“We need to put limits on how much these corporate landlords can raise our rents”

Madalyn Beckett, a resident of a manufactured home park outside Lansing, Michigan, that was owned by the private equity firm Havenpark and is now owned by another private equity company, Cambio Communities, spoke at the “People’s State of the Union” in February.  More than 4 million viewers streamed the event, which was held on the National Mall in Washington, DC, by the progressive advocacy group MoveOn and the media company MeidasTouch.

The rally highlighted the immigration, health care, housing, and economic struggles of everyday Americans and featured prominent federal lawmakers, who are working to address these issues. “Everyday Americans are trying to figure out how to buy food, how to pay rent, how to pay the mortgage, how to get a car,” said Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona.

In introducing Madalyn Beckett, Representative Jim Himes of Connecticut said that he had caught the beginning of President Trump’s State of the Union speech and heard the president say, “’that we’re the hottest country, that everything is fine, that people are richer and better than before’. I don’t know who he’s talking about. Maybe he was talking about Ivanka. Maybe he was talking about Jared. Maybe he was talking about his billionaire cabinet members, but you know what? He wasn’t talking about us. He certainly wasn’t talking about the tens of millions of people like Madalyn Beckett of Lansing, Michigan, who like so many Americans, worked 45 years, day in and day out, showing up for the job, raised a daughter, and now struggles to make ends meet in this richest, hottest country in the world.”

“I’m here tonight because private equity has stolen my retirement, turned my life upside down, and soon will leave me homeless,” Madalyn Beckett told the rally. “I spent 45 years working as a bookkeeper. I traveled a lot for my job. So, living in manufactured housing communities has always been convenient and affordable. They were good places to live. They were safe. Neighbors looked out for one another. Upkeep was easy, and we could count on maintenance by the park owners.”

Madalyn said that the park she lives in now, Windsor Estates, was the best park she had been in and decided to retire there.  “I made a financial plan to determine what I could afford, and I bought my last house in Windsor.” Madalyn said that the park was great and was exactly what she hoped for, but “then the private equity companies came.” The private equity company Havenpark bought Windsor Estates in 2021 and then sold it to another private equity company, Cambio Communities, in 2023.

“They took advantage of the fact that we’re trapped. We can’t move our homes. They raised the rent. They added all kinds of fees. They reduced their staffing, and they bleed people like me dry,” Ms. Beckett said of Havenpark and Cambio.

“They’re now charging us for water, which used to be included in the rent, and that’s over $100 a month. Plus, we’ve got to pay an administration fee and pay for our trash, which was also included in our rent. “

“The government subsidized the buying of our park with a loan from Freddie Mac. My tax dollars helped steal my retirement,” she added.

“After all the added costs, I am now on the verge of being homeless,” Madalyn said. “I’ve had to take on a roommate at my age. Every month, I have to borrow money from a friend.”

“But I’m not going to sit back and take it, and neither are other people in the mobile home communities all over Michigan and the country,” she continued, saying:

We need to put limits on how much these corporate landlords can raise our rents. And we need it now.

We need to stop shoveling tax dollars to the predators. And we need to stop it now.

“America is Madeline Beckett. That’s who we’re fighting for,” Representative Himes said after Madalyn finished.