ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Time is running out. Despair is setting in for seniors living at the Albuquerque Meadows Mobile Home Park. 

“They’re cutting their medications in half. They’re putting dogs to sleep because they can’t afford to feed them or give them their medication,” Rochelle Smith said. “Grocery bills are cut drastically, a lot of depression, isolation.” 

Smith, and her neighbors, own their mobile homes, but the land it sits on is rented. Despite the name, mobile homes are costly or impossible to move. 4 Investigates exposed how out-of-state companies are buying mobile home parks and dramatically increasing lot rental rates. 

The City of Albuquerque passed an ordinance requiring alerts for residents when their park is sold, but protections that could meaningfully protect residents require statewide legislation. 

“They [lawmakers] are kind of hesitant to change anything at this point,” Smith said.  

The legislative session isn’t over yet. 

“I would tell them to be hopeful,” state Rep. Marian Matthews said. 

Matthews has met with Albuquerque Meadows residents, trying to find different ways to get legislation passed. 

“One of the reasons we have such a huge problem in this area is we have no state oversight beyond the installation of a mobile home in a mobile home park,” Matthews said. “So there’s isn’t a clear line of authority of where you go if there’s problems.” 

She is sponsoring House Bill 426 that would create a path for residents to purchase their park if it comes up for sale. 

Matthews is also sponsoring House Bill 442 which would limit mobile home lot rental increases to once a year, and hold owners accountable if they fail to provide utilities in the park. It has advanced to the House floor where it sits on a long list of bills yet to be called. 

“They’re counting votes,” Matthews said of the Democratic leadership responsible for calling HB442 to the House floor for a vote. “They’re seeing how much opposition there may be to something because we end up having very long debates if there’s a lot of opposition, and that slows the whole process down.” 

If she doesn’t have the votes, she has a backup plan, House Memorial 35. 

“The idea is to create a working group,” Matthews said. “I’ve been working with the Regulation and Licensing Department, the superintendent there… is very, very aware of these problems. He really wants to work on this.” 

HM35 would only require a vote on the House floor, a significantly shorter path than her other bills. Also, significantly less impactful for the residents in mobile home parks. 

“Please help us save our homes and community,” Smith said.