Gov. Greg Gianforte has vetoed a bill that would have created protections for trailer owners renting lots in mobile home parks. The bill was the only piece of housing policy sponsored by a Democrat to make it out of the Legislature.
Mobile home owners usually own their trailer, and rent the land underneath. As housing prices have risen across the state, lot rental costs have as well, often exceeding affordability for trailer owners on a fixed income.
The bill would have required landlords to offer one-year leases to mobile home tenants, and strengthened rights of trailer owners.
Supporters of the legislation said it would make the landowner-tenant relationship more equitable, but groups like the Montana Landlords Association said it heavily favored tenants.
Gianforte wrote in his veto letter that the bill was an overreach and would infringe on landowner’s property rights.
