Inlet residents form union to challenge rent hike – Coastal Observer

Inlet residents form union to challenge rent hike – Coastal Observer

Rent increases of up to 16 percent on mobile home lots in a Murrells Inlet community have prompted residents to form a tenants union to try to negotiate with the property owner. Now known as Oceanside Landing, the former Captain’s Cove mobile home park was sold to Illinois-based Cobblestone Properties in 2022. Residents were notified last November that lot rents would increase by 8 to 16 percent in March and that their current lease would roll over, meaning no written lease. Leases are now month-to-month. Many tenants will be priced out if they can’t negotiate a lease that makes them feel secure, said Kanani Burns, an organizer with the S.C. Tenant Union. Owners can’t sell their mobile homes because the community has the highest lot rent in Murrells Inlet, which is driving values down and deterring potential buyers. It also costs thousands of dollars to move a mobile home, she said, which isn’t an option for a lot of folks. “There is no benefit. It’s one of the worst, most vulnerable places a tenant can be,” Burns said. “That was a tough nut to crack for everybody,” said Steve Diederich, a member of Oceanside Landing Tenant Union. “Now we’re on a month-to-month with the unknown.” Diederich and his wife, Debbie, moved to the park three years ago. Their lot rent was originally $550 a month. “That’s what drove us here,” he said. They now pay $860. Diederich, along with most of his neighbors, are living on Social Security benefits. He retired in 2015. He didn’t think he would need to get a part-time job to help pay the rent.  He is now delivering Walmart groceries for four to five hours each shift. “That’s what we’ve had to do,” he said. “That collectively takes care of the increase.” Diederich said he’d much rather be enjoying his retirement on the golf course, fishing or traveling. But he can’t. “We have to get the bills paid,” Diederich said. “That is not how anyone should have to spend their retirement,” said Arvis Emmons, a resident and member of the Oceanside Landing Tenant Union. Harry Prentiss, who has been a resident of Oceanside Landing for two years, is a member of the union. Being in the same age range as his neighbors has helped him and his wife bond with other residents. “What makes this place special isn’t the streets or the lots. It’s the people,” Prentiss said. Shortly after the increases went into effect, residents sent a letter to Cobblestone requesting a meeting to discuss the proposed increase. They were later informed by the property manager, who is now called the resort manager, that Cobblestone leadership had “respectfully declined.”  “That refusal is why I joined my neighbors to form the Oceanside Landing Tenant Union,” said Debra Wade, a resident who said she is now working three jobs to keep up with rent increases. The residents formed the union to fight for a seat at the table, he said, not because they want conflict. “We call this place home. We are not numbers on a spreadsheet. We are not cash cows. We are your neighbors, and we are human beings,” Prentiss said. The tenant union, supported by the S.C. Tenant Union, represents more than 60 percent of the occupied lots in the park. A crowd of Oceanside Landing tenants took to Buccaneer Street to hold a rally this week and ask again to meet with Cobblestone leadership. The residents are demanding a two-year collectively bargained lease negotiated with and approved by the Oceanside Landing community; a 12 percent reduction in the current lot rent, effective immediately; and lot rent increases of no more than 5 percent per lease term, following execution of the collectively-bargained lease. “One day, you’re going to be 80 years old, too,” Patricia Groth, a member of the Oceanside Landing Tenant Union, said in a message she had for Cobblestone leadership. “And I hope no one treats you like you have treated us.” It’s not just an issue in Murrells Inlet, said Chris Tittle, an organizer with the S.C. Tenant Union, but across the 45,000 mobile home lots that Cobblestone owns and operates around the country. “The stories you’ve heard today are shamefully common,” he said. Burns and Tittle said they noticed a pattern where Cobblestone Real Estate buys 55-and-older communities, raises rents and proposes “luxury amenities.” “But people are like, we’re happy with just reasonable rent,” Burns said. Wade agreed, saying when Cobblestone bought the property, they weren’t just buying the land, she said.  Oceanside tenants are hoping to receive a response from Cobblestone by mid-August. “The world is really big around what these tenants could do,” Burns said. “It’s not just an Oceanside Landing problem. It’s an everybody problem right now, especially for mobile homeowners.” “We’re hoping for the best,” Diederich said.