SUMTER COUNTY, Fla. – A Central Florida family is fighting to hold onto a piece of property that carries decades of history — after Sumter County code enforcement fines were mailed to an outdated address following their grandmother’s death.
Starley Ard says the ordeal started when her grandmother died in 2018. Code enforcement fines accumulated, but notices went to an old address. The family didn’t find out they owed money until 2021 — three years later — when Starley’s father received a pre-foreclosure notice.
“We were stunned. We were really shocked,” Ard said.
A piece of family history on the line
The property is more than land to Ard…