Key Takeaways
- • Brookfield Asset Management disclosed on an earnings call that it deployed its first investment to purchase YES! Communities, one of the largest U.S. manufactured housing owners, with over 80,000 home sites in 23 states, including 21,574 in Michigan.
- • The acquisition makes Brookfield Michigan's third-largest landlord, according to the commentary, with more than one in four manufactured homes in Michigan owned by private equity firms as of January 2026.
- • The federal ROAD to Housing Act targets corporate landlords in the single-family market but largely overlooks manufactured housing residents, leaving a regulatory gap.
- • The Michigan House is considering bipartisan bills that would limit excessive fees and utility billing, create an ownership database, tighten licensing enforcement, and expand resident opportunities to buy parks that go up for sale.
- • The author, a commentator who studies private equity's impact in Michigan, argues lawmakers should act before further consolidation, citing resident complaints about lot rent increases, neglected maintenance, and water problems at PE-owned communities.
Summary
A Canadian private equity firm, Brookfield Asset Management, became Michigan's third-largest landlord this past summer, according to a commentary published in the Michigan Advance. Brookfield disclosed the deal on an earnings call: its first investment was the purchase of YES! Communities, which owns more than 80,000 manufactured housing home sites across 23 states, including 21,574 in Michigan. The commentary argues the acquisition illustrates how quickly a single investment firm can expand control over the state's housing market with little input from residents.
The author notes that the recently passed federal ROAD to Housing Act seeks to curb corporate landlords in the single-family housing market but does not adequately address manufactured housing residents. The author cites data showing Michigan has one of the highest concentrations of private equity-owned manufactured housing in the country, with more than one in four manufactured homes owned by PE firms as of January 2026. Because most manufactured home residents own their homes but rent the land beneath them, rising lot rent and fees leave homeowners with limited options when conditions deteriorate.
The commentary catalogs prior disputes involving corporate owners. Brookfield properties elsewhere have faced complaints over maintenance, junk fees, and utility overbilling, including in Washington, DC, Madrid, New York City, and San Francisco. In Michigan, the piece cites residents of TIR Equities-owned Kristana Estates in DeWitt Township, who were given three days to move out in early 2025, and residents of Landmark Estates in Warren, owned by Open Door Capital, who reported unanswered complaints about sewage and pests in 2022. It also references a $10,000 collective water bill at Kingsley Management-owned Oakland Estates in Auburn Hills, and a criminal conviction of Alden Global Capital affiliate Homes of America for operating a Thetford Township community without a license under the Mobile Home Commission Act.
The commentary calls on the Michigan legislature to pass the pending bipartisan bills, which would limit excessive fees and utility billing, create an ownership database, enforce licensing more strictly, and expand resident purchase opportunities. The author argues that manufactured housing is a key source of unsubsidized affordable housing and that residents of YES! Communities should not have to wait for Brookfield to address longstanding issues voluntarily.
The author notes that the recently passed federal ROAD to Housing Act seeks to curb corporate landlords in the single-family housing market but does not adequately address manufactured housing residents. The author cites data showing Michigan has one of the highest concentrations of private equity-owned manufactured housing in the country, with more than one in four manufactured homes owned by PE firms as of January 2026. Because most manufactured home residents own their homes but rent the land beneath them, rising lot rent and fees leave homeowners with limited options when conditions deteriorate.
The commentary catalogs prior disputes involving corporate owners. Brookfield properties elsewhere have faced complaints over maintenance, junk fees, and utility overbilling, including in Washington, DC, Madrid, New York City, and San Francisco. In Michigan, the piece cites residents of TIR Equities-owned Kristana Estates in DeWitt Township, who were given three days to move out in early 2025, and residents of Landmark Estates in Warren, owned by Open Door Capital, who reported unanswered complaints about sewage and pests in 2022. It also references a $10,000 collective water bill at Kingsley Management-owned Oakland Estates in Auburn Hills, and a criminal conviction of Alden Global Capital affiliate Homes of America for operating a Thetford Township community without a license under the Mobile Home Commission Act.
The commentary calls on the Michigan legislature to pass the pending bipartisan bills, which would limit excessive fees and utility billing, create an ownership database, enforce licensing more strictly, and expand resident purchase opportunities. The author argues that manufactured housing is a key source of unsubsidized affordable housing and that residents of YES! Communities should not have to wait for Brookfield to address longstanding issues voluntarily.
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