A burglary report this week led police to uncover unsafe living conditions at a local mobile home park, resulting in several homes being condemned.
On Wednesday, Centerville police responded to a call at Oak Tree Estates, a mobile home park in town. During the investigation, officers found that one of the homes had already been vacated by order of the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. The reason? The home was not safe to live in.
As officers looked around the park, they noticed other issues too. Many of the homes had city ordinance violations. After looking into it further, they found that Leap Realty LLC, the company that owns the park and is based in Columbus, Nebraska, did not have the proper rental permits. The homes also had not been inspected as the city requires.
Officials made it clear that it’s the owner, not the residents, who is responsible for the problems. Leap Realty has been told what needs to be done to bring the homes up to code.
In the meantime, some residents were forced to leave their homes. Help came from local organizations, including the Centerville Homeless Coalition, Common Ground, and the Red Cross. They worked together to find temporary housing for the people affected.
Three of the mobile homes in the park are privately owned. The city found maintenance issues with those homes too, but the residents there were allowed to stay.
Courtesy of First United Methodist Church Facebook Page
