Beth Brown, executive director of the Gainesville Housing Authority, which currently manages the property, said she hired a relocation specialist to help the 39 residents find other housing options, which involves gathering all the paperwork required by the Ministry of Community Affairs before issuing a voucher. .

Residents have the option of receiving a voucher, which would allow them to rent through any private landlord willing to oblige, or move to a subsidized resort in Union City, where the HUD contract for the Manor property has been transferred. One resident said she was heading to Union City, but most went for the voucher, Brown said.

But there’s a catch: there aren’t many places to go and the voucher expires in 120 days.

“There is a housing shortage, and there aren’t many homeowners in the area who accept Section 8 vouchers,” Brown said. “And so we have to look maybe outside of where people would ideally want to live.”

When asked if he had a place to go, Donnie Forrester, a 69-year-old resident who has lived on the property for seven years, replied, “God no. If there were, this is where we would be, but there is nothing. There is no alternative.