Sea Air resident Patricia Leef can't stay in RV all year

Patricia Leef, a resident of Sea Air Village Manufactured Home Park and RV Resort near Rehoboth Beach, had found her own niche of affordable housing in an area where that type of housing is nearly impossible to find. The community is located off Route 1 not far from the entrance to the resort town.

She said it's an understatement to say she was shocked when she received a letter telling her she would have to vacate her RV Nov. 15.

According to a letter from park owners Sun Communities Inc., a handful of RV sites have illegally been occupied during the off season, Nov. 15 to April 15. Residents have been permitted to live there, some for decades; Leef moved to the park nearly five years ago. Leef's small RV has a built-in deck and gazebo. It's one of many RV vehicles in the park placed on small lots.

According to the letter, the resort is not a year-round facility, and Sun Communities does not intend to provide water service during the off season. Sun Communities is revoking her guest license, which is at the discretion of the landowner, the letter states. “If you remain in the resort after the closure date you become, under law, a criminal trespasser,” the letter states.

“I'm trying to look at every option I have. I don't know where I'm going to go,” the 78-year-old said.

She said minimal rents in the area are about $1,000 to $1,200 a month, which she can't afford on her monthly $1,600 Social Security and pension income. She owns the RV, which she says can't be moved, and pays $420 monthly lot rent.

Since she received the letter at the end of 2018, she has educated herself on manufactured home laws and zoning regulations. “Basically, without a long-term lease, they can throw you out with 60 days notice,” she said. “I would have not moved here if I had known that. It should be a law that it's disclosed. We are at the park owners' mercy. The law does not protect us.”

She said she has reached out to as many subsidized and senior housing projects as she can find, and each one has a waiting list ranging from two to five years.

Josh Schnakenberg, a spokesman for Sun Communities, said the RV section in the community is best established for seasonal occupancy due to factors such as water supply.

Schnakenberg said the letter was sent to seven year-round RV residents giving them 11 months notification that on Nov. 15 the RV occupancy for the season would end and they would need to contact the community office if they wanted to return for the 2020 season. “Some of the RV owners have chosen to either sell their RV or move to another RV location,” he said. “We continue in our efforts of reaching out to determine what assistance may be needed.”

He said that assistance could involve help with sale of the RV or looking for other housing in the Sea Air community.

“Each RV owner’s situation differs, and as such, we remain committed to working with each individually throughout the months ahead as they determine what their greatest needs are with this change,” he said.

Sun Communities operates more than 350 manufactured home and RV parks throughout the United States and Canada housing more than 122,000 residents.