‘Fear and panic’: Residents search for new homes after landlord sells trailer park

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Dozens of people living at a Nashville trailer park are being forced to find a new place to live after getting noticed that the landlord is selling the property.

In a letter from a local law firm to tenants at the Murfreesboro Road Trailer Park, the owner cites unforeseen medical circumstances as the reason for selling.

The letter claims the new property owner does not wish to continue managing the mobile home park and the tenants must vacate.

In the noticed dated Sept. 7, the residents are given 60 days to vacate the property with an eviction initiated on Nov. 7.

“Fear and panic, fear and panic,” said Kay Sloan, who has lived there almost a year. “What are we going to do?”

Under Tennessee law, landlords are required to give at least a 30-day notice for month-to-month rentals.

But for Sloan and many of her neighbors, even 60 days doesn’t feel like enough to find a new place to live, especially with rent rising across the city.

“More time would give us time to look longer to save some money. The main thing I think for a lot of us is to save the money to be able to move,” Sloan said. “It’s just, it’s frightening, and we have it better than a lot of people because we’re both on social security and retired.”

Some of the residents at the trailer park have lived there for more than a decade.

For those who pay rent week-to-week, they fear this notice to vacate may make them homeless.

They are hoping the current or new property owner will allow them more time to save and find housing.

It is unclear what the new property owner will develop on the land.

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