Darrell Keighley and other residents of mobile homes in town will ask Town Meeting to establish rent control regulations for mobile home parks -- but they won't have Selectmen's support.

In reviewing warrant articles for the upcoming Oct. 26 Town Meeting, Selectmen heard Keighley's argument for rent control but unanimously agreed to recommend a vote of "further study," which is effectively a "no" vote.

Board members pointed out that the establishment of rent control cannot be done solely at the town level and would require a petition to the state Legislature

Keighley, a resident of Great Hill Estates in West Wareham, explained that, while mobile home residents generally own the mobile homes, they pay rent to a park owner on the land on which the homes sit.

“We are home-owners, but the position we find ourselves in is that we don't own the land the homes are situated on. There is currently no protection for us to prevent increases in rental costs of that land that are not justified,” said Keighley, “We have no recourse if a landowner decides to raise the rent at any whim he feels like, without anyone overseeing that, and stopping them, preventing them, which would thusly force us out of our homes.”

Keighley told the board that 24 cities and towns in Massachusetts have rent control regulation for mobile homes, noting that Wareham has many more mobile homes than the other towns on his list.

Selectman Peter Teitelbaum responded that state law requires any rent control be dealt with as a petition to the state Legislature, and that an accompanying bylaw would be necessary to codify the

“In its present form, I think the only way Town Meeting can really take this is as a resolution that rent control is needed.” he said.

Following the meeting, Keighley shared a data showing that rent for the monthly rent for his Great Hill Estates lot was $287 in 2002 and is now $435.

“Most particularly this is an issue for seniors,” he said. “We have a Social Security increase. Most of that is negated by the rent increase, so we end up losing.”