BRADENTON BEACH, Fla. — Mobile home park closures aren’t just displacing people — they’re erasing entire communities.
According to The Eviction Lab, each park’s closure further decreases the already scarce supply of affordable housing. Now, 83 families at Pines Trailer Park are experiencing that reality. Still reeling from the aftermath of back-to-back hurricanes Helene and Milton, they’re now battling a new storm — a legal one — as eviction notices appear on their doors.
What You Need To Know
- Still reeling from the aftermath of back-to-back hurricanes Helene and Milton, Pines Trailer Park residents are now battling a new storm — a legal one — as eviction notices appear on their doors
- The park’s owner is proceeding with plans to close the park for good, forcing many tenants to find new accommodations
- The Eviction Lab published a report reflecting on a decade of mobile home park evictions in Florida. Between 2012 and 2022, park owners in Florida filed nearly 60,000 eviction cases — 10,000 in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, with Orange County adding 3,000 more
- The Pines Trailer Park Homeowners’ Association has filed a lawsuit against Pines Trailer Park LLC in an attempt to delay the park’s closure and the subsequent evictions
The park’s owner is proceeding with plans to close the park for good, forcing many tenants, including Jason Woodall, to find new accommodations. Woodall, who just moved in before the last hurricane season, said this feels profoundly unfair. “It’s personal. This is our life,” he said…