HOA evicting orphaned teenager who moved in with his grandparents after both his parents died

An orphaned 15-year-old who moved in with his grandparents after both his parents died is being evicted by an Arizona homeowner's association because the senior community's rules prohibit residents who are under the age of 19.

What are the details?

At the end of 2018, Collin Clabaugh's mother died in the hospital from an illness, and just two weeks later, the boy's father took his own life. With nowhere else to go, the now 15-year-old moved in with his grandparents, Melodie and Randy Passmore, who live in The Gardens at Willow Creek in Prescott, Arizona.

But the 55+ community's homeowner's association says Collin can't live there because of its rule prohibiting anyone under the age of 19 from residing at The Gardens at Willow Creek. They've told the Passmores that Collin has to be out by June of 2020.

"What they're telling us in the letter is not that we have to move, but that we have to get rid of him," Mrs. Passmore told KPNX-TV. "He's not a dog. He's not something you can just throw out."

In a statement released to the Daily Mail, the HOA said, "The board appreciates the difficulty of these circumstances but must balance the interests of all parties involved, the Passmores, and all other homeowners who purchased their property in an age restricted community expecting the age restrictions to be followed."

The association added, "Generally, community associations that fail to enforce their residency age restrictions leave themselves open to legal claims from other residents and could even endanger the ability of the association to remain an age restricted community."

Mrs. Prescott says her neighbors do not want Collin to leave. Regardless, she says that if the HOA does not make an exception to their age requirement for Collin, the Passmores will move before they kick out their grandson.

"I cry every day," she told AZFamily. "I try not to cry in front of him because I want him to be happy."

Collin says living with his grandparents has helped him with the grief of losing his parents, and he wants to stay where he is. "I want to be here," he told the outlet. "Cause I know I have two people who love me."