Rent control could be coming to Michigan mobile home parks

Six of the eight legislators who endorsed the idea will be in the majority next year

By John LaPlante | November 21, 2022

When control of the Michigan Legislature switches to Democrats in January, expect some bills that have not received attention under Republican control to get more traction. Two possible bills would impose rent controls on mobile home parks.

House bills 5396 and 5397 were introduced in the Michigan House by Rep. Darrin Camilleri, D-Brownstone, in October 2021. They would put price controls on lot rents and require park owners to get state government permission to raise rents.

House Bill 5396 would limit lot rent increases during a year to no more than the general inflation rate, as measured by the CPI, or consumer price index.

House Bill 5397 would require any person or company that owns a mobile home park to get the permission of a state commission before raising lot rents. Owners would need to notify the government at least six months before the increase goes into effect.

The Michigan Manufactured Housing Commission, whose members are appointed by the governor, would oversee the requirements. Its members include local government officials, mobile home manufacturers, home dealers, organized labor and park residents.

Advocates of government-imposed limits say that mobile home park residents need them. “Unlike a normal landlord-tenant situation, they can’t just pick up and move. Moving your home is costly and difficult,” one New York official told the New York Post in 2019. Rent controls are politically popular; according to an Oct. 22 article published by the Santa Clara Press Democrat, 104 local governments in California impose rental control on lot rentals.

But efforts to establish controls ran into significant opposition in another state last month. Legislators in Colorado were considering a rent control law, and Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, threatened to veto a bill that would have create statewide rent controls on mobile home lots in the Centennial State. According to Colorado Public Radio, Polis was concerned that the measure could lead to some parks being closed or abandoned.

Economists are skeptical of rent controls, though the issue of rent control is usually framed in terms of apartments rather than mobile home parks. In a recent online poll conducted by the University of Chicago, only one of 25 academic economists who expressed an opinion on rent control thought it was beneficial. David Autor, an economics professor at MIT, wrote, “Rent control discourages supply of rental units. Incumbent renters benefit from capped prices. New renters face reduced rental options.”

Both HB 5396 and HB 5397 are sitting in the Committee on Regulatory Reform, with one sponsor and seven co-sponsors, all Democrats. Five of the the legislators will serve in the next House or Senate, including Camerilli, who will move from the House to the Senate.

Michigan Capitol Confidential sent an email to Camerilli’s official e-mail account. As of press time, he did not reply.

Michigan Capitol Confidential is the news source produced by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Michigan Capitol Confidential reports with a free-market news perspective.

Fix the Damn Grid

Michigan’s poor energy reliability is the crisis few are talking about

By James David Dickson | November 20, 2022

Michigan has some of the worst energy reliability in America.

While the evidence of Michigan’s poor roads is underneath our feet, everywhere we drive, spotty energy reliability can feel like it’s someone else’s problem.

Until it isn’t. Until the power outage is on your block, on the coldest or hottest day of the year, with no timeline for restoration.

According to the Citizens Utility Board of Michigan, Michigan’s energy reliability is poor, regardless of weather.

Per the board’s 2021 Utility Performance Report, Michigan ranks fourth in the nation for average number of minutes of power outage per year per customer after a major weather event. And we’re sixth in average minutes per power outage per customer without a major event. The report uses 2019 data.

Michigan ranks third-worst in restoration time after major weather events, and third-worst when there’s an outage without major weather events.

Not only is Michigan not prepared for a world where one-third of new vehicles are EVs, it’s ill-prepared to deliver reliable electricity now, today, under current conditions.

One part of the solution, increased tree-trimming, is simple. But it’s not easy, and it doesn’t produce any revenue.

The premature shift from reliable energy sources to renewables is another part of the problem, said Jason Hayes, the Mackinac Center’s director of environmental policy.

“Tree trimming is part of it, but also, we're starting to spend more on renewables, and we’re closing the big reliable plants,” Hayes told CapCon. “Both utilities, Consumers and DTE, have closed several big reliable plants in the last five to seven years. So that’s beginning to have an impact on reliability as well.”

Regardless of the weather, Michigan has an unreliable grid. Our power goes out at higher rates than it does in other places, and it stays out longer. Michigan ranked 11th in the cost of residential energy.

Your utility bills probably went up recently. Are you getting what you’ve paid for?

In Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s first term, she failed to Fix the Damn Roads. She’ll try again next year, and this time won’t have to negotiate with a Republican Legislature.

The promise Whitmer hasn’t made, but needs to, is to Fix the Damn Grid. Keep trimming trees and stop undermining reliable sources of energy. Treat Line 5 as essential. Treat renewables as an addition, not a replacement, until they are ready for prime time.

In the meantime, Hayes advises, be prepared for when the lights go out.

“Have an alternative heating source,” Hayes said. “Invest in a generator.”

James David Dickson is managing editor of Michigan Capitol Confidential. Email him at dickson@mackinac.org.