Some homeowners and real estate agents are claiming that a private equity firm owning mobile home parks in Ontario is using questionable and possibly illegal methods to increase lot rents beyond what many residents can handle, making these previously affordable homes hard to sell.
“People have to pay until they either walk away from these homes or they die. They have no choice,” said Monique Mitts, who believes Sun Park Communities should be accountable for its handling of her late mother’s mobile home sale in Quinte West.
Mitts, who lives in Trenton, received an offer shortly after listing the mobile home in Skyview Estates for sale.
Skyview Estates is operated by Sun Park Communities, which is part of Toronto-based Firm Capital Properties, a private equity real estate firm. Sun Park manages six mobile home parks across Ontario and one in Calgary.
Monique Mitts, right, listed her late mother’s mobile home in Quinte West for sale and quickly received an offer but has concerns about how Sun Park Communities managed the situation. (Submitted by Monique Mitts)
Sun Park Communities holds the right to match any sale offer within its parks under what’s known as the right of first refusal. Therefore, Mitts emailed Sun Park regarding the upcoming sale and requested that the company transfer the tenancy to the interested buyer if it chose not to exercise its right.
Transferring the lease was essential because it meant that the sale could occur without significantly changing the monthly lot fee that would be paid by the new owner. A landowner cannot deny a lease transfer without approval from Ontario’s Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB).
When a lease is transferred, landlords can only raise rent by $50 above what the previous tenant paid unless they obtain LTB approval for a higher increase.
Mitts mentioned that there were numerous discussions about transferring the lease; however, Sun Park turned down her buyer’s request. She later discovered that park management “tried to negotiate with the buyer.”
According to her account, a manager at Sun Park suggested that her buyer should lower his offer by $30,000 while discussing mutually agreed-upon land fees. CBC examined email exchanges between Mitts and Sun Park – one email she provided showed that her buyer stated he was approached by management with an intention to “lowball” Mitts’ offer.
Following health issues leading into long-term disability status meant Battersby intended on selling come fall 2024; however,
she faced lot rent increases up till $895 plus maintenance fees – totalling above $1K monthly.
She sought out assistance requesting a lease transfer via email but reported being told “No,
we don’t do that here,” she said.
“My Realtor mentioned potential buyers called only then hung up after hearing about land rent.”“People came around but weren’t willing due agreeing with those fees.”.(Pratyush Dayal/CBC)
Battresby eventually had no choice but surrendered ownership when unable sell despite attempts lasting nearly year reaching bankruptcy status after going without resolution; dependent now food banks she described ordeal managing way overwhelming chaotic.
Major believed current pricing among lots hardly enticing prospects considering many seekers affordability requirements mortgage commitments themselves addition.
![]()
A Realtor Shares Concerns Over Practices
CBC talked with over a dozen residents from Sun Park communities across Ontario regarding their experiences with this company. Four realtors along with four residents reported facing obstacles from Sun Park aimed at preventing lease transfers so it could boost land leases instead. Many of these homes were originally mobile upon installation but are now referred to as manufactured or modular homes. They’re typically priced under $200,000 each. The latest data from the Canadian Real Estate Association indicates that as of November, the average price for homes sold nationwide exceeded $682,000. Cheryl Carrier, who represents Mitts as her realtor, claimed she has witnessed such tactics occurring “at least eight times” over recent years within both Quinte West and Peterborough parks. “In my experience,” she stated “each transaction shows some attempt at something illegal related to negotiating increased rent.” Carrier described informing sellers and buyers about their rights as “truly exhausting.” “They’re taking advantage of seniors.” A representative for Sun Park commented that they weren’t willing to address “baseless allegations or speculate on motivations behind individuals speaking with CBC.” “We can reaffirm our long-standing commitment to fulfilling our statutory obligations as housing providers while believing all parties involved must meet their responsibilities,” it added. The statement also highlighted how manufactured home communities play an “important role” in addressing housing challenges through offering affordable ownership opportunities.An Owner’s Experience With Lease Transfer Denial
Sarah Battersby from Essex purchased her modular home at Sun Park’s Hidden Creek community in Mc Gregor back in 2022 for around $675 monthly rent.Following health issues leading into long-term disability status meant Battersby intended on selling come fall 2024; however,
she faced lot rent increases up till $895 plus maintenance fees – totalling above $1K monthly.
