The Rotorua District Court has ordered the demolition of a derelict three-storey Tihiotonga house, which residents say has been vacant for 25 years.
Judge Chris McGuire made the order to demolish the house at 22 Exeter Pl after an application by the Rotorua District Council for the house to be demolished because of its serious safety risk.
Council's building services manager Darrell Holder said the house, which is owned by Stephen Bhana, had not been lived in for many years, but in more recent times had increasingly become a safety and fire risk.
As a result of a fire in 2010 the building's structural integrity was severely compromised and the council then took advice from engineers and the New Zealand Fire Service.
At that point, the council deemed the building dangerous and insanitary and sought remedial action from the owner to repair the dwelling.
"In the intervening time we have tried to work with the owner and given him plenty of time to make the building safe, but to no avail. Due to his lack of progress in meeting these requests council had no option but to seek resolution through the courts as a last resort ... Public safety has to remain our priority," Mr Holder said.
He said some Tihiotonga residents provided written statements to the court outlining the effects the state of the dwelling has had on them.
As a result, a dangerous and insanitary building notice was placed on the property last November, deeming the building unsafe to enter and an on-going risk to neighbouring properties.
Mr Holder said Mr Bhana had 20 days to appeal the court decision. "After the appeal period is over, and assuming there's no further delay ordered by the court, we'll be contracting a demolition company to remove the two top floors of the house down to the block basement and foundation level.
"The cost of the demolition process would become a charge registered against the property and if not paid in the meantime, those costs and accrued interest would be recouped by the council when the property was sold."
Mr Holder urged people to stay away until the demolition work had been undertaken, as it remained a safety hazard.
A former longtime Tihiotonga resident, who did not want to be named, said the building had been vacant for 25 years and residents had approached the council for something to be done. "It was the neighbourhood haunted house and kids were always in there. It was a magnet for kids. It would be fabulous if it is demolished."
In 2005, a neighbour told the Rotorua Daily Post she was tired of trying to keep the rapidly developing overgrowth down.
Mr Bhana could not be reached for comment.