Residents of the Golden Meadows Trailer Park in Billings are organizing a tenant union in response to sharp rent increases that some say are forcing them to choose between basic necessities.Watch more below: Billings trailer pa rk tenants form group to rally against rising lot rentJordan Lawrence has lived at Golden Meadows for 25 years alongside his grandmother. He says the rent hikes have become overwhelming."One month, you're paying like 600, something like that, and next thing you know, you're almost at 700, 800, and one jump. That's a lot for people to have to deal with." Many residents at the park are on fixed incomes, making those increases especially difficult to absorb."98% I'd say of what... the people I've spoken to are on a fixed income and it's all they have," tenant Lisa Peterson said.Residents gathered at Mayflower Church on Friday evening to discuss next steps and formalize their union. Emily Lashelle, organizing director of Bozeman Tenants United, attended the meeting and helped frame the stakes."The rent's too damn high. And nobody's coming to save us. And the power that we have is in our numbers," Lashelle said.Bozeman Tenants United advocates for tenant rights across Montana. Lashelle said a win at Golden Meadows could have statewide implications."When tenants here at Golden Meadows win their fight, it's going to impact every tenant across the state who actually now knows they don't have to take poor treatment and rent. That is way too much of their income," Lashelle said. In Montana, campaigns by Bozeman Tenants United at mobile home parks have reached their threshold by gathering between 51% and 61% of resident signatures to establish recognized majority unions. State and local laws don't set a single number for required signatures, but a functional union needs a clear majority of occupied units within a park to show a collective power.Once there is a majority, organizers advise publicly announcing the union. Residents can then request formal recognition, including a sit-down meeting to negotiate lease terms or property improvements. If the landlord refuses to engage, it's suggested to coordinate rallies or reaching out to regional housing advocates and media to escalate pressure on landlords.Another resident described the emotional toll of the situation."There's no amount of words that can express the frustration that happens from it because you just feel stuck," Kytlun Iversen said.While some rent increases have gone toward amenities like a new playground and a dog park at Golden Meadows, residents say more pressing needs are going unmet. Tenants report going without water for weeks at a time during summer and say roads that were promised to be paved remain gravel."We're at least supposed to have water to water our yards and we don't have that the majority of the time either," Iversen said. Lawrence said the disparity in conditions across the park is hard to ignore."If you give someone 10 lots and there's one with the nice green grass versus...one with sage field... I know which one I would choose," Lawrence said.One resident said the community's priorities are clear."They're the investor, but we are the community," Peterson said. Despite the challenges, residents say they are optimistic about what organizing can accomplish."I do believe it'll work. It's worked in some other cities here in Montana. I believe we're going to be one of them," the resident said.Lashelle said the stakes could not be higher."It's life and death. Yeah, people losing their homes is a life and death issue," Lashelle said.Previous attempts to reach Hillside Communities, which owns Golden Meadows, were unsuccessful.Related: Billings mobile home residents alarmed by sharp lot rent increase at Golden MeadowsRelated: Billings mobile home owners rally, organize after steep rent hike ...read more read less