County process puts seniors at risk

More than 10,000 homes in Pinellas County were deemed “substantially damaged” following Hurricanes Helene and Milton. This determination has serious consequences for homeowners.

Gateway Mobile Home Park in St. Petersburg is one example of the issue, with 119 of its 300 homes remaining on the list of substantially damaged homes as the deadline for appeals approaches on Oct. 31, 2025.

Many Gateway homeowners completed repairs shortly after the storms, prior to receiving notification of their home being substantially damaged, notifications which didn’t come from Pinellas County until March 2025 – nearly 6 months later. By then, they had fixed any damage and made their home safe for daily living. Despite this, Pinellas County continues to deem their home substantially damaged.

The homeowners have followed the labyrinth for redetermination and submitted stacks of evidence. The sticking point is the County’s interpretation and implementation of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) guidelines that it’s using for damage determinations.

The County-required cost formulas inflate repair and replacement pricing, and include unneeded and expensive repairs. Additionally, homeowners trying not to lose their homes paid for an independent appraisal, but the County required the appraiser to use a cash-value formula that deviates from the industry standard, and suppresses the home value. This cash-value formula is similar to a formula used to depreciate a used car, rather than place a value on a home. A fairer approach would match the formulas used for other types of homes.

The result is inflated repair expenses and understated home values. Combined, these make it nearly impossible for a mobile home to stay below the 49% cost-to-value ratio threshold required for a home to avoid being deemed substantially damaged.

Homeowners who are unable to change the determination through the appeals process are left asking, “what’s next?” Pinellas County is allowing temporary occupancy until June 30, 2026, but by then, homeowners must complete one of the following options:
– Raise their home to the current FEMA standard (approx. 6 ft), which is unaffordable, if not impossible for older homes;
– Demolish the home and rebuild;
– Move the home, again not possible due to the home’s age;
– Relocate to a new home, which is cost prohibitive.

None of the four options are viable for a 55+ community like Gateway. These are seniors who purchased their homes as part of their retirement plans and most live on a fixed income. Gateway provides a neighborhood that’s affordable for them. They live in a community they love that’s near their friends, families, and medical providers.

Mobile home parks are a safe and affordable housing option in a county experiencing an affordable housing crisis. Seniors have extremely limited options if they are forced out of the mobile home that they own.

Our seniors shouldn’t have to worry where they’ll live in only eight months. They need Pinellas County to revisit and revise equitably in their substantially damaged determination process. It’s possible to preserve the affordable homes of these seniors, while making our community safer for the next storm.

Darna Lopez is the Tampa-based regional sales manager for ARC Investments, which operates Gateway Mobile Home Park in unincorporated Pinellas County.