A citizen complained of the deplorable state of a house on his street. The house had been abandoned for many years and, according to him, Arrondissement d’Ahuntsic–Cartierville was not making adequate interventions.
The house was in a state of advanced insanitariness. It had been uninhabited for over twenty years and a fire had burnt it down. Citizens were worried about fire hazards, which were particularly concerning to a citizen whose property was semi-attached to the house concerned. The state of the building, in an otherwise nice neighborhood, was also viewed as a major visual irritant for the residents living nearby.
Following our discussions with the borough, the latter informed us that an inspection of the Service de sécurité incendie de Montréal had confirmed that, in the event of a fire, there was a real risk that flames could spread to the neighbour’s house and that, therefore, it would be appropriate to demolish this house.
The borough forwarded notices to the owner of the abandoned house enjoining him to demolish it, within a certain time limit. Extensions of the said delay were granted to the owner, at his request, but, unfortunately, nothing was done to correct the situation.
In light of the owner’s idleness, the Ombudsman de Montréal convinced the borough that it should take upon itself to demolish the house, at the owner’s expense, which the borough finally did.
The neighbours are thrilled with the results.
