Some RV park renters who were evicted to make way for a nonprofit that helps homeless people find permanent housing have gotten a reprieve — for now.
A letter sent to Green Oak Ranch and Mission indicates that the renters who are still there after the Dec. 1 eviction date and those who have already left are due compensation.
According to the eviction notice, last Sunday was the final opportunity for the residents of Green Oak Ranch RV Park to move out. However, five families remain, saying they had no place else to go but the streets.
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LaRen Reed has lived at the RV park for eight years. She and her family cherish the community for many reasons, including safety.
“Really heartbreaking to see this chapter of our life end so abruptly," Reed said. "We were not aware it was going to happen like this. We thought we were going to have more time."
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Reed and the other remaining tenants may have more time than they thought, though, according to a letter penned by attorneys representing the city of Vista’s Fair Housing provider that was sent to the operators of Green Oak Ranch: “Each notice of termination served on the RV park residents is invalid. Moreover, each party responsible for issuance of those notices may be liable to each terminated tenant for actual damages, reasonable attorney's fees and costs.”
The letter indicates, according to the Tenant Protection Act, that the renters were not given proper notice of their relocation benefit.
“They have a right to one free month of rent or the equivalent for moving expenses,“ Vista mayor John Franklin told NBC 7 on Friday.
According to the letter, tenants who have already moved out are entitled to three times the equivalent of last month's rent.
Franklin said that the tenants who are still on site will have another 60 days to move, starting after the proper termination notices are reissued.
“It wasn’t a matter of intent not to treat them fairly," Franklin said. "It was a matter of an oversight, but we want to make sure their civil rights are upheld."
The RV park was for low-income tenants, who said they each paid about a thousand dollars per month in rent, which included electric service.
Green Oak Ranch has entered into a lease agreement with Solutions for Change for the Ranch. The nonprofit, which helps homeless people find permanent housing, is scheduled to move in Jan. 1.
Green Oak Ranch Ministries' executive director, Hannah Gailey, told NBC 7 on Sunday that it doesn't want to see any of their neighbors become homeless, and they are doing everything they can to make sure that doesn’t happen.
With the holidays at hand, though, words may not be so reassuring. The tenants may, in fact, find the relocation benefit far more satisfying.
The mayor said the city has not received any pushback from Green Oak Ranch or the ministry, nor have residents been forced to vacate.
