Vet, 89, grapples with pending eviction from trailer space

POST FALLS — Jerry Agre received a surprise delivery just before the holidays.

But this wasn't nicely bundled in festive wrapping.

The 89-year-old single veteran was hand delivered an eviction notice from his trailer space of 15 years in River City Village behind Super 1 Foods.

"It's a vendetta against me," said Agre, adding that he wasn't given a reason for the notice stating that he needs to be out of the park by March 31.

Under Idaho law, landlords who have month-to-month contracts with tenants aren't required to provide a reason for evictions as long as a 90-day notice is given.

Tenants don't have a case to fight evictions unless they have proof that they were retaliated or discriminated against.

Agre said he has been faithful on the monthly payments for the space that his 1965 trailer sits on. He said he's also tried to keep his place up and is willing to correct any park violations — if he knew what the violations are.

Larry Gilman, the park's owner, declined to comment to The Press.

Agre's son Jason, who is visiting his father from Alaska during the holidays, contacted Gilman via telephone with The Press present, trying to find out what his father did to prompt the notice and seeing if the matter could be resolved.

"There's nothing to be worked out," Gilman told Jason in the phone conversation. "It's just time for his (rental) agreement to terminate. There isn't a cause."

When Jason asked Gilman if the age of his father's trailer had anything to do with the notice, Gilman said it didn't.

When Jason said that his father has been a good tenant for 15 years and wondered if there's anything specific about how his father has acted, Gilman told him that it wasn't his place to be commenting on his father's private business.

Jason said that while Gilman owns the property and has the right to evict tenants for no reason, he said the timing of the notice just before the holidays made it especially unfortunate.

"This is like the grinch who stole Christmas," Jason said.

Jerry admits he's been threatened with evictions twice before. In December 2005 he received a warning for harboring a dog, which is a violation of the park's rules. Jerry's sister-in-law was evicted around Christmastime that same year.

Jerry said he was taking care of his sister at the time when the dog was present and that the dog helped her well being. A letter from a doctor was obtained to that effect, but Jerry wrote a letter of apology to park management and ceased having the dog at his trailer.

Jerry said he was also warned in 2008 for having a cat, which he said he has for medical reasons. Further, management OK'd him having the cat, he said.

"They've got it in for me — that's all," Jerry said.

Jason added: "They don't want to get into the reason (for the eviction). Maybe it's from something that has been festering and they're trying to even up the score?"

With the eviction notice in hand and resolution unlikely, Jerry said he's uncertain what the future holds. He said he plans to consult with an attorney and is willing to give talking with management another try.

He said he has relatives in the area, but would prefer to continue to live on his own while he is able.

"He wants to live on his own, but the world is working against him," Jason said of his father.

Jerry can't drive due to poor eyesight.

With a total monthly income of $1,100 per month between Social Security and Veterans Administration checks, he said the $222 monthly lot rent payment is reasonable cost-wise.

Jerry said he's not sure if he'll consider moving his trailer to a different location because its age poses hurdles.

If homes are manufactured on or before June 15, 1976, governmental agencies require proof that it has gone through a rehabilitation process and has been approved by the state before a setting permit is issued.

The Agres are grappling with how the situation got to the point of Jerry being evicted from his living space of 15 years.

"It's difficult to understand because there hasn't been a real big issue going on that we're aware of," Jason said. "Ultimately, they do own the property, but it would have been nice if they had waited until after Christmas."