Katuna Lodges residents launch tenants union, say rent hikes under new owner threaten seniors

Katuna Lodges residents on Monday announced the launch of a super‑majority tenants union and demanded negotiations with their new owners after two recent lot‑rent increases that residents said have strained fixed‑income households.

Hannah, a member of the Missoula Tenants Union Citywide who helped organize the event, said, "So, when I say that Axia has raised rent at Katuna by $200 in just one year, and that's not right." The launch was recorded by Missoula Community Access Television (MCAT) to share testimonials with housebound neighbors, organizers said.

The union's elected bargaining team members described what they said was a pattern of broken promises by the owners identified in the transcript as Axia Realy. "In January 2025, we were notified our community had sold to a Dallas, Texas investment group, Axia Realy," said Vicky Reynolds, an elected member of Katuna's bargaining team, who told the meeting residents were promised an in‑person meeting that never happened. "It is now May 2026, over a year later, and we have yet had an opportunity for all residents to meet the owners."

Residents cited two specific lot‑rent increases: a $100 increase effective April 1, 2025, and another $100 increase that residents said began this month. "We came to Missoula and began paying rent at $500 a month about two years ago and now it is $750 a month," said Richard Joseph Wager, a resident who described multiple serious health issues and said the higher rent has forced him to seek work despite physical limits.

Speakers characterized the increases as predatory and urged collective action rather than asking for government handouts. Lindy Lewis, speaking from a neighborhood perspective, listed organizing demands: longer lease terms to limit surprise hikes, any rent increases tied to cost‑of‑living adjustments, and preservation of safe, clean conditions for the 55+ community. "We just want our dignity," she said.

Several speakers pressed for practical support: one resident urged finding legal counsel to pressure an out‑of‑state owner, and organizers circulated postcards inviting owners named in the transcript (variously spelled in meeting remarks) to attend bargaining sessions. Becky Beamer, another bargaining‑team member, urged members to attend city and county meetings and to participate in training the union plans this summer.

Organizers also cited broader patterns in Montana where investor ownership of manufactured‑home parks is growing; meeting remarks referenced other park purchases, including Mobile City Park in Missoula, and figures voiced by speakers about private equity holdings in the state. Those figures were stated by residents during the event and are not independently verified in the meeting record.

The event closed with a call to sign postcards, join the Missoula Tenants Union, and continue collective organizing. Organizers said MCAT will post the recording for neighbors unable to attend so they can hear resident testimonials and learn how to participate.

Next steps announced at the event include formation of a negotiation team, a postcard campaign asking the owners to meet with residents, and a summer training series to build organizing capacity. There was no owner participation or response recorded at the event.