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Kona Kai Mobile Home Owner Association May 20 2019 To: The Mayor and City Council members of Santa Ana Re: item 65A - Help Us Stop Rent Exploitation of the Elderly Dear Mayor and Council members; The Kona Kai Mobile Home Owner Association (or Kona Kai M.H.OA) represents the majority of the 55 year or older resident owners who currently live in the mobile home park at 4117 W McFadden Ave, Santa Ana CA 92704. In May 2019, the rent increase for our residents is a whopping 6%, three time the US CPI On behalf of your elderly and frail senior residents, we are asking for: - a 6 months moratorium on the rent increase in our mobile home park or at least until the construction work in the park is completed - and that future increase on land rent be limited to 3% (or CPI) as in past 20 years. The owner / park manager justified the 6% increase in rent with upgrades to the park infrastructures, which was granted at minimal cost to park owner. The rent increase and the ongoing street digging, installation of gas and electric meters has brought an unfair deal, many inconveniences and stresses to the Kona Kai elderly residents, namely: 1) Stress - The excessive rent increase cause extreme stress to elderly and sick residents, some of them live alone and rely on meager social security monthly check. It is so stressful that one resident had to call 911 and check into the hospital when she received the notice of the latest rent increase. 2) Gas leak - A few new gas installations have leak. The onsite manager refused to handle. Their excuse is that it is now the resident problem which he now has to pay for the repair, no longer a park problem. Again only a call to 911 resolves the potentially dangerous situation 3) Lower Expense to park owner - The gas and electric upgrade will eventually save the park owner the expense of reading, invoicing and maintaining utilities in the long term. Yet the park management makes the resident pay with an excessive rent increase. Furthermore, any cost involving the gas and electrical works can be written off or amortizes as business expenses, therefore there will be no additional costs to the park owner. 4) Violation - The park manager / owner may be violating the law when passing the improvement cost to the resident prior to completion. 5) Lower property value - The streets in the park now look like a shoddy, ugly patch work that lower the value of the all properties and that is not what many of us sign up for when we choose to settle in the park.