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.

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.

Neighbors say they were under the understanding their rental agreement would enable them to stay for at least five years — a promise that fell through after Helene and Milton.

Jacob Haas, Senior Research Specialist with The Eviction Lab, explained, “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 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. Haas also notes eviction timelines for mobile home renters are typically shorter — and more expensive — than for 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 said.

Woodall, together with the homeowners’ association, is filing a lawsuit against Pines Trailer Park LLC in an attempt to delay the park’s closure and the subsequent evictions. “We are not going anywhere. My rent is in escrow, and I have been paying in good faith.”

With a tentative eviction date set for July 31, Woodall stands firm and is determined to protect his investment and find additional time to make other accommodations.