BRADENTON BEACH, Fla. — The closure of mobile home parks is not just a shift for residents; it’s a dismantling of entire communities. With the recent closure of the Pines Trailer Park, 83 families are facing a harsh reality. Following the devastation of hurricanes Helene and Milton, they are now contending with eviction notices as new legal battles emerge.
What You Need To Know
- Residents at Pines Trailer Park, still recovering from hurricanes Helene and Milton, are receiving eviction notices as the park faces closure.
- The park’s owner is moving forward with plans to permanently shut it down, leaving residents like Jason Woodall in search of new housing.
- The Eviction Lab reported that nearly 60,000 eviction cases were filed in Florida from 2012 to 2022, with significant numbers in Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Orange counties.
- The Pines Trailer Park Homeowners’ Association has initiated a lawsuit against the park’s owner to halt the eviction process.
Jason Woodall, a resident who just moved in before the last hurricane season, expressed his frustration: “It’s personal. This is our life.” Many tenants believed their rental agreements would allow them to remain for at least five years, a promise that unraveled after the storms.
Jacob Haas, a Senior Research Specialist at The Eviction Lab, noted the compounding effects of hurricanes on mobile home parks: “The harms from (storms) can really be exacerbated by a park being sold and all of the residents of the park being mass evicted.”
The Eviction Lab’s report on mobile home park evictions highlights the alarming trend of displacements across Florida, emphasizing that eviction timelines for mobile home renters are often shorter and more financially punitive compared to traditional tenants. “Often, sometimes through no fault of their own, those seniors are evicted and lose tens of thousands of dollars if they own their own home,” Haas added.
In response, Woodall and the homeowners’ association are taking legal action against Pines Trailer Park LLC to postpone the park’s closure and the resulting evictions. “We are not going anywhere. My rent is in escrow, and I have been paying in good faith,” he declared. With an eviction date looming on July 31, Woodall remains resolved to protect his investment and secure more time for himself and his neighbors.
Article original publish date: 2025-06-16 03:19:00
Article source: www.baynews9.com
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