Wild Meadows in Dover wins rent-increase challenge

A Dover manufactured-home community's recent rent hike of more than 10 percent was ruled unjustified by an arbitrator, who said the neighborhood's landlord showed a "downright troubling" pattern of not taking action when residents reported sinkholes in their yards, cracked pavement and other unsafe conditions.

The arbitrator appointed by the Delaware Manufactured Home Relocation Authority, Ciro Poppiti III, said the December Corporation, which manages the Wild Meadows development, could not raise the monthly lot rent from $437.15 to $482.89 on 185 households who belonged to a homeowners association that challenged the rent hike.

The arbitration to decide the rent was sought by Wild Meadows residents under the terms of a rent justification law that took effect in 2013.

The company had argued its proposed rent increase would cover rehabilitation work that went beyond "ordinary repair, replacement and maintenance." Under the rent justification law, companies can't issue rent hikes beyond a change in a cost-of-living index if the reason is simply to cover regular maintenance costs.

Poppiti, who held a hearing at Wild Meadows in February to hear from residents and the landlord, said the record showed December Corp. ignored emails and letters from homeowners about sinkholes and other problems for years. If the company had done the routine repairs it should have, he wrote, there wouldn't be a need now for major rehabilitation work.

December Corp. is suing in the Court of Chancery, where it's complained the Wild Meadows Home Owners Association lacked standing to invoke the rent justification law's arbitration proceedings at all. That lawsuit is still ongoing, and Poppiti said he declined to hold off on his ruling to wait for its conclusion.

Contact James Fisher at (302) 983-6772, on Twitter @JamesFisherTNJ or jfisher@delawareonline.com.