent hike looms over residents of Arundel mobile home park](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/11/28/rent-hike-looms-over-residents-of-arundel-mobile-home-park/) Moreau and other Shady Oaks residents have spent [several months advocating](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/11/28/rent-hike-looms-over-residents-of-arundel-mobile-home-park/) for better protections from the town. Many say they are retired or disabled, can’t afford large rent increases and would have few other options if priced out of their homes. “ They wanna be able to stand on their own two feet, but they don’t have the earning power necessary to do that,” Moreau said. Along with the rent ordinance, the town also passed its municipal budget request articles, which include appropriating $3.25 million from their revenue fund to reduce the tax commitment. Copy the Story Link Tagged: [housing](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/housing/), [mobile home parks](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/mobile-home-parks/), [rent control](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/rent-control/), [town meeting 2026](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/town-meeting-2026/), [york county Maine](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/york-county-maine/) [](https://www.pressherald.com/author/abigail-driscoll) [Abigail DriscollStaff Writer](https://www.pressherald.com/author/abigail-driscoll) Abigail is a community reporter for Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, Sanford, and Wells. She recently moved up to Maine from Connecticut after getting her bachelor’s degree in English/Journalism at the University. [More by Abigail Driscoll](https://www.pressherald.com/author/abigail-driscoll)