Saskatoon has seen number of derelict houses shrink, but issues persist: assistant fire chief

Saskatoon has seen the number of dilapidated properties in the city go down since 2020, but an assistant fire chief says the issue is not completely solved.

"It's dynamic. Some get reopened, some get demolished, maybe some end up getting closed or end up back on that list or being put on the list," Saskatoon assistant fire chief Yvonne Raymer told host Garth Materie on CBC Radio's Blue Sky.

Recently, Regina city councillor Andrew Stevens completed a ride-along with members of the City of Regina's bylaw department to look at derelict buildings in his ward.

He said the properties have been a nuisance to the community for years.

"Sadly, we're at a point where people would rather see houses demolished than have them turn into blight and nuisance properties that negatively affect the entire block," said Stevens.

Saskatoon is doing well comparatively, with 37 derelict properties on the city records, compared to 208 in Regina.

Allison Collins, a spokesperson for the City of Saskatoon, said there are boarded-up homes across all 15 quadrants of the city.

The Saskatoon Fire Department is in control of dilapidated buildings and enforcing bylaws. The process to record them started in 2020 — they tallied a total of 140 derelict properties at the time.

While the tally has improved since the 2020 count, Raymer said there has been a recent increase in properties being reported.

"We have 37 in our city currently, but our property maintenance concerns are coming in more every day, [and] every year we've seen an increase," said Raymer.

Raymer said the first step when a derelict property is found is to provide the owner with education on maintenance or a warning.

She said the fire department will go straight to enforcement if there is history with the landowner, which can range from a ticket to an order. An order gives the owner 15 days to appeal, or arrangements will be made to fix or demolish the property in question, with the cost billed to the owner's taxes.

To qualify for demolition, a building needs to have a substantial amount of damage, according to Raymer. If it can't be demolished because there's not enough damage, the landowner can be prosecuted — with increasing penalties depending on the history of the owner.

"The more you prosecute and you take that same owner to court, the higher the fines," said Raymer. "So you start to get that repetitive history and then solicitors start to seek a higher penalty."