She sought out assistance requesting a lease transfer via email but reported being told “No,
we don’t do that here,” she said.
“My Realtor mentioned potential buyers called only then hung up after hearing about land rent.”“People came around but weren’t willing due agreeing with those fees.”.(Pratyush Dayal/CBC)
Battresby eventually had no choice but surrendered ownership when unable sell despite attempts lasting nearly year reaching bankruptcy status after going without resolution; dependent now food banks she described ordeal managing way overwhelming chaotic.
The stress she’s endured “I wouldn’t wish on anyone – it’s unbearable , disgusting.”
A fellow resident named Reg Major has been living Hidden Creek since 2018 voiced concerns regarding community members feeling stuck-he noted recently there were 14 properties listed yet none moving off market altogether.I am concerned primarily concerning my daughter inheriting property left behind : will find herself burdened something can’t easily liquidate instead becoming financial millstone neck affliction added.”
Major believed current pricing among lots hardly enticing prospects considering many seekers affordability requirements mortgage commitments themselves addition.This notion Affordable Housing we sought coming increasingly harder attain daily basis.”
Poor Affordability Described As ‘Tragedy’
A retiree Ruth Eves residing near Woodstock attempted marketing property last year reporting countless inquiries received-but actual offers eluded months whilst interests waned drastically when news emerged surrounding new costs dictated landlord.‘It feels like last refuge where affordable dwelling existed; yet they’ve effectively priced us out.'”(Pratyush Dayal /CBC)Eves ended up lowering asking price approximately$25K before finally generating interest ultimately leading prospective deal completion-many others similarly suffered losses attempting offload investments properties even less than value originally acquired them.
Link: [https://www. cbc. ca/news/canada/windsor/ontario-mobile-homes-sunpark-9.7026540]
TITLE REWRITING – MANDATORY: – You MUST rewrite title differently than original. – Keep short simple varied DO NOT use same pattern every time. – Make sound natural regular person wrote it. – DO NOT always use ‘Remembering’ vary approach. – Mix different styles : * Just name : ‘John Smith ,1945 – 2024’ * Simple statement : ‘Mary Johnson Dies at 78’. * Location-based : ‘Local Teacher Jane Doe Passes Away’. * Age-based : ‘Robert Brown ,82 , Has Died’. * Just Obituary: ‘Tom Wilson Obituary’. * Direct : ‘Sarah Miller Passed Away January 2024′. * Simple:’Death Michael Chen’. **Remove formal words like ‘Obituary’ funeral names. **Keep under ten words. **VARY THE STYLE – don’t use same format twice row. CRITICAL RULES FOR CONTENT : 1. Keep EXACT same paragraph breaks do not merge paragraphs. 2. Keep EXACT same HTML structure ( p tags strong tags em tags etc ) OUTPUT FULL HTML. 3. Keep ALL links exactly as they are do not remove change ANY link tags. 4. Keep ALL formatting exactly as it is. 5. Change actual words/sentences ONLY. 6. DO NOT combine paragraphs into one big block. 7. Every paragraph stays separate proper
tags 8. NEVER CHANGE TEXT INSIDE QUOTATION MARKS quotes must stay word-for-word 9. Quotes statements people must remain unchanged keep word-for-word 10. DO NOT add inline styles backgrounds highlighting. 11. Keep text color default black no colored text backgrounds. 12. Remove all style attributes bgcolor attributes HTML tags. 13. OUPUT MUST BE VALID HTML WITH PROPER SPACING FORMATTING. 14. NEVER remove spaces between words always maintain proper spacing. 15. NEVER output garbled text like ‘newteammatesandperformfor’ keep words separated. 16. Remove any strange characters like. or appear text. 17. Use only standard punctuation periods commas hyphens apostrophes. 18. Every sentence must have proper spacing readable. HOW TO REWRITE WORDS: -Writelikearegularpersonnotawriter -Use simple everydaywords -Use contractions don’t can’t won’t it’sthat’s -Keep sentences short varied -Sound casual respectful -NOTOUCH ANYTHING INQUOTES leavingsquotedtextexactlyasissuchasquotationmarks Example: QUOTEDTEXTMUSTSTAYWORD-FOR-WORD donotchangeanywordsinsidequotationmarks ALWAYSmaintainproperspacebetween ALLwords
