Rising lot rents squeeze Florida mobile home park residents, report says

• Residents are often older, retired adults on fixed incomes.

How it works: Manufactured homes, also known as mobile homes, are generally much cheaper than single-family homes built on site.

• Residents typically buy their own homes and pay rent for the land underneath.

State of play: From 2015 to 2023, Florida's median lot rent has almost doubled, per WUSF, citing Census Bureau data.

• Under Florida law, park managers can also charge residents for services not included in the base rent, according to the report.

Between the lines: Florida is home to the most mobile home parks owned by private equity firms, per the report, citing research by the Private Equity Stakeholder Project.

Worthy of your time: WUSF talked to several Tampa Bay residents feeling the squeeze, including:

• Judy Schofield, an 86-year-old retiree who had to take a part-time job to afford to stay in her home and
• Dara Brown, who cleaned out her 401K to buy her home in 2012, when lot rent was $468. By April, it had risen to $1,000, and Brown was evicted.

Read their stories