Port O’ Pines Mobile Home Park residents demand answers over nearly 33% rent increase

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Dozens of residents at a New Hanover County mobile home park are demanding answers after receiving notices of significant rent increases, leaving some concerned they could be forced out of the community they have called home for years.

Residents at Port O Pines own their mobile homes but lease the land beneath them. Now, they say an unexpected increase in lot rent is putting additional financial pressure on nearly 150 households.

Daphne Shepard moved into the community in 2019, initially paying around $360 a month for a month-to-month lease. She said the affordability and location made the park an attractive option.

“It was the price and I knew other people who lived here,” Shepard said. “And it was a nice area, it’s one of the nicest ones in Wilmington.”

However, Shepard said she and other residents received a letter in September notifying them that their monthly rent would increase from $460 to $610 beginning Dec. 1.

The $150 increase represents a nearly 33% jump in monthly rent.

Shepard said residents were given just two weeks to respond and decide whether they would stay or leave.

“Moving the trailers and stuff like that is an exorbinant amount of money to move something and these people be uprooted to from where they’ve been for 40 years, that’s not an option for some of these people,” Shepard said.

Another resident, who asked to remain anonymous, expressed similar concerns, saying moving a mobile home can cost up to $10,000 and is a complicated process that can take 30 to 60 days.

“You can’t just pick up your house and leave,” the resident said. “Our poor neighbors who are on a fixed income, how are they gonna be able to survive?”

According to Shepard, the previous rent increase occurred about two years ago, when monthly payments rose from $390 to $460, an increase of approximately 18%.

Inflation has increased by about 6% during that time, raising questions among residents about why their latest rent increase is significantly higher.

Residents say they have repeatedly attempted to contact property management and the owner for an explanation, but many have received no response.

“They just don’t want to talk, they just want their money and don’t want to discuss it, this is an investment I’m sure for them,” Shepard said.

WWAY contacted a property manager, who declined to comment on the rent increases.

WWAY also reached out to the property owner for a statement but has not received a response.