BATON ROUGE — For several years, neighbors of a house in Southern Heights have been cutting the grass and defending their property from rodents. The house has been condemned and could finally be torn down.  

The house on 77th Avenue sits on three lots. Within the last month, the city has been given notice to move forward with tearing it down. 

From the street, the brick house doesn't look too bad, other than wood boards covering a large window and the garage door. The back of the house tells a different story. Peter Albert lives next door. He has been periodically speaking with 2 On Your Side about the condition of the house that's turned into a lot of work for him.

His records date back a decade. Albert says his old neighbors, Peggy and Leonard Robinson, moved out before the 2016 flood. 

"They just picked up and left," said Albert. 

He says no work has been done to the house. The garage door fell off its track, and trees have poked large holes in the roof. Albert says the interior of the house is covered in mold. The weeds in the backyard have grown taller than Albert, and critters now call the property home.

"Opossums, snakes, raccoons, coyotes," Albert said.

Somewhere in the jungle of green is a pool with a slide. Albert says a tarp covering the pool has caved in, and the water is black. A couple of weeks ago, Albert was home when a truck with three men walked up to the house and cut out the front window.

That's when Albert got a look inside and saw photos hanging on the wall amongst the mold.

"It's fully furnished still," he said.

The large hole in the front of the house is now boarded up.

The city has been involved with the house for decades. The property has been adjudicated many times; it's been on and off the condemnation list. 

"This is surely one of the worst and one of the longest," he said.

The house was finally condemned in 2023. Then the property owner filed a temporary restraining order. Recently, a judge ruled in favor of the city, and the parish attorney's office gave the city the green light to proceed with the condemnation. Albert continues to wait for that day.

"They just don't care; they just left it in that manner, and they don't care," Albert said.

The property owners have an opportunity to appeal the judge's order. Before the house is torn down, the city says they have a lot of asbestos to deal with.