Issue date: 3/6/08 Section: News

Sunset Village Trailer Court will be without residents in a few months now that landlord Ben Hickman has evicted them. All residents have been given 120 days to leave and are also required to take their trailers when they go.

The recent eviction of all tenants of Sunset Village Trailer Court, located just north of Wal-Mart, has residents scrambling to find living arrangements.

One resident of the court, who asked not to be identified, said tenants received eviction notices Feb. 27 that informed them that they had 60 days to move out of the court, including their trailers. After being informed of a state statute, however, Ben Hickman, owner of the park, issued a new Feb. 29 letter stating that residents now have been given 120 days after their next rent installment is due to leave the trailer court.

However, residents still are left with the tasks of finding a new place to live and moving there in a very short time frame. The resident said Hickman deceived residents.

"In December 2007, I confronted [Hickman] about rumors circulating around that the park was going to be sold, to which he replied, 'Hell, I haven't had a buyer for that park in 15 years. Would you want to buy it?'" the resident said.

The resident said 120 days is not enough time to raise the money needed to move.

"There are people living here who have trouble paying their $100-a-month lot rent," the resident said. "How are they supposed to come up with the money

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to move a trailer? Also, some of these trailers are so old that they won't move. However, the eviction notice stated that if we leave our trailer or any personal property on the lot, we will be charged for continuing trespassing."

The resident said that about 20 to 25 residents have been evicted already. The resident said she does not know what is going to be built on the property after the residents are gone, but that she has heard rumors about a truck stop, a gas station, a restaurant and a public storage facility.

Hickman's secretary told the Index that he was out of town.

Despite the residents' dismay, legally they do not have many options. City Attorney Howard Hickman said disputes between landlords and tenants are a complicated subject and that usually the lease itself is the ultimate legal reference, but there are other factors that might cause problems.

"Various state statutes and city ordinances may also come into play," he said. "A big one, for example, would be the amount of notice a tenant must receive before eviction."

Hickman said the terms of the lease also might be a problem. He said some leases might be silent or ambiguous when it comes to the cause of a dispute between a landlord and a tenant.

Ted Smith of Affordable Mobile Home Movers in Moberly, Mo., said there are no general guidelines for pricing the cost of moving a trailer, but the complete teardown, move and setting up of a trailer within a 50-mile radius of the original location usually costs about $1,800. He said that because of the short notice, he is offering his services to these residents for only $1,000 and is willing to work with them financially.

"We're going to try and help everyone out so that when this whole thing is over people still have a place to live," Smith said.

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