Some relief may be in sight for neighbours of a problematic property in South Surrey that had a stop-work order issued twice by WorkSafe BC in 2023 due to “a high risk of serious injury, serious illness or death” at the site, where it said mould and asbestos cross-contamination are present.
The derelict home, located on 15A Avenue on a heavily treed lot, has a long history of complaints from neighbours, due to the abundance of household items – including clothing, garbage and more – strewn inside and outside the house, as well as the smell coming from the property.
“This house has been rotting and smelling for almost a full year now beside us… it’s just a big mess. The smell is really bad. This summer it got really difficult… it was very nasty,” said neighbour Sharon Darlington last month.
Damage sustained after the hot water on-demand pipe at the home failed during January’s (2023) extreme cold, resulted in extensive water damage and mould inside the home and to all of its contents, with an April 12 WorkSafe BC inspection report noting the drywall ceiling on the main floor had almost entirely collapsed, leaving pieces scattered about on the floor.
“It’s been (nearly) a year (since) it flooded… it’s been in this condition since then,” said Darlington, who added that kids have been going inside the home to explore over the past year.
“It’s toxic. There are people going in and out of there without masks on. I’d like to see some steps taken – at least put a fence up to keep kids out,” she said.
The initial stop-work order was placed on the house “based on concerns for structural stability and the potential presence of damaged suspected asbestos containing materials,” on April 12, 2023.
READ MORE: ‘Rotting’ derelict South Surrey home to be demolished by city
“Due to potential for workers to enter the house, I decided that it was necessary to place stop work orders on the house, to prevent workers from entering, which were based on concerns for structural stability and the potential presence of damaged suspected asbestos containing materials,” a WorkSafe BC occupational safety inspector noted in a report.
Although the property’s owner at the time was given until March 31, 2023 to clean up the site, the deadline was not met, so the City of Surrey hired Green City Cleanup to conduct the required work, which occurred on April 12, 2023 – the same date the initial WorkSafe BC stop-work order was issued.
The previous owner, who has since sold the property, was billed $19,300 for the five-hour cleanup. The undertaking was not the first time the city has stepped in at the property – a cleanup was also conducted five years ago, prior to the water pipe failure.
However, when the WorkSafe BC inspector returned on Dec. 8, 2023, he “observed that all of the barrier tape and stop work notices had been removed,” saying in his report that he re-instated the barrier tape at that time, and re-posted his inspection report from April 12, along with the stop-work confirmation letter.
After re-posting the notices, the inspector reported he received a call on Dec. 12, 2023 from a hazardous materials abatement company, which had been retained by the current owners of house to provide quote on asbestos abatement.
The WorkSafe inspector confirmed the new owners of site – BC Assessment shows the property was sold on June 15, 2023 for $1,368,000 – told him they’re preparing to move towards demolition of the site and construction of a new house.
In the report, the inspector noted the new owners had retained a hazardous materials consultant to conduct a pre-demolition hazardous materials survey and provided him with a copy, but he advised them of the existing stop-work order for the site, and what was required to be done prior to hazardous materials abatement and demolition, as the 1978-built home had several asbestos-containing materials and is “considered to be cross-contaminated with asbestos,” according to the survey.
When the inspector conducted a follow-up visit on Dec. 18, 2023, he noted the new owners had a professional engineer conduct an inspection and provided a letter stating the house is safe for occupation by workers to complete asbestos abatement work, and that the stop-work order had been cancelled.
From the street, the ground-level windows of the house appear to be boarded up, and there’s a yellow bin sitting in the driveway.
A demolition permit was issued for the property last month.
Darlington, who admits she is weary of the ongoing issues with the property, is hopeful new owners will bring a positive change to the neighbourhood.
“I can’t wait for this to be over,” she said.
– with files from Tracy Holmes