A mobile home park on Tucson's south side will pay $795,000 in civil penalties after the Arizona Attorney General’s office alleged they failed to provide adequate electricity to residents for at least three years.
Kris Mayes
Attorney General Kris Mayes sued Palo Verde Mobile Home Park, near East Alvord Road and South Alvernon Way, last fall. In its initial complaint the office said that problems with the park's electrical system had frequently left residents without air conditioning in triple-digit temperatures since 2023. It also alleged management knew the system was overloaded and outdated, but did not inform residents or get it repaired.
The park and its property management company, Landon Management Services, LLC, were cooperative and acted with urgency, Mayes said in a news release.
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The settlement requires the park to pay tenants $130,000 in restitution and $585,000 to repair and replace the electrical system. The park has already spent at least $300,000 on repairs, according to the news release.
Property owner Jeffrey Landon said in an email the property had started looking at system upgrades before the Attorney General’s lawsuit.
“When Palo Verde Mobile Home Park was built 50 years ago, homes were cooled primarily with swamp coolers, which require significantly less electricity than the air conditioning systems in widespread use today. As temperatures in the region have risen and tenants have increasingly installed window units, mini-split systems, and other modern AC equipment, the park's electrical infrastructure, designed for a different era of cooling demand, has struggled to keep pace.”
Landon said they plan to upgrade the property in two phases. Half the residents will be transitioning to electrical service through Tucson Electric Power to remove strain on the park’s internal grid. The existing infrastructure will be fully rebuilt and reconfigured for 30 residents, which will increase capacity per household, he said.
Management must also start a 24/7 maintenance request number and cannot raise the existing rent for at least two years.
“We remain committed to ensuring all residents of Palo Verde Mobile Home Park have access to safe, reliable electrical service, and will continue to provide updates as this work progresses,” Landon said.
Mayes’ office wrote current residents would be receiving a postcard in the mail informing them they are eligible for restitution money, and how to claim it.
