After receiving more than 100 complaints from Hurst & Son residents across Washington in 2023, the state Attorney General's Office is investigating and is seeking to resolve issues with the Port Orchard-based mobile home park landlord.
Residents at six mobile home parks in the Yakima area filed complaints, according to an email from the attorney general's Mobile Home Dispute Resolution Program, and residents at Hurst & Son parks could receive refunds, though no violations have been issued.
Hurst & Son is a real estate company that owns dozens of mobile home parks across the state and more across the country. Some residents have complained about rising rents, economic eviction and poor services at mobile home parks owned by the company during the past year and have organized to file complaints and call for legal protections.
Hurst & Son did not comment on the investigation.
"We are currently working with the AG's office and do not feel it is appropriate to comment during the dispute resolution process," said the company's general manager, Levi Black, in an email.
In a statement from November, Black said Hurst & Son was raising prices to re-invest in mobile home communities' infrastructure.
The Attorney General's Office is still receiving those complaints, according to an email from representatives with the mobile home program. Many are from Spanish-speaking residents.
"The complaints against Hurst & Son range in nature but have some commonalities," read the email. "There are allegations that Hurst & Son violated the Mobile Home Landlord-Tenant Act through its lease renewal process; terms of their leases; rule violation fees; utility charges; upkeep of the parks; among others."
Staff have begun investigating the concerns and Hurst & Son residents in Aberdeen received an email on Oct. 3 detailing possible violations of rental protections and corrective measures Hurst & Son can take.
In November, residents of Hurst & Son parks in Yakima received letters from the program staff as well.
The Yakima Herald-Republic obtained a letter sent by MHDRP enforcement attorney Sebastian Miller to a Yakima County resident focused on Hurst & Son's changing lease renewal dates without the tenant's agreement and then increasing the rent on those dates.
Rent can only be increased once a year and must come on the day a lease has renewed with proper advance notice. If a landlord changes that date without the tenant's agreement, they cannot increase rent. That increase would be outside the original rental agreement.
In their email, the state representatives said Hurst & Son may also have overcharged for utilities and rules violations at parks. The email said Hurst & Son had been urged to stop those practices and refund overcharges.
Hurst & Son has agreed to return lease renewal dates to the last agreed upon date, according to the letter from Miller.
Hurst & Son has not been found to have any formal violations, according to the MHDRP program email.
"The investigation remains ongoing and no formal violations have been issued," read the email. "If the program makes formal determinations, Hurst & Son would have the opportunity to appeal.
"Given the number of tenants and the various issues raised in the complaints, this is a complex process that will take time to complete."
