Residents of Olympic Village Brace for Controversial Rent Hike Amid Uncertain Future
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Residents of the Olympic Village Mobile Home Park may soon be facing a substantial rent increase. Photo by Scott France [/caption]
News by Scott France
The owner of the Olympic Village mobile home park near Four Corners has reiterated to Olympic Village tenants that he intends to raise lot fees at a much higher rate than the newly passed Washington state legislation allows. Don Tucker, the owner of the Olympic Village, sent a letter to all the lot renters dated May 24, 2025, stating that the monthly rent for the space on which mobile homes sit would be raised from $590 to $790.
”It was really a punch to the stomach,” Olympic Village resident Leigh Christiansen said.
The legal ground on which Tucker is asserting his right to demand increased rent appears uncertain. He filed a legal notice of the rent increase in August 2024, according to Sam Wilton, Chief Financial Officer of Park Manager, LLC, which owns Olympic Village. The effective implementation date was set for June 1, 2025. Then, Governor Ferguson signed the rental cap bill into law on May 7, effective on that date. The law, House Bill 1217, caps residential rent hikes during a 12-month period at 7% plus inflation, or 10%, whichever is lower. The limit will last 15 years. The bill also restricts manufactured home rent increases to 5% with no expiration date.
“I’m confident that this legislation is going to work for everybody in our state,” Ferguson said at the bill-signing. “Too many folks are getting priced out, and we can’t have that, right? That’s not an option.”
In a letter that Wilton sent to Olympic Village renters on May 24, she asserted that the rent increase to $790 may be legally implemented, but that Park Manager, LLC would apply an increase of just 5% on June 1 or $619 per month instead of the intended $790, pending, as the letter states that “the issue will most likely be litigated by other communities, and it is anticipated that at some point in the future a Court opinion will be issued, or an Attorney General opinion given.”
Wilton said that the Washington State Attorney General’s office is working on an advisory note for landlords that should settle the issue.
The uncertainty and concerns that the large rent increase has caused in many, if not all, of the residents of Olympic Village during the past 10 months have been compounded by pending negotiations over the sale of the property.
“We all feel like we are pawns in a game”
— Leigh Christiansen, Olympic Village resident
Due to the inherently sensitive nature of sizable commercial real estate transactions, the seller and potential buyers were careful about divulging information about their intentions, negotiations, and the sales process.
The Beacon has learned that two nonprofit organizations have been in earnest discussions with the seller for more than 18 months, according to Victoria O’Banion, Marketing and Acquisitions Specialist of Olympia-based ROC Northwest, one of the two organizations. ROC Northwest is focused on building affordable housing through cooperative ownership in Washington and Northern Idaho. The other organization, Jefferson County-based Bayside Housing, provides safe, stable housing for people, most of whom would otherwise be homeless.
“We all feel like we are pawns in a game,” Christianson said, referring to both the rent increase and the long sales transaction process, and confusing rumors that have spun from it.
Wilton acknowledges the frustration. “I understand the tenants are in limbo, all parties are in limbo,” she said. “When there is a large commercial transaction, the waiting period can be quite long due to many elements, including the funding issues of the nonprofits. I am trying to keep the tenants informed.”
Bayside Housing Executive Director Gary Keister told The Beacon that he prefers not to comment on any negotiations for Olympic Village. The Beacon has learned that Washington Substitute Senate Bill 5195, effective on May 25, 2025, states that, “$2,500,000 of the state taxable building construction account state appropriation is provided solely for the Bayside Housing project.”
O’Banion stated that Park Manager, LLC has ceased communications with ROC Northwest, and Wilton said he is still negotiating with a nonprofit, making it likely that the “Bayside Housing project” may be Olympic Village.
For now, uncertainty continues. The events of the past year have been concerning and confusing for Olympic Village residents. “We just want to be able to breathe,” Christianson said.
But the Olympic Village residents have protection that the vast majority of renters in the county do not, according to Viki Sonntag, a member of the Port Townsend Planning Commission and a long-time affordable housing advocate. “All renters need better access to legal protections, but mobile homeowners have a direct line to the Attorney General’s office,” Sontag said, through the Washington Association of Manufactured Home Owners.
