Abandoned homes spark frustration for Hamilton residents

Residents on Hamilton mountain are frustrated, after a house on their street has been derelict for years.

We first showed you the house at 47 Toby Crescent last July. But since then, they say nothing has been done about it.

It’s one of more than 400 vacant homes in the city of Hamilton.

While the grass is short now, neighbours say it’s usually an eyesore too.

The house has been a mess for at least five years and then a fire gutted it three years ago. Now Toby Crescent residents say it’s dragging down their property values.

“The other neighbour couldn’t sell his house for the asking price because of this house.He had to go down.”

Last July we showed you a house on East 25th Street on Hamilton mountain. By law officers forced the owners to cut the grass and take down the rat infested shed. Neighbours say the house was sold in May and the new owners are completely renovating it and turning it into a duplex.

As for the house on Toby Crescent, neighbours suspect it’s only a matter of time until the roof comes crashing down.

“We hope that it will cave in one day, so it really gets taken off. Demolished.”

But it might not come to that. City of Hamilton officials say the owner of the Toby Crescent house has applied to demolish the existing house, and build a new one in its place.

The applications are still being processed, but the permits could be issued within a week or two.