Trailer trash no more: mobile homes are affordable housing

"Trailers haul beer. Manufactured homes provide housing for people." 

That's the first thing Al Kemp wants to clear up when talking about manufactured, or mobile, homes. They're not trailers. And since people generally don't move them, they're not really mobile either. 

What they are, says Kemp, is a solution to affordable housing. 

Kemp, the Executive Director of the Manufactured Home Park Owners Alliance of British Columbia, wants both the public, and municipal politicians, to get past the bad reputation and see that.  

"Quite frankly," he tells The 180's Jim Brown, "Trailer Park Boys did a lot of damage to our industry. Because those who thought trailer parks were full of trailer park trash, had it confirmed by them."

Kemp says there can of course be bad apples in mobile home communities just like there are in apartment buildings, or residential neighbourhoods. But for the most part, they are real communities with safe homes, green space, and friendly neighbours. 

Trailer Park Boys did a lot of damage to our industry. Because those who thought trailer parks were full of trailer park trash, had it confirmed by them.- Al Kemp, Manufactured Home Park Owners Alliance of B.C.

According to Kemp, building standards ensure manufactured homes are stable, and he argues the prices are more affordable than most other housing options. On average, Kemp says you can find an existing manufactured home in a nice community for 50- to 100-thousand dollars, plus pad (land) rent of 350 to 500 dollars a month. 

It's a better option for a young couple than a condo, he says. 

But there is another problem beyond just reputation: availability. 

Mobile homes are not a priority for development, and Kemp says that's partly because many municipal governments have the same "trailer trash" stereotypes in mind. He says that translates into new parks not being built, and existing ones being pushed aside for the development of something else, like condos.

"I can remember talking to the mayor from a small town in northern B.C. at a convention...and I asked him: 'How many manufactured home communities in your town?' And his answer was, 'There's three,and I'd like to get rid of all four.' That's pretty hard to overcome."

But Kemp is hopeful. 

"The opportunity for developing manufactured home communities is incredible. The average vacancy rate in a manufactured home community in British Columbia today is one half of one site, in other words one site in every two parks. People want to live there." 

So he'll keep talking to local governments in B.C., and he hopes he can convince them to factor in mobile homes as part of future affordable housing strategies.