Dangerous structures and dilapidations

Report a dangerous structure or an open and vacant building

Report a dangerous structure or an open and vacant building

or call us on 028 9027 0650 during office hours.

To report a dangerous structure (in an emergency) outside of office hours call us on 07850 499 622 

Give us as much detail as you can, including:

• the property address, 
• what condition the property is in and, 
• if possible, the owner’s name, address and contact number.

Dangerous structures

Under legislation we enforce, dangerous structures that we can take action on are buildings, parts of buildings or other structures which cause a structural threat. They may be dangerous because they could collapse or are a danger to anyone in or around them, or anyone using a nearby public road or footpath.

Every owner is responsible for safely maintaining their building. If your building or structure has become dangerous we'll ask you to remove the danger, by either repairing, making safe, or by demolishing the building or structure.

Open and vacant properties

Open and vacant properties are properties that no-one is using and which have windows or outside doors unsecured; that is the doors are not locked or are missing.

We and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) are responsible for making sure that these properties are safe and don't cause a threat to the public. If you tell us about an open and empty property, we'll decide who should deal with it and contact the NIHE if necessary.

If your building or structure has become open and vacant, and we are dealing with the complaint, we'll ask you to remove the danger by securing or demolishing the property.

Dilapidated buildings

We also have powers to tackle dilapidated buildings that are deemed to be seriously detrimental to the amenity of the area. Such buildings contribute to antisocial behaviour, vandalism, arson and vermin infestations.

If your building is seriously detrimental to the amenity of the area we'll ask you to carry out works to the building.