For decades the answer to inexpensive, safe housing for older retired Floridians was found in mobile home communities. Yet with Florida’s growth and an increasing and longer-living senior population, for many, that once sure answer is wrong.
The increase in investor-owned parks, parks purchased by condo developers and frequent natural disasters puts low-income and elderly Floridians who live in mobile home communities at risk of homelessness.
Drucilla M. Neeley, 72, is fortunate to still be able to work as a certified nursing assistant, she said. If not, she’s not sure how she could pay her bills and keep up with the lot rental on her mobile home in Marion County.
After Hurricane Ian struck in 2022, Neeley was forced to move from her flooded rental unit in a Lee County apartment building. Looking to reduce expenses and provide financial security, Neeley purchased a mobile home for $22,000 at Cliftwood Mobile Home Park. That same year, according to property appraiser records, Cliftwood was sold to Cobblestone, a private equity real estate firm that acquires and operates mobile home and RV communities.
Neeley’s monthly lot rent payment in 2023 was $550. Starting in September, it will be $715 – up 30 percent. The life expectancy for a woman Neeley’s age is 88 years. If costs increase at this rate, Neeley may have to work the rest of her life to stay in her home.
And that’s if her home is still standing.
Hurricanes & Investors
Peter Dennis, a Lee County attorney representing elderly and low-income residents in housing litigation, is not a fan of mobile homes. Yet he acknowledged the benefits — safe communities, social opportunities, and proximity to health centers — that many of Florida’s 4,588 licensed mobile home and travel park communities provide.
Dennis said that after the spate of hurricanes over the last few years, developers and real estate investors have purchased mobile home and RV parks, evicting residents and clearing the land for condo or housing developments, or jacking up rents.
The traditional mobile home living is no longer sustainable for lower income and lower middle class senior citizens retiring to Florida, Dennis concluded.
“The whole premise was they could move here and live on their Social Security with no big investment,” Dennis said. “You could find a 1972 mobile home for $5,000 and pay lot rent, which used to be affordable, but now is not. ”
And with the increasing frequency of hurricanes, “these older people are hostages to whatever happens,” he said. “It’s a horrible situation.” With limited resources and their retirement ruined, “what I believe, anecdotally,” Dennis said, “is they’re moving back up north to live with family.”
Leaving Florida
Dennis’ belief is Vandy Major’s story.
Major moved from Ohio to Southwest Florida in 2004, “with a paid-off truck, a paid-off camper and a nest egg of more than $100,000,” she said. In her early 50s, she still wanted to work part-time as a photographer. She landed a spot for her camper at the Red Coconut, an iconic mobile home and RV park on Fort Myers Beach in Lee County.
Major was making about $30,000 a year with her freelance photography which covered the lot rental and living expenses. Then COVID hit, and Major’s photography business was nearly nonexistent. But just as the epidemic began to wane, Hurricane Ian destroyed Red Coconut, Major’s trailer and most of her belongings.
Major said she became a “refugee,” bunking with a friend in Bradenton — about 100 miles from where her demolished home used to be. She was able to purchase a Winnebago with money from FEMA, but finding “a nice place” in Florida was running about $1,500 a month, a huge chunk of her monthly Social Security.
So Major went to Washington State, where her son lives. She lives year-round in the Winnebago in a residential neighborhood, sharing the lot with a traditional home.
What Major would have liked to do is park her Winnebago at Red Coconut where she had lived for nearly 20 years. But that wasn’t an option.
The land had been sold to a developer.
State Help
While unable to control climate change, Florida lawmakers stepped in this year to help mobile home owners. Senate Bill 594, repeals the 20% cap on using State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) funds for mobile home purchases and also allows SHIP money for up to six months of lot rental assistance for mobile home owners.
Gov. Ron Desantis signed the bill which goes into effect today, July 1.
According to the Florida Housing Coalition, the law requires SHIP programs to develop a strategy for assistance to mobile home park residents who need affordable housing when a park closes.
The problem is there is no requirement programs for lot assistance or displacement of seniors whose parks are sold to developers be funded.
The Florida Mobile Home Relocation Corporation provides assistance to mobile home residents who need to move when a park is sold and the land use changes. The money comes from the Florida Mobile Home Relocation Trust Fund. If a park is sold and the new owner wants to put up a condo or retail for example, the mobile home owner can apply to the FMHRC for assistance, but must meet certain requirements:
- The park must be registered with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
- They must own the home and not have liens.
- The homeowner can’t be suing the land owner for the change in land use.
- They cannot have received compensation from the park owner for relocating to another park or space.
- The homeowner can’t have a legal action against them for non-payment of rent or be under an eviction notice issued prior to the change in land use.
Mobile home owners who qualify can receive $3,000 to $6,000 for moving costs. A bill to increase that amount to $6,500 to $11,000 died in the most recent legislative session.
Resident Owners
One group of mobile home park residents who don’t have to worry about lot rental increases or a park owner who wants to retire and sell, are those who own their parks in a co-op. Much like other home owners in Florida, they pay a homeowner’s association fee for taxes and shared amenities but are responsible for their own home maintenance and some utilities while owning a share of the land.
Jane Cook lives in a co-op mobile home park in Gulfport in Pinellas County. The age 55-and-over park has a pool, shuffleboard courts, hot tub and club house. She pays a monthly homeowner fee that was $125 when she moved in 13 years ago. It’s now $240 and will likely increase in September, Cook said, but she doesn’t know by how much.
Most of the homes are occupied by snowbirds, Cook said. She is one of about 35 to 40 residents out of 155 homes who live in the community year-round, she said.
A developer has been “sniffing around,” Cook said, but “everyone has to agree” to sell the park. Cook said that won’t happen. No matter how much they’re offered, she said, “There’s not enough money. I’m fine here.”
And despite the rising lot rental rates, hurricanes and shuttered parks, John Ricco, CEO of the Florida Manufactured Housing Association, doesn’t see mobile homes or mobile home parks going away. “Mobile homes always have been and will continue to be an affordable option,” Ricco said.
About the Author: Melanie Payne is an award-winning journalist based in Florida. She has worked for the Akron Beacon Journal, Sacramento Bee, Gannett and ABC Action News in Tampa. The Florida Trident is an investigative news outlet focusing on government accountability and transparency across Florida. The Trident was created and first published in 2022 by the Florida Center for Government Accountability, a non-profit organization that facilitates local investigative reporting across the state.
