Six years into living at the Lafayette Place manufactured housing community in Warren, Albert Speier thought he knew what to expect from his monthly water bill. In April, it came in at around $41. In May, it landed at $581.26, and he says park management is now threatening to evict him if he does not pay up.
With help from tenant organizers, Speier says he scraped together half of the disputed amount, but he still has no clear explanation for how his bill suddenly ballooned.
Speier told reporters that managers blamed a leak but did not show him where one existed. He also said the amount charged would have required faucets or spigots running "24/7" for the entire month, which he insists did not happen. As reported by ClickOnDetroit, he said the sudden charge left him scrambling financially and that Local 4 reached out to Sun Communities on July 9 but received no response.
Speier also told the station he has not yet received his June or July water statements, and that a follow-up letter from the community demanded payment of the disputed bill or eviction.
Complaints at other parks point to a pattern
Speier’s case is not the only water-billing headache surfacing in metro Detroit’s manufactured-home parks. Local reporting shows similar disputes popping up in other communities.
In Auburn Hills, residents say they were hit with a community water charge that topped $10,000 in a single month and that the extra cost was divided among tenants. One resident told ClickOnDetroit, "They don't want to fix it; they just say, 'not our problem, pass it on to the consumer.'"
Those stories, along with others from around the region, have helped spur tenants’ unions to push park owners for clearer accounting and to fix leaks rather than pass those costs straight to renters.
Park ownership and the response
Lafayette Place is listed on Sun Communities, a company that manages hundreds of manufactured-home parks across the country.
Reporters for the local station that first covered Speier’s case say they contacted Sun Communities on July 9 and had still not heard back. Residents at Lafayette Place say that before any eviction or collection efforts move ahead, they want a detailed accounting from the owner that shows where the extra water use supposedly occurred.
Where to look for help
The City of Warren operates a Water Residential Assistance Program (WRAP) that, according to the city’s water page, can provide eligible households with up to $1,500 a year for arrearage assistance and minor plumbing repairs.
Statewide nonprofits and local agencies also run water-affordability programs and grant funds, and Bridge Michigan has recently reported on organizations that administer those grants. Tenants who are disputing water bills are advised to document meter readings and past payments, save all correspondence, and contact tenant organizers or legal aid while they pursue an adjustment.
What's next
Speier says he would accept a credit if the park adjusts his account, but until that happens, he remains worried about being forced to move over a bill he believes is wrong.
With local reporting and tenant organizing ramping up, residents across manufactured-home parks in the area say they are closely watching to see whether park owners change their billing practices or refund disputed water charges.
