The city requires public cooperation from any property owners that abut property that has potential issues. This means that you will need to contact codes directly and give them permission to enter your property and take photos from your property into the property in question. Your information would be put in the public file and you would have to be OK with that. Any issues that cant be seen (say a fence) from the property line cant be dealt with without public assistance.

What number to call?

Code Enforcement: (727) 893-7373

Will call tomorrow since they closed at 3 today. Thank you.

What kind of success rate can I expect? The prior owners of my house reported his house several times. I can't believe they let their grandchildren play in that yard. It's a major incident waiting to happen.

It depends on what true violations they, the inspector, feels that the property has and also the inspector themselves, which of course shouldn't be the case. Request to speak to the inspector assigned when they come out or speak to them on the phone. If any of your other neighbors happen to feel the same try to get them involved as well, though it would need to be the ones that immediately abut the property. Someone has already submitted another violation for inoperable cars at this location, which currently has an active case file open for it, but because it was just reported yesterday no action has been taken yet. Create a good relationship with the inspectors and understand that sometimes (not saying this is the case with this one) what one might perceive as a violation, legally, may not actually be a violation within the City Code. Sometimes it can literally take years. Also violators are given time to correct the problem, so always check in on the city code enforcement website to follow a case, if you don't think something is happening as fast as it should. Everyone has legal rights, including violators.

Update from the Codes Compliance Department: In order for a Codes investigator to respond to an issue or complaint about something that cannot be legally viewed from the street, alley, or other public right-of-way, the owner of an adjacent property who can view the violation would need to call Codes directly at 727-893-7373, give their name and contact information as part of the public record for the case, and agree to allow the investigator to visit and view the issue from their property. If the reporter of this issue chooses to do so, please call Codes so that we may open a case and assign an investigator. Thank you for your post.

Unfortunately we have reported the house next to this one as well as a haven for rats. We have offered to help the elderly lady who lives there to clean up and get the trees growing off her ROOF but she wants no help nor will she hire anyone to do anything about it.

Please contact the Sanitation Department for assistance with free rodent control. For more information follow the link below:

http://www.stpete.org/sanitation/free_rodent_control/index.php