Work is taking place at a home slated for demolition by the City of Saskatoon.
Crews were working at the Briarwood home on the weekend, removing wood and other items from the Beechdale Crescent home.
The homeowner, Yu Liu, lives in China and has a court hearing on Oct. 11 to seek an injunction to stop the demolition.
The city was ready to tear it down on Oct. 1 due to several issues including a flooded basement and mould.
Neighbours had complained of the smell from the home, which was originally valued at $650,000.
A judge halted the demolition on Oct. 1 and granted a 10-day delay on the injunction hearing to allow both sides more time to compile evidence.
The city said it had made numerous efforts to contact the owner to get the problems fixed.
Notices to remedy the problems were mailed and posted on the door on March 21, 2019, and May 22, 2019, according to the city.
Liu’s lawyer, Ling Ma, said her client was unaware of the multiple orders to remedy the issues and only learned about the orders from a cousin who read about it in the news.
Ma said Liu had paid someone to manage the property for him while he was living outside of Saskatchewan.
—With files from Ryan Kessler and Nicole Stillger