Florida grandmother is ordered to tear down her Miami treehouse she has lived in for 17 YEARS after $40k of fines over ‘unsafe’ construction – despite the fact she claims her claustrophobia makes living indoors impossible

A Florida grandmother is being forced to demolish her Miami treehouse where she lived for 17 years after racking up $40,000 in fines over the past eight years due to “unsafe” construction work.

Since 2015, Shawnee Chasser, 72, has had neighbors report her property to Miami-Dade County and the Building Code Enforcement Division.

When code enforcement officers discovered that her treehouse was not safe to live in, they gave her two options: tear down the treehouse or recode it.

She has decided to stop fighting and will start demolishing her house on September 18, but living indoors is not an option for Chasser.

While she remains outdoors, Chasser will build her next home up to code and with the proper permits.

She also shares her country home with her pet raccoon named Coonie

The grandmother has always lived outside and told stories 7News Miami: ‘I must hear the rain and the wind at night. If I don’t, I become crazy and claustrophobic.’

She bought the property for her son almost twenty years ago, but after his death she decided to move in.

Recently she has been living in nature with her two grandchildren in what she calls her ‘oasis’.

She also shares her country home with her pet raccoon named Coonie.

She’s made new additions to her treehouse over the years, moving her bedroom higher up the tree, with a kitchen and living room on the ground, a pool with a fountain, and a new bedroom she built into a Tiki hut .

The new living room and kitchen have become a haven not only for her, but also for her children and grandchildren.

Chaser said Local10 News: ‘It has everything I could need.’

According to the GoFundMe that she set up herself, Chasser was fined $11,320, along with an additional levy of $11,481.50 in one day for violating Chapter 33 of Florida’s zoning law and “unauthorized use within a single-family neighborhood.”

The new living room and kitchen have become a haven not only for her, but also for her children and grandchildren

To date, her fundraising page has collected a total of $1,205 in donations to help her “comply with the Code, save her home, and still feed and raise her two grandchildren.”

Miami-Dade County told CBS News Miami that it has taken no action and is working to get its property updated and up to date

It also said that even after she moved out of the determined ‘unsfae’ structure, further fines came as the country tried to make her move again.

After years of fighting, Chasser is ready to tear down her house and find a sense of peace.

“Right now I’m trying to clean it up. I’m just tired of not having my own life,” Chasser told Local10 News.

Most recently, she has been living in nature with the company of her two grandchildren in what she calls her “oasis.”

To demolish her current country home in Biscayne Gardens, Chasser says she will have to shell out an additional $30,000 on top of other expenses she has already incurred. CBS News Miami.

On her GoFundMe page, she has itemized all the money she has spent on her oasis so far.

“Contractor $2,000, architect $2,500, attorney $2,500, Seminole Bloodline certificate $800, repairs and kitchen tare (sic) $10,000, new house structure $5,000, to tare the old tree house (sic).”

To pay her mortgage and utility bills, Chasser rents her house to more than five tenants.

Miami-Dade County told CBS News Miami that it has taken no action and is working to get its property updated and up to date.

To date, her fundraising page has collected a total of $1,205 in donations to help her “comply with the Code, save her home, and still feed and raise her two grandchildren.”

Her donation goal is set at $50,000, which will be used to pay off her accrued fines and help her pay for her next outdoor structure.