LYNNWOOD, Wash. — Dorian Deutsch tends to her garden. It's not just a hobby. She needs the food because it's so expensive at the store. These days she can no longer afford meat.
Deutsch moved to Lynnwood's Royalwood mobile home park 10 years ago planning to stay for the rest of her life.
But her rent jumped from $640 to $740 last year.
It's rising another $100 in June.
The new property owner will add fees for utilities that used to be included in the rent.
The total, as of June, will be $948 per month -- nearly a 50% increase.
Nearing 70 years old, Deutsch, a disabled Army veteran, fears what could come next.
"I took a giant deep breath and thought I don't know how long I'd be able to continue to do this," Deutsch said. "I really don't want to end up like my comrades -- under the bridges and in the streets."
There are about 85 homes at Royalwood.
Almost everyone who lives there is a senior, low-income, or both.
One resident is 102-years-old.
Royalwood was sold last year to a California-based company called Collective Communities. The rents went up soon afterwar.
In mobile home parks people own their homes but rent the land they sit on.
Homeowners met to discuss their options on Thursday.
Lynnwood City Council member George Hurst said it's a problem in mobile home parks across the country.
Hurst fears Collective Communities will sell the land to developers over the next five years, leaving many of the low-income seniors here with nowhere to go.
"I can't imagine the stress you're under when you're on a fixed income and your rent goes up $300 when you thought you were safe," Hurst said.
Hurst would like to see Snohomish County set aside funds to help keep low-income seniors in their homes and a state law passed providing them with protections.
A town hall meeting is being organized to discuss the issue. Hurst is planning to meet with Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers, too.
In an email to KING 5 Collective Communities said the rents are rising because they've already spent $650,000 on improvements and plan to invest another $1 million in 2024 for repairs and maintenance.
"The second part of our analysis is to compare our lot rents to the Federal Government's definition of affordable housing," the statement continued. "Every year HUD issues the average median income ("AMI") for every county in the country. For Snohomish County the AMI was $146K. HUD suggests that a household should spend no more than 30% of their income on rent/housing expenses. We've adjusted the AMI by two factors (50% of AMI and 30% of AMI) and compared what monthly rent should be based on those adjusted income limits. In Royalwood's case the new lot rent is 51% below the HUD suggested rent at 50% of AMI and 18% below the HUD suggested rent at 30% of AMI. While we understand the lot rents have increased we believe that Royalwood still provides a quality affordable housing option for our residents in the market as compared to other forms of housing in Snohomish County."
As for Deutsch, she keeps planting in her garden, hoping she still has a kitchen to cook in this time next year.
"We need to be taken care of," Deutsch said. "We need to be assured that our money can keep a roof over our heads."