Encinitas City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved a temporary moratorium on rent increases for mobile home parks.
The law limits the amount that manufactured park owners can raise the fee in a year by the lesser of either 4% or 75% of the inflation rate. In 2026, Encinitas had an inflation rate of 4.7%, which would make the increase 3.5%.
The interim ordinance will last until July, at which point the council hopes to have a permanent ordinance on the books, though it is unclear exactly what that would look like.
The new rule came out of a push from the group Save Our Space Encinitas, or SOS Encinitas, which has been urging councilmembers for more protections for mobile home park residents.
The group formed out of Riviera Mobile Home Park after many residents faced a potential 17% increase. The owners lowered it to 4% hours before residents spoke at a Oct. 14 council meeting.
Heidi Holzworth, who spoke on behalf of SOS Encinitas, said that her neighbors had tears of joy at the ordinance being on the agenda at all.
“You are giving them a sense of peace they haven’t had in years, and they’re starting to feel safe enough in their homes to speak up,” she said. “These parks are irreplaceable.”
Representatives from the Western Manufactured Housing Communities Association opposed a rent control measure because it would harm the business owners’ profits.
Regional representative Julie Paule said she worried that the City Council would use the interim ordinance for a future long-term law without properly studying it.
“It’s much less harmful to allow a slow, steady growth with inflation, like a floor or ceiling,” she said. “That’s probably a better conversation to have on the permanent ordinance.”
The City Council will discuss a long-term ordinance in the coming months after more community engagement.