Another mobile home park sued for 'deadly' conditions

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is suing another manufactured home park and its owners in her latest effort to bring accountability to an industry that has long had little concrete oversight.

Mayes filed a consumer fraud lawsuit against Palo Verde Mobile Home Park, LLC; Landon Asset Management, LLC, the owner of 18 homes at the park; and Landon Management Services PC, the property company managing the park, according to a state attorney general announcement Thursday.

The suit alleges the businesses failed to inform residents that the park's "electrical system was extremely dangerous, unreliable, and overloaded." "It may feel like there's no one to call to help, but my office CAN and WILL intervene to protect consumers when landlords fail to live up to their end of the bargain," Mayes said. "A/C and electricity outages in Arizona aren't just dangerous, they're deadly." Palo Verde is one of a handful of parks where Mayes has stepped into a mobile home-related dispute on behalf of consumers with little recourse to challenge park owners and managers over substandard living conditions.

She stressed the extreme heat these vulnerable communities endured. "Park residents suffered from unacceptable regular electrical outages, leaving them unable to air condition their homes as temperatures in Tucson routinely spike to triple digits," the statement said.

Mayes also cited an Arizona Luminaria analysis of data provided by the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner that showed mobile home heat deaths account for a disproportionate number of total heat deaths in the county. Mayes said that under the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act, "owners and operators of mobile home parks must disclose to prospective residents" any inadequate electrical systems that fail to support cooling requirements necessary for safe, habitable housing.

Landon Asset Management, LLC did not respond to Arizona Luminaria's request for comment on the lawsuit's allegations. Over the past year, Arizona Luminaria has published in-depth coverage of the experiences of people living in Pima County manufactured home parks.

Residents spoke of a tragedy during an electricity outage.

The impacts of a broken utility bill system. Their personal stories gave voice to an analysis of high heat death rates in manufactured homes.

That work has coincided with an increase in organizing efforts by mobile home residents in Pima County, including plans to help ensure safety during power outages and a fight against high or fraudulent utility bills despite fears of eviction.

Mayes has also ordered the owner of a park on the north side of Tucson to credit residents who were overcharged by up to $1,000 for water and issued a consumer alert, warning parks against illegal overcharges and explaining how residents can protect themselves.