Albuquerque’s “pig house” property racks up violations under city ownership
A property in Albuquerque long known as the “pig house” has racked up new code violations under city ownership. Inspectors found weeds and trash at 318 Mesilla Street and issued notices to the owner, the City of Albuquerque, without realizing who owned it until this week.
Deputy Director Jeremy Keiser said the city’s Code Enforcement Division has had an extensive history with the property. “So code enforcement is very aware of 318 Mesilla,” Keiser said.
The property drew complaints across three decades for garbage, neglected landscaping and live pigs in their own waste. The city foreclosed on it and demolished the house in 2023.
Keiser said inspectors visited the property on August 20 and found weeds taking over the sidewalk, earning a notice of violation. They returned September 8, found no change and placed a red tag.
“A red tag for code enforcement on here is something that code enforcement uses to try to gain the attention of the property owner or the responsible party and to notice that, hey, there’s enforcement actions that are being conducted onto your property,” Keiser said.
The notices went to the city itself because the ownership change had not updated in the code enforcement system. “What had happened was the information with the change of ownership hadn’t updated in the code enforcement system. All the way up until we came and looked at it again,” Keiser said.
Now that the system is current, Keiser said the city will clean the lot. “We have a group that’ll come in and clean the lot, and we will lean the property for the services that have been rendered onto the property,” he said.
The city is looking to sell the property. “That property can be used to build a new home as we know here within Albuquerque, we do experience housing shortages, and this could present a great opportunity for somebody to build a new residence for somebody here in Albuquerque,” Keiser said.
No exact cleanup date has been set. The city said the order was placed Tuesday and is expected to be scheduled soon.
