As a senior attorney with Advocates for Basic Legal Equality Inc.. or ABLE, I’ve seen firsthand the critical need for more funding to support legal aid, especially for residents of Ohio’s manufactured or mobile home parks. These residents deal with unsafe living conditions, illegal lease terms, excessive fees, unlawful rent increases, and even “constructive evictions,” where park owners create unbearable living conditions to force tenants to leave. Despite these challenges, many residents lack the legal resources to fight back.
Unlike criminal defense, where the government provides representation, civil legal problems, like a negligent or retaliative landlord, are only addressed if tenants can afford a lawyer. Nonprofit legal aid organizations like ABLE try to fill this gap, but resources are limited. Studies show that having legal representation in eviction cases can reduce the likelihood of eviction by up to 90 percent. Unfortunately, in Ohio and across the country, only 1 percent to 3 percent of tenants are represented in eviction proceedings, while 80 percent to 90 percent of landlords and park owners have legal counsel.
The need for legal aid is especially critical for mobile home park residents, who are often elderly or disabled, with low, fixed incomes and limited housing options. Many of these residents own their homes but rent the land beneath them, putting them at the mercy of park owners. If park owners engage in unlawful practices, such as illegal rent increases or failure to maintain property, residents have few options for recourse.
The problem is compounded by the difficulty in holding park owners accountable. Many owners, especially institutional investors, hide behind LLCs or other business entities, making it impossible for residents to know who to contact or how to enforce their rights. Additionally, 39 percent of Ohio’s manufactured home lots are owned by out-of-state companies, further complicating efforts to seek justice.
Ohio law is meant to protect mobile homeowners from predatory practices. For example, park owners must offer mobile homeowners a 12-month lease with annual renewals and provide reasonable notice before raising the lot rent, changing the rules, or closing the park. However, many park owners ignore these laws, and most residents are unaware of their rights, leaving them vulnerable to illegal evictions and mistreatment requiring going to court to enforce their rights.
At ABLE, we recently completed a two-year rural housing grant that allowed us to provide legal assistance in seven counties with the highest shortage of affordable housing. In many of these counties, there had been no legal aid available for housing cases in over a decade.
Our program included eviction clinics, where we represented tenants and educated judges about the laws protecting mobile home park residents.
In these rural county courts, I often found myself as the only expert familiar with the specific protections mobile home residents are entitled to under state and federal laws. Without legal representation, tenants’ rights remain unprotected. When park owners know there’s no one to challenge them, they are more likely to violate the law with little consequence.
The demand for legal assistance far exceeds available resources.
At ABLE, we have five housing attorneys and three other attorneys who handle housing issues as part of their community lawyering initiatives. We serve 32 counties in northwest and west central Ohio, assisting thousands of low-income tenants and mobile home park residents. However, there are simply not enough resources to meet the growing need.
More funding would enable us to take on more cases, represent tenants in court, and educate courts about the laws protecting mobile home residents. Having attorneys on both sides of housing litigation is essential to upholding tenants’ rights and holding landlords accountable. With more funding, we can continue to advocate for this population and ensure fair housing practices for all tenants.
Kristina Coen is a senior attorney at Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc. — ABLE, a nonprofit law firm serving northwest and central Ohio. Since November 2021, Kristina has been a part of ABLE’s efforts to address housing-related issues, including unsafe living conditions and unlawful evictions, for low-income residents across the region. Kristina’s work focuses on advocating for the rights of tenants and manufactured home park residents, often in rural areas with limited access to legal aid.
First Published April 8, 2025, 4:00 a.m.
