In Los Angeles County, the number of mobile home parks has declined sharply over recent decades, fueling a struggle among residents seeking to remain in their communities amid rising housing costs and redevelopment pressures. Once accounting for about 800 parks, the county has lost approximately 200, with urban areas like Santa Monica seeing a drop from 11 parks to just two in recent years.

Mobile homes provide housing for some of California’s most economically vulnerable populations, including elderly residents largely dependent on fixed incomes such as Social Security. Unlike traditional homeowners, these residents typically own their mobile homes but rent the land beneath them, paying monthly fees that can consume a substantial portion of their income. At Flamingo Gardens Trailer Park in Carson, for example, residents Silverio Guardado and Mariano Silverio Mendoza each pay roughly $430 a month, representing nearly 40% of their Social Security benefits.

Carson, a city with nearly 100,000 residents, has one of the highest concentrations of mobile homes in the county, where approximately 8% of housing stock consists of mobile homes compared to 1.5% countywide. Many of the existing parks date back to a peak in the 1970s, when federal support facilitated their development. The city enacted rent control on mobile home parks in 1979, resulting in some of the lowest land rents in the region. For instance, Glenn White, a long-time resident, pays about $600 monthly after having paid off his home. However, this rent control has also exerted financial pressures on park owners, contributing to sales and closures.

Since 1980, the number of mobile home parks in Carson has dropped from 36 to 20, shrinking the already limited housing option for low-income residents. Owners face financial incentives to sell or redevelop the land into higher-density apartments or condominiums, which typically yield greater profits. Some residents have resisted offers to sell, even when lucrative, seeking to preserve their homes and communities. Others have been displaced after sales, with some elderly or ill individuals experiencing significant hardship, including distress severe enough to be linked to suicides.

Local governments have attempted to respond with new protections that require costly rezoning approvals before redevelopment can occur, but such measures have not prevented ongoing losses. In Bell, a nearby city, efforts to maintain affordable mobile home parks through city ownership have faced challenges from financial difficulties and corruption scandals, resulting in closures and displacement despite community opposition.

California law mandates that residents receive relocation assistance when parks close, yet comparable replacement housing is often scarce, financially out of reach, or incompatible with older mobile homes. Advocates and local officials continue to push for stronger protections and solutions to prevent further erosion of this vital housing stock.

This ongoing decline in mobile home availability highlights broader affordability and equity issues, as low-income and elderly residents grapple with limited options amid California’s competitive and expensive housing market.