BOZEMAN — Residents of two communities in Bozeman are withholding rent in protest of an eleven percent increase.
This marks the first rent strike in Montana in more than half a century.
King Arthur Park tenant, Debi Rooks said the increase is pushing monthly costs to $947 for King Arthur residents and $967 for Mountain Meadows residents.
“That is a 70 percent increase from when I moved here in 2021,” said Rooks, who is also an elected member of the park’s tenant union bargaining team.
Rooks said she was initially drawn to the community for its welcoming atmosphere. “People were so friendly—they were willing to talk and wave. It reminded me of old-fashioned small-town communities,” she said.
Now, she and others are taking action by withholding rent payments.
WATCH: “One of my neighbors has been on disability for several years,” Rooks explained. “She was making $841 a month while paying $850 in rent last month—she had one dollar to spare."
"Now she doesn’t have $97 more to spend.”
According to a press release from Bozeman Tenants United, King Arthur Park and Mountain Meadows Park together house roughly 30 percent of Bozeman’s mobile home residents.
Benjamin Finegan, director of Bozeman Tenants United, said both communities house some of the last "even semi-affordable" units in the entire Gallatin County.
“Now is the time to fight for the ability to stay in these homes—not just now and for the next few months, but long term and for years to come," he said.
Finegan is a founding member of the citywide tenants union. He said residents across both parks voted Tuesday night to authorize the strike, which officially began May 1.
According to a press release, tenants will collectively withhold more than $52,000 in rent.
“Nobody wants to withhold rent and put themselves at enormous risk,” Finegan said. “But folks are backed into a corner.”
Rooks' said the strike to her is about more than just the increase.
“It’s about the fact that this is the last straw that broke the camel’s back.”
