MIAMI, Fla. – A 70-year-old man said he is homeless after his house was demolished by the city of Miami.
Michael Hamilton said he and his family have been living in the Liberty City home for 60 years; it was the house he grew up in.
The building department stated that the property had been deemed unsafe by the city of Miami and the owners were given a 10-day notice to vacate, according to the Miami Herald.
Hamilton told Local 10 that crews came two days early and then gave him just minutes to gather his belongings.
“I happened to be home and I heard all this noise like brakes on a big truck outside. He said, ’You got five minutes to get out.’ I thought I had two more days. It was rather extreme — they bulldozed my entire house,” Hamilton said.
The newspaper reports that the department found no evidence of someone living at the home after inspectors visited in May last year.
The house had been signed over to Hamilton’s cousin. The department tried to reach him over the past year but it is unclear if the notice was ever received.
Hamilton is staying in a hotel temporarily after a neighbor’s relative set up a Facebook donation drive for the man who now has nowhere to live.