Deborah Acosta

My name is Deborah Acosta from Mission Bay Mobile Home Park in San Leandro, CA. I decided to move here after I lost my home during the big recession in 2015. I bought a brand new Manufactured Home and I couldn’t believe how affordable it was. It was too good to be true.

Our community is owned by BSM Communities. Compared to previous models of ownership, there isn’t any amiability between residents and landlords anymore. When a rent stabilization ordinance (RSO) was passed in 2018/2019, it made owners feel entitled to raise rents up to the maximum legal limits. They just want to squeeze as much as they can out of us. 

The rent increases are terrifying. I have a lot of neighbors living on social security who now have to rely on food stamps and food pantries to get by. One of the main issues we have with ownership is because they try to make us responsible for their own economic shortcomings. They are even charging us pass-through costs to repair a wall on their property. That’s just basic maintenance, not an amenity they are providing or something we should be responsible for.

We’re demanding that our City Council review the existing RSO to create equitable protections for tenants, eliminate pass-through charges, and allow us to become part of an existing rent registry. We created the Mission Bay Residents Association and, together with MHAction, we’re fighting so everyone has access to safe and affordable housing. We’re a part of this community. If we lose our homes, the community and the collective wisdom that comes with it will be lost too.