WATERVILLE — The owner of the mobile home park that prompted city officials to temporarily ban lot rent increases says his company may consider redeveloping the land or selling the park.

Last week, Waterville City Council voted to institute a moratorium on lot rent increases in response to resident complaints about a proposed $100 a month increase.

The ban is in place until April, giving city officials time to consider whether to adopt an ordinance restricting future lot rent hikes. That time frame also gives state officials time to craft model language for cities and towns interested in rent caps.

In response, Mark Hsu, a partner in C37 Capital LLC, the New York-based private investment firm that owns Country Meadows and affiliated parks in Waterville, told Spectrum News the company is reviewing its options. 

“With these financial constraints, we have severe concerns of the ability to continue operating this mobile home park and are evaluating whether re-development of the land into another use is more merit worthy or if a property sale is warranted,” Hsu wrote in an email.

Hsu also indicated the company would be interested in working with the city officials who are working on new regulations.

“Right now, we are unsure who is leading the effort at the city to craft rental regulations, but we’d be open to having constructive conversations with the party that is heading up that initiative,” he wrote.

Acting City Manager Cornell Knight said the city is likely to tailor the state’s language on rent increase restrictions to what makes sense for Waterville. He said city staff and the city’s attorney will likely make recommendations to council, followed by opportunity for public comment. 

In August, the city council took its first vote to institute a moratorium following complaints from park residents that their lot rents have gone from $325 a month in 2022 to a proposed $600 in 2025.

With the moratorium in place, lot rents will continue to be $500 a month through April 2026.

More than 300 people live in the parks and a group formed to fight the continued increases.

In Maine, 8% of housing units are mobile homes and statewide, 45,000 Maine residents live in licensed mobile home communities, according to a March report by The Genesis Fund. The report notes that lot rents “vary significantly” across the state, with the median lot rent at $550. 

That’s on top of other fees some parks charge for pets, sheds, parking, and laundry, according to Genesis. Also, residents typically pay for their own utilities and internet.

The Genesis report also found that several mobile home parks in Maine were purchased by large corporations and investors between 2014 and 2024. In an examination of the 32 parks with 100 or more sites, large corporations now own 20 of them.

“For investment companies, (mobile home communities) represent a low-risk, high-reward investment,” the report states. “Investors are guaranteed steady income in part because residents of MHCs often lack the financial and physical capacity to move out of parks if an owner increases lot rents or mismanages the property.”

The Waterville ordinance describes the reason for the temporary pause, saying that “mobile home park lot rentals in Waterville are increasing rapidly.” 

“With such lot rental increases, some lot renters will be evicted and may become homeless,” the ordinance states.