Pricey future Satellite Beach neighborhood forcing out current renters

Some renters fight moving, cite lease

SATELLITE BEACH, Fla. – If the new owner of the Satellite Shores neighborhood is hoping current renters Denis and Anita Hanlon go quietly, the Hanlons said that won't be the case.

"The anger and the confusion and the frustration -- it just hits you right in the face," Denis Hanlon told News 6.

The couple is three months into a 12-month lease to live in their home within the neighborhood off State Road A1A, across the street from Hightower Beach Park.

Renters learned last month, however, that a new owner had purchased the property and was giving all renters an Oct. 31 deadline to move out.

More than 100 homes originally built for Patrick Air Force Base housing will be replaced with an upscale, gated neighborhood including $1 million homes.

The Hanlons told News 6 their rent now is $900 per month.

"There's a lot of people here who don't have two quarters to rub together," Anita Hanlon said. "They don't know where they're going to go."

Nearly two dozen renters have already moved out.

Several dozen more are still residing in the neighborhood.

The Hanlons argue that their current 12-month lease, which they signed in March, gives the couple the right to stay well past the October deadline.

News 6 on Tuesday called a phone number that was posted on a sign at the entrance of the neighborhood acknowledging the sale, hoping to get a response from the new owner, but was unable to reach anyone for comment.

"They've acknowledged the lease. They just say it's a question of interpretation of our rights," Denis Hanlon said.

The Hanlons said if they're forcibly removed, they'll get results for themselves by taking legal action.

"We are preparing," Anita Hanlon said, after telling News 6 she and her husband have been speaking with their attorney.


About the Author:

James joined News 6 in March 2016 as the Brevard County Reporter. His arrival was the realization of a three-year effort to return to the state where his career began. James is from Pittsburgh, PA and graduated from Penn State in 2009 with a degree in Broadcast Journalism.

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