State Attorney General Matt Denn has announced his office has begun a lawsuit against the owner of three manufactured housing communities in Delaware over allegedly pressuring tenants to relinquish their right to arbitrate proposed rent increases.

The alleged forced rent hikes would be in violation of Delaware's manufactured housing laws, according to a statement from the state Department of Justice.

The suit, filed Nov. 13 in Sussex County Superior Court, alleges that Chicago-based Hometown America Communities issued rent increase notices to tenants at its Barclay Farms, Angola Beach Estates and Rehoboth Bay communities to offset anticipated litigation costs, Denn said. The notices require renters to waive their right to arbitrate the hikes in exchange for a so-called discount on the rent increase.