Residents of the Silver Court Trailer Park in Miami are hoping a promised meeting with the property owner will provide more time to save their homes before a redevelopment project moves forward.
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A handful of residents gathered at Miami City Hall on Thursday seeking assistance as they face a Sept. 30 deadline to vacate the property.
Trailer owners received notices in March that there is a new plan for the property and everybody has to leave.
Silver Court homeowners, many of whom have lived in the Little Havana community for decades, say they are determined to remain in their homes and continue fighting against the park’s closure in court.
“I invested lots of money in my trailer,” said one resident. “It’s a home, it’s a house.”
Joseph Madera, president of the homeowner’s association, said approximately 33 of the park’s 200 trailer owners remain on the property.
He said residents believe they have legal protections under a Florida Statute which governs mobile home parks.
“We know we don’t own the land, but according to Florida Statute 723, we have rights, which in other landlord-tenant situations, they do not have those rights,” Madera said.
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The property owner, based in California, notified residents in March of plans for the roughly 10-acre site near Southwest Eighth Street and Southwest 32nd Avenue.
Residents were offered relocation payments ranging from about $10,000 to $13,000 if they moved out by the end of May. The offers decreased over time for those who remained.
Miami Commissioner Ralph Rosado told residents Thursday that additional discussions with the property owner are being arranged.
“We are going to be bringing the developers who live across the country to the table to meet with you all as well within the next few weeks,” Rosado said. “They have agreed to that, we are locking in a date, we want them to hear from you personally, but as I sit here, no one in Silver Court will end up homeless.”
An attorney representing the property owner defended the relocation efforts in a statement, saying, “Almost 85% of tenants have moved out voluntarily with the generous cash payments and relocation assistance provided by the owner. The remaining tenants are delaying to their own detriment.”
The dispute highlights a common issue faced by residents of mobile home parks, where homeowners own their structures but not the land underneath them.
The ongoing court case could determine what happens next for the remaining residents, who continue to seek more time as redevelopment plans move forward. For now, the deadline for all residents to leave the property remains Sept. 30.
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