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Joyce Bayles, 85, mows the lawn around her home in the Ridgeview Homes mobile home community in Lockport, N.Y. , June 23, 2022. The 85-year-old resident has taken to mowing her own lawn because crews for Ridgeview show up only monthly. Bayles is not participating in a rent strike with other residents of Ridgeview and doesn't want to get involved. "They're going to raise the rent and there's nothing I can do about it," said Bayles.

Investors are buying up mobile home parks across the country, leading to significant rent increases and complaints of neglect from residents. The parks, which for decades were mostly owned and operated like small businesses, have proven an attractive investment for private equity firms and large real estate companies. They offer some of the best returns in the property sector, money that is made by raising rent and saddling tenants with a myriad of fees. The industry argues these investments are making parks more livable, but residents, many on fixed incomes, say they can't afford the rent increases and improvements often don't come.

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