{"id":1264,"date":"2025-02-01T07:52:04","date_gmt":"2025-02-01T15:52:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cascadeparkestates.com\/?p=1264"},"modified":"2025-02-20T15:17:53","modified_gmt":"2025-02-20T23:17:53","slug":"washington-attorney-general-at-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cascadeparkestates.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/01\/washington-attorney-general-at-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington Attorney General at Work: $5.5 million"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Caption: Homes are seen at Moxie Community mobile home park in Moxee in January 2024. (Emree Weaver for CascadePBS)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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WA mobile park owner refunds tenants $5.5M after AG investigation<\/h1>\n

The state attorney general’s office reports Port Orchard-based Hurst & Son issued reimbursements as dispute complaints reached record highs in 2024.<\/p><\/h2>\n <\/hgroup>\n

By Farah Eltohamy<\/a> \/ CascadePBS.org<\/a><\/p>\n

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The Washington Attorney General\u2019s Office has announced $5.5 million in refunds to Hurst & Son LLC tenants following the agency\u2019s 2023 investigation into the Port Orchard-based mobile home management company.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

The agency outlined the reimbursements in its recently released annual Manufactured Housing Dispute Resolution Program report<\/u><\/a>, which included a record number of complaints in 2024. The long-running state program collects complaints and mediates a wide variety of disputes between mobile home community residents and their landlords.<\/p>\n\n

Mike Faulk, spokesperson for the Attorney General\u2019s office, said in an email statement that Hurst & Son LLC had already distributed the estimated $5.5 million between September 2024 and January 2025. It marks the largest reimbursement in the history of the dispute resolution program. Many refunds were credited against future rent payments. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cTenants were reimbursed the difference between any invalid rent increase and their original rent for each applicable month,\u201d Faulk wrote. \u201cTenants were reimbursed in full for certain fees, and partial refunds on others. Private utilities\/utilities assessed during the term of a rental agreement were reimbursed in full.\u201d   <\/p>\n\n

Faulk wrote that the company has about 2,700 tenants statewide, resulting in an average refund of about $2,000. Some tenants with significant substantiated complaints received more than $10,000 while others without qualifying complaints received no refunds. <\/p>\n\n

The Attorney General\u2019s office announced its investigation into Hurst & Son LLC in October 2023, following an increased number of complaints alleging rapid rent hikes, maintenance changes and excessive fees \u2013 among other unlawful behavior. In August 2023, Cascade PBS launched a series of stories on alleged \u201ceconomic eviction\u201d<\/u><\/a> throughout dozens of Hurst & Son parks, and recently published a documentary<\/u><\/a> on the company\u2019s management practices. <\/p>\n\n

Elva Simmons, a housing organizer and tenant of Sun Tides mobile home park in Yakima, told Cascade PBS she received her $300 refund as rent credits. She\u2019s heard through word of mouth that other tenants in the Central Washington area have received refunds up to $10,000 \u2013 meaning they will not have rent payments due for a couple months on end. <\/p>

\u201cPeople would have been happier,\u201d she noted, \u201cif they had received a check for the full amount. That way they could do what they wanted with it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Faulk wrote that Hurst & Son voluntarily complied with the reimbursement process as part of the Attorney General investigation into more than 150 tenant complaints against the company. Refunds were based mainly on three issues: noncompliant rent increases, excessive or unenforceable fees, and \u201cprivate utilities\u201d or other utility charges that commenced during the term of a rental agreement.<\/p>\n\n

Hurst & Son provided the dispute resolution program with billing records for each tenant who filed a complaint. Program staff sorted through these records to identify overcharges. Faulk explained the charging formula was then applied to any similar tenants, including those who had not submitted a complaint. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cWe are still in the process of reviewing complaints and negotiating compliance measures,\u201d Faulk wrote. \u201cWe continue to review any dispute between a tenant and Hurst & Son regarding the appropriate amount of a refund. Tenants that never submitted a complaint but dispute how much they were reimbursed can file a complaint and we will review.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Lead organizers within the Hurst & Son-owned Leisure Manor Estates in Aberdeen told Cascade PBS they had not received any reimbursements from the management company. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t receive our rent invoice that includes the amount of our water and sewer until maybe two days before the first of the month, which is when it\u2019s due,\u201d wrote Deb Wilson, president of the Leisure Manor Tenants Association. \u201cIf the water is not paid, they can evict us and no one knows what the water will be until we get the rent invoice and we have to pay it by the first, it\u2019s ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

In response, Faulk said that the legal and factual circumstances at Leisure Manor \u201cdid not generally result in financial loss to the tenants as a result of legal violations,\u201d meaning the program did not have a basis to demand refunds for most of the park\u2019s residents.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cIf any Leisure Manor tenants had a noncompliant rent increase or were charged the improper fees, then they would be reimbursed,\u201d Faulk said.<\/p>\n\n

Faulk cited the Attorney General\u2019s 2023 rent rollbacks for Leisure Manor<\/u><\/a>, in which Hurst & Son committed to withdrawing rental rate increases on unsigned leases until the next renewal anniversary in the coming summer.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThe primary source of refunds stemming from rent increases was because Hurst & Son unilaterally changed tenants\u2019 \u2018lease renewal date\u2019 and then raised rent on this new term date,\u201d Faulk wrote. \u201cAt Leisure Manor, Hurst & Son was put on notice of this issue and complied with the law before any illegal rent increases were implemented.\u201d<\/p>

Other report findings<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

In 2024, the number of mobile home dispute complaints submitted to the state again set a new record with 850 complaints \u2014 up 16% from the previous year. The program had previously seen complaints to the state nearly double<\/u><\/a> in 2023 compared to other recent years. <\/p>\n\n

Nearly half of those complaints cited \u201cUtilities\/Charges In Excess of Actual Costs,\u201d followed by 301 complaints for \u201cAmount of Rent Increase\u201d and 204 for \u201cGeneral Maintenance\/Maintenance of Common Areas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The program listed 326 complaints as opened and closed within the year \u2013 of those, 277 were closed mainly due to multiple complaints filed for the same issue and voluntary compliance with dispute resolution mediation.<\/p>\n\n

The program saw a 75% decrease in cases closed due to complainants stopping their participation in the dispute resolution process compared to the previous year.<\/p>\n\n

In addition to actions taken against Hurst & Son LLC, the program issued significant violations against Tri-Cities RV Park and Western Living Trailer Court \u2013 the former resulting in $243,995 in reimbursements to tenants.<\/p>\n\n

The annual report also included policy recommendations seeking specific authority to issue fines against parties who refuse to cooperate with the program or who fail to register communities with the state as required by law. Another recommendation asked for a clear burden of proof on establishing ownership of permanent structures. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cThe Program managed many staff changes in 2024,\u201d the report noted, \u201cand experienced staffing shortages for extended periods of time throughout the year.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

Faulk wrote that the program, which advocates have long deemed understaffed, is actively recruiting for two staff positions this year.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n

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