Tenants in California Mobile Harm Parks Grapple with Rent Hikes and Evictions

Here are the morning’s top stories on Thursday, April 23, 2026

• Two of the nation’s largest energy companies say they’re moving forward with a planned pipeline to move fuel from the Gulf Coast and the Midwest to California. 
• An Oakland jury has awarded a historic $16 million verdict to a man abused by a Catholic priest in the Bay Area as a child.
• For many Californians, mobile home parks are one of the last affordable paths to homeownership. But some corporate investors are seeking to maximize profit, leaving homeowners vulnerable. 

Plans for Major Fuel Pipeline Project Move Forward

Phillips 66 and Kinder Morgan say they’re moving ahead with the Western Gateway Pipeline project. It would move fuel from refineries in the Gulf Coast and Midwest to California, where two refineries announced plans to close in the last year.

“It will be helpful in keeping gas prices down, but on the other hand it is essentially a bet that California won’t get off gasoline anytime soon,” said Severin Borenstein, faculty director of the Energy Institute at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. 

The system is expected to be in service by mid 2029. 

Jury Awards $16 Million to Man Abused by East Bay Priest as a Child

An Alameda County jury on Wednesday awarded $16 million in damages to a man who was sexually abused by his priest more than 50 years ago when he was a child, setting what will likely be a precedent used in hundreds of similar claims.

The verdict is believed to be California’s first in a Catholic clergy abuse case since a change in state law led to a flood of litigation in 2019. It is expected to have far-reaching consequences for the hundreds of cases against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland that have been tied up in bankruptcy proceedings for years.

‘They’re Bleeding Us Dry’: Rent Hikes, Evictions in California Mobile Home Parks

When Clara Faria read her rent statement, her heart stopped. Her monthly payment would more than triple, rising from $297 per month to $995. She had four days to make the payment or be charged a $50 late fee.

“I thought ‘I don’t have the money,’” Faria said of the statement, issued on Dec. 31, 2024, and due by Jan. 5, 2025. “I figured by the end of the year, I’m going to be homeless.”

Faria, 91, lives alone on a fixed income in a one-bedroom manufactured home at the Willow Mobile Home Park in the East Bay town of San Pablo. Old family photos, crucifixes and saints adorn her living room walls. An oversized photo of an American flag peaks out from the hallway, declaring, “The lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts him, and I am helped.”

Faria’s experience is part of a growing pattern across California, where mobile home residents — many of whom own their homes but rent the land beneath them — are increasingly vulnerable to steep and repeated rent hikes. Harmony Communities, which manages her park in San Pablo, has faced criticism from residents, advocates and local officials for aggressive rent increases and opaque ownership structures.