NAVARRE, Ohio — More than a year after a new company took over their manufactured home community, neighbors in Navarre Village say they’re increasingly concerned about rising rents.
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“We’ve had one lady that had to go back to work and she’s in her 70s,” said Jeffrey Yekel.
Yekel, a 17-year resident of the 55-plus Stark County park, has joined some of his neighbors to form a state-certified tenant committee to organize their concerns.
In September 2022, Navarre Village was taken over by out-of-state company Legacy Communities, LLC. Residents in the park own their property and pay a monthly rent for the lot on which it sits.
Since the change in ownership, neighbors have reported several large rent hikes amounting to more than a 24% collective increase. Yekel said the rate for incoming residents will soon jump to $825 monthly, which will be more than double the rate prior to September 2022.
Many said the increase has been a burden for the community, which is largely made up of seniors on fixed incomes.
“You’re making decisions at the grocery store based on what your rent is, knowing that the gas bill is due, issues like that,” said Don Datchuk, a committee member who’s lived in Navarre Village for four years.
“This was going to be my last move,” added fellow committee member and resident Barb Silvestri.
The group said they haven’t seen improvements or added amenities that could rationalize the drastic rent increase. They consider new street lights, a fence added to the neighborhood’s RV park and planned road repairs to be basic infrastructure maintenance. And they said a newly remodeled front office that can function as a small clubhouse, as well as rumored bocce ball courts, hardly justify the high costs.
“Who knows what they’re doing with [the money]? But they’re certainly not giving anything back to us,” said Silvestri.
She estimated the rent collected from residents amounts to more than $100,000 monthly and $1.2 million annually.
“We'd like to know what they're putting back in,” Datchuk said.
The group said repeated attempts to meet with the company’s executives have been unsuccessful so far, and communication about what’s to come has been minimal.
Over the past year, the neighbors estimate they’ve also contacted nearly every Ohio congressperson and almost 100 different representatives at the Ohio Statehouse.
“They’re just passing the buck and ignoring and hoping we all go away,” said Yekel.
In December 2022, News 5 reported Senator Sherrod Brown sent letters to Freddie Mac and Legacy, asking for an explanation of why the affordable housing option was becoming less affordable.
Navarre Village residents said they’ve seen nothing come of the letters. Brown’s office did not return News 5’s request for comment by the time this article was published.
The situation in Stark County is similar to what residents at Twin Lakes in Lorain County have reported to News 5. Legacy also owns the 55-plus manufactured home community there. Tuesday, neighbors said they have also seen little change, adding many “feel stuck.”
Ohio currently has no rent control. In June of 2022, a bill was passed with a provision prohibiting local governments from capping or setting residential rates.
It’s why the Navarre Village tenant committee said they feel a sense of urgency to prevent what’s happening in their community from happening elsewhere.
“There are other parks throughout the state that are having the same issue,” he said. “There’s got to be some type of rent control in the state, not just us.”
News 5 reached out to Legacy Communities, LLC for comment and was provided the following statement in response to the residents’ concerns:
“Legacy Communities is committed to our residents and to providing affordable and quality communities. We take pride in maintaining and improving our communities, fostering a positive culture, and ensuring residents experience high-level customer service.
"Our business model is reliant on keeping our existing residents in-place, and affordability is top of mind when rent increases are considered. We also have a responsibility to maintain and improve the community for current residents and to attract new residents. We are consistently reviewing operating expenses, necessary infrastructure repairs and upgrades, planned improvements, and analyzing the local market to ensure our communities are affordable.
"We take many factors into consideration when establishing rent including but not limited to significant capital investment; operating and supply costs; the cost of any mortgage debt service (loan interest and principal payments) on the loan secured by the property; and rents and other fees at comparable properties.
"Today’s harsh economic realities have been particularly challenging with interest rates that have more than doubled, a regional CPI above 8%, cost increases for labor, insurance, taxes, utilities, supplies, and vendors who pass through their own cost increases. Rather than compromising on maintenance and allowing the community to fall into disrepair, we sought to lessen the impact of these increased costs on our existing residents by implementing higher rents on new residents entering the community.
"We also understand our residents may have temporary challenges paying rent due to job loss, illness, and unforeseen medical bills, etc. Our 'Catch Up Payment Program' offers an installment plan in those circumstances. This also supports our goal of keeping residents in their homes, and limits turnover in our communities.”
-Andrew Fells, COO, Legacy Communities
