On what tenant representatives described as one of the coldest days of April so far, residents of two mobile home parks in the Missoula area sat down with the parks’ landlord for lease negotiations in person, after rent increases and other issues spurred organizing. The Missoula Tenants Union said the meeting brought the first tenants’ union in Montana into negotiations with its landlord and followed weeks of virtual talks that began in January.
Representatives from Oak Wood Ventures, which bought the parks in 2023, met with residents of Travois Village in Missoula and Harvey’s mobile home park in Bonner. The meeting included company leaders, and tenant representatives said residents gathered to hear updates after the negotiations at Travois Village.
Erik Brilz, a Travois Village resident who is part of the bargaining team, told fellow residents that the negotiation was “intense” and lasted more than an hour and a half. Brilz said Oak Wood representatives agreed to several conditions during the in-person session, including a commitment to a negotiated lease and an option for two-year leases. He also said Oak Wood pledged to push internally for a 3% cap on future rent increases.
Brilz said the bargaining team secured additional terms during the meeting, including recognition of the unions and an agreement that Oak Wood would not retaliate against the tenants’ organizing or individual residents. He also said the company agreed to change its payment system to reduce what he described as “convenience fees,” and that Oak Wood’s general counsel and vice president committed to advocating for the 3% cap for two years. Brilz further said the parties discussed including non-metered utilities—such as water and sewer—in the rent.
Beyond lease language, tenant representatives tied the fight to concrete changes in rent levels after Oak Wood purchased the parks. After the company bought the properties in 2023, tenant representatives said Oak Wood raised lot rents by $200 in 2024 for lots under tenants’ homes, and proposed a $150 increase for 2025 before lowering it to $50 after pushback. Brilz said Travois Village residents currently pay $695 per month in lot rent, while Harvey’s residents pay $670.
The organizing effort began with the Missoula Tenants Union’s work to form a tenants union for the 273-home Travois Village park and, later, to help residents in Harvey’s mobile home park unionize in Bonner, which has 39 homes. The two parks then formed a joint bargaining team and met virtually with Oak Wood representatives starting in January, according to the tenant representatives.
After the April negotiations, Brilz told residents the discussion would continue through May, with a goal of reaching a finalized lease agreement by June 1. He said the bargaining committee is seeking longer-term stability and emphasized the negotiations were not the end of the effort, adding that tenants would keep pushing while the final decisions require approval beyond the representatives who attended.
Oak Wood’s general counsel, Conrad Morrison, told Montana Free Press in an April interview that the management team wants to provide stability and support for a long-term community at the parks. Morrison also said the company does not want to have continuous negotiations every nine months and supports longer lease terms to increase stability for both the company and residents, while describing infrastructure investments after a purchase and saying he had appreciated meeting residents face-to-face.
Harvey’s park resident Shawn Belobraidic, also on the bargaining committee, said he was encouraged by the potential sale of Harvey’s park to the residents and said tenants can continue pushing for “clear communication” with management until that ownership model is achieved. Belobraidic said the bargaining team was satisfied with the agreements reached so far but said the process was still ongoing.
Local elected officials also played a role in pressing for the negotiations to move forward, tenant representatives said. Brilz said multiple local lawmakers and county commissioners met with Oak Wood representatives before the bargaining meeting, and he pointed to letters sent after a rent increase last summer that urged the company to keep rent affordable. Republican and Democratic officials were among those who attended, including Rep. Jonathan Karlen, a Missoula-area Democrat whose district includes Travois Village, who said residents had told him they felt hopeless after other mobile home parks in his district were sold to out-of-state landlords. Karlen said the unions’ accomplishments showed that residents could organize to make a difference.
After the Thursday meeting, Brilz said tenants could expect more predictability in rent increases going forward and said the goal was to avoid larger “shocks” in future lot rent changes. He said the bargaining team planned to keep negotiating with Oak Wood through May, as the parties worked toward a finalized lease agreement by June 1.