MARYVILLE, Tenn. — Phyllis Slankard has lived at Maryville's Thornhill Mobile Home Community for 30 years, but she may have to move in a few months.
Slankard and some of her neighbors told 10News they were surprised to receive eviction notices from Thornhill's management the day before Easter.
"We don't know," Slankard said. "I have no idea. None of us knows what we are going to do."
10News obtained a copy of the letter, which states in part, "Your lease agreement at Thornhill expires March 31, 2024. Thornhill is not renewing your lease for an additional one-year term. This letter is notice that you have ninety (90) days to vacate and remove your home and personal belongings from the Thornhill Community. The last day to vacate your property is June 30, 2024."
The rest of the letter said that after a one-year lease term is finished, residents will be on a month-to-month rental agreement, and that rent will be charged until people leave the property and remove their mobile homes.
The letter was signed by the owner of Thornhill Mobile Home Community.
10News contacted Thornhill's management multiple times after speaking to residents on Monday, by calling, leaving voicemails, sending text messages and sending emails to the address provided for residents on the eviction notice.
Thornhill called back Wednesday morning, once at 6:46 a.m. and twice at 6:47 a.m., but no one left a voicemail. 10News called, left voicemails, text messaged and emailed property management numerous times on Wednesday, but didn't hear back by news time.
Slankard, like many of her neighbors 10News spoke to, owns her mobile home, but rents the land its on.
Residents told 10News the management company offered to appraise their mobile homes and purchase them, however Slankard said it's hard to find a place to rent in the area, and she's on a fixed income, so can't afford a rent increase or the cost to move her mobile home.
"They're ruining our lives, they know you can't go rent a place," Slankard said. "I did offer him, if you let me live here, we'd pay him extra money. Then he can have the place (after I die.)"
Legal Aid of East Tennessee attorney Darrell Winfree said he can't get into the specifics of what's happening at Thornhill, because his office is communicating with residents.
Tennessee's Uniform Residential Landlord Tenant Act outlines the rights of both tenants and landlords in rental situations.
Winfree said landlords are required by law to give a 30-day notice to tenants before asking them to leave a rental property.
"(The) law is on the landlord's side," Winfree said. "I don't think that's ambiguous."
He said the laws are "landlord centric."
"(Landlords) can't turn off utilities, they can't force people out," Winfree said. "If they follow the law, (if) they give notice, they have a wide berth to do these types of things."
Thornhill residents said they're standing up for themselves against the eviction notices, and filled Slankard's living room earlier this week.
They said the mobile home park is a community, and they take care of each other.
Lisa Haun owns four mobile homes at Thornhill, and said she's worried about her neighbors who are older and on a fixed income.
"These folks in Blount County, if you care about anybody you need to reach out and help them," Haun said. "They need to reach out and say, I've got this available, I can rent to you. Because if not, some of these people don't even have cars to go live in."
Ann Wade is 85-years-old and said she's lived in the mobile home community for 37 years.
She said her heart stopped when she received the eviction notice.
"I don't have any money to move, and I have called a few places to put my name in to move into," Wade said. "And they have a waiting list of a year, and one place said they're working on a list of two yeas and they're not accepting applications."
Alice Henke said she's lived in the community for a decade, and that the costs to move would be overwhelming.
"I was highly distressed of course, at the contents of the letter," Henke said. "But just how audacious and disrespectful it was doing it the day before Easter....it's just overwhelming. Like Phyllis, I'm old and I'm sick and I live here because I'm poor."
Thomas Pass is a single father who's raising his three kids in the mobile home community and has lived there for seven years.
"Me and my three kids live here, and that's all they've ever known, this is their family home," Pass said. "I had to look at them and tell them I don't know what I'm going to do for them, I don't know where I'm going to put them, because I don't have anywhere to go."
The residents said many of them expected to live in the community for the rest of their lives. They told 10News if anyone's got available rentals in either Alcoa or Maryville, they'd like to hear from them. Anyone who would like to help should email Digital Storyteller Libby Cunningham at this link for more information.