City Council Postpones Vote on Rent Freeze

MOORPARK —  Faced with a possible lawsuit, the City Council postponed action on a proposed freeze on mobile-home park rents Wednesday night.

Council members, who are considering the moratorium at the request of residents, delayed their decision for one week after managers of Villa del Arroyo mobile-home park indicated they might take the city to court.

“We don’t welcome a rent freeze,” said Richard Elias, vice president of Bessire & Casenhiser, managers of the 240-home park. “We would much rather arbitrate than litigate.”

Councilman Chris Evans then said the council should have the city attorney present before acting.

“They have legal representation,” he said. “I think we should too.”

Moorpark already dictates how much mobile-home parks can raise rents each year, and managers said the current system, which they grudgingly accepted years ago, should be left intact.

The city allows mobile-home park managers to increase rents once each year by either 4% or the rate of inflation, whichever is higher. If a tenant moves out during the year, management can increase the rent on that space by the rate of inflation before the next tenant moves in.