TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Leon County is demanding more than $30,000 back after it deployed emergency resources to Florida Sun Estates, a mobile home park just southwest of Tallahassee.
According to a copy of the demand letter obtained by WCTV, the mobile home park was “not operating with a valid permit and had not been operating in compliance with Chapter 513, Florida Statutes, for nearly 4 months.”
The letter says that the non-compliance effectively bypassed the Florida Department of Health’s normal inspection cycle.
“You can’t let your residents go days without water, and you have to operate with a valid operating permit,” Leon County Commission Chair Christian Caban said. “And it’s our job to hold negligent landlords responsible.”
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WCTV sought comment from a lawyer representing the park, but we haven’t yet heard back. A county staff member said the park has since restored its permit, though Caban said the county is separately investigating other code violations.
In all, Leon County’s lawyer wrote that residents at the park were without water for five days.
In addition to the demand to reimburse the emergency services costs, the county is also demanding the park give a “rent abatement” to some 44 units that were impacted.
“Please confirm in writing that your client will be reimbursing the County for the funds expended, in the amount of $33,000, made payable to Leon County, Florida, along with written confirmation of rent abatement outlining amounts and renter information to the County Attorney’s Office no later than March 13, 2026,” Chastity O’Steen, the county’s lawyer, wrote in the letter.
The full demand letter can be read below:
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