Trump Seems To Be Violating Residency Agreement By Living At Mar-A-Lago, And Palm Beach Has Reportedly Taken Notice
Former President Donald Trump's transition from the White House to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida might not go as smoothly as he had hoped because of an agreement he signed 28 years ago with the town of Palm Beach that only allowed him to stay at the resort for seven days at a time, with the town government reportedly eying the issue.
While under financial stress in 1993, Trump sought to monetize the residential mansion by turning it into a club, but the deal he struck with the town to allow that stipulated he could only live there for seven consecutive days and 21 days in a year.
Trump has lived there since leaving the White House, and has spent long stretches at the resort in the past, but Palm Beach has never enforced the residency clause, according to
That may be about to change, as a neighbor sent a letter to the town demanding it enforce the residency requirement — Town Manager Kirk Blouin told the Associated Press that the town is considering its options and the matter could be brought up at Palm Beach's February council meeting.
The agreement with Palm Beach allowed Mar-a-Lago to become a private club with up to 500 members, who all must abide by the residency restrictions, including Trump.
The Trump Organization responded to a request for comment from Forbes by citing an article in the U.K. tabloid the Daily Mail in which Eric Trump claimed his father is within his rights to live there permanently, and if neighbors were to challenge, he might move to one of his nearby houses, possibly causing Secret Service to shut down a road.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
According to AP, the neighbor's complaint stems from the fear that Trump's presence will lower property values in Palm Beach.
KEY BACKGROUND
Trump purchased Mar-a-Lago for around $10 million in 1985, undertaking a massive renovation of the property, which had fallen into disrepair. However he could no longer afford it by the 1990s after a series of business failures. Trump lived at the property off and on before becoming president, preferring his main residence inside Trump Tower in New York City. In 2019, Trump changed his state of residence from New York to Florida, setting himself up to move there permanently once his presidency ended. Trump frequently flew down to Mar-a-Lago while in office, once calling it the "Southern White House."
BIG NUMBER
$180 million. That's how much Forbes estimated Mar-a-Lago's value to be in September 2020, a massive return on Trump's $10 million investment in the 1980s.
