How Goshen Handles Empty Houses
Why houses end up empty in Elkhart County, and what vacancy does to insurance, is covered on our Elkhart County vacant house page. This page is about what the City of Goshen does once an empty house starts to deteriorate.
The rules sit in the Neighborhood Preservation Ordinance, part of Goshen City Code, enforced by the city Building Department. It sets minimum standards for all structures: working plumbing, electrical and heating; a roof, walls and foundation in good repair; windows and doors that close properly; painted surfaces maintained. For vacant structures it specifically requires exterior doors, windows and basement entrances to be secured.
Tall grass, trash and junk vehicles are a separate track, handled by the Goshen Police Department's code enforcement officers.
From Complaint to Hearing: The Usual Sequence
Based on the City's Board of Public Works & Safety records, the process on a neglected house generally runs like this:
- Something draws attention. In one 2025 case the minutes describe, it was a tree falling across a driveway and complaints from neighbors. Staff found the house vacant and got authorization to inspect.
- The City Building Commissioner issues an order listing the code violations — in the cases reviewed, orders gave thirty days to make repairs — and sets a review or compliance hearing.
- The Board of Public Works & Safety holds the hearing. It can continue the matter, change the order (for example extending the deadline or requiring a performance bond), rescind it, or affirm it.
- If the owner has willfully failed to comply, the Board can impose a civil penalty. It can also authorize other legal action, including asking a court to appoint a receiver to carry out the repairs.
- Where repair is not practical, demolition orders are possible; the city has put out bids to demolish unsafe houses.
Goshen Tends to Push for Repair, Not Demolition
Owners sometimes assume the city wants to knock empty houses down. The Board of Public Works & Safety's recent minutes suggest the opposite when a house is salvageable. At a November 2025 hearing on a neglected house with squatters, the city's assistant attorney told the Board that the property could be fixed, so demolition was not necessarily appropriate, and asked for authority to pursue other remedies. The Board adopted the Building Department's findings and imposed a $5,000 civil penalty — described at the hearing as the maximum allowed per order — with legal action toward receivership recommended alongside it.
Receivership, under Indiana's unsafe building law, lets a court appoint someone to take control of a neglected property and carry out repairs. For an owner, that means losing control of the process and the cost, with the work done on someone else's schedule.
The practical lesson is that Goshen generally gives owners chances — orders, deadlines, review hearings — before it escalates. Those chances are only useful if you answer them. A response to the Building Department explaining that the house is under contract to be sold, with a closing date, is a very different conversation from silence.
If the house sits near one of the creeks the city watches for flash flooding, contact the Stormwater Department (574-534-2201) for flood updates, and have someone check the basement after heavy rain. Water damage in an empty house is often what turns a fixable property into an unsafe one.
What an Empty House Is Costing You in Goshen
| Cost | Why it keeps growing |
|---|---|
| City water and sewer charges | Any service left on keeps billing. Unpaid sewer fees can become a lien ranked ahead of the mortgage. |
| Board-ups, locks and lawn care | Required to stay compliant with the vacant-structure rules. |
| Repair orders | A thirty-day deadline on a list you may not be able to fund. |
| Civil penalties | Possible if the Board finds a willful failure to comply. |
| Water and weather damage | Several Goshen neighborhoods near Rock Run Creek, Leedy Ditch and Horn Ditch are flagged by the city for flash flooding; an unchecked basement suffers first. |
| Property taxes | Still due; see our Elkhart County tax sale guide. |
None of those buy you anything. The house is not being lived in, rented or improved.
Selling a House the City Is Already Watching
An open order does not stop a sale. We regularly buy houses that have code violations, broken systems or a hearing coming up. The order is disclosed, and once we own the property the repairs become our responsibility. If there is a compliance hearing on the calendar, closing before it — or showing the Board a signed purchase agreement with a buyer who will do the work — is often the fastest way to resolve it.
Expect a written figure from us inside a day, close in about a week if you want, and pay the closing costs. Any city balances are paid from the sale. If the house is still in decent shape and you have time, a regular listing may bring more; our page on selling a house in Goshen explains when that is likely.
Goshen Offices for Vacant Property Owners
Goshen Code & Utility Contacts
- City of Goshen Building Departmentgoshen.in.govEnforces the Neighborhood Preservation Ordinance and issues Building Commissioner orders · 574-534-1811.
- Goshen Police Department — Code EnforcementGrass, trash and vehicle violations · 574-533-8661.
- City of Goshen — Board of Public Works & Safetygoshen.in.govHolds review and compliance hearings on unsafe building orders; agendas and minutes are posted on the city website.
- City of Goshen Water & Sewer Billing Officegoshen.in.govClose or transfer service on an empty house · 574-533-9399.