INDIALANTIC, Fla. – Maxed out on fines and under a public health investigation, Brevard County condemned a woman’s house after many years of complaints about rats and the homeowner dumping feces in neighbors’ yards.
A new sign on Sonja Kopriva’s house on Atlantic Avenue reads, “This building is unsafe.”
In November, neighbors told Indialantic Community Correspondent James Sparvero not only was Kopriva living in filth herself, but was also putting their health at risk by dumping human waste on other properties.
“I have to come clean up feces, so the neighbors don’t have to smell it,” Susan Brennan said. “It’s awful!”
Brennan said Kopriva’s house didn’t have running water.
“I wish the authorities would come and say you can’t live here, and you can’t defecate on the front stoop,” the neighbor told Sparvero before the home was condemned this week.
In a new interview on Thursday, Brennan thanked the county for finally taking action.
[WATCH: Residents complain homeowner dumps feces in their yards]
“It has been sort of like a breath of fresh air,” she said. “You feel better about it because you don’t have to wake up and see someone dying in the front yard. I mean, you saw her. I mean, she’s not well.”
Brennan said the county should have condemned the house sooner.
A spokesperson told Sparvero the county follows a legal process to kick someone out of their home.
Brennan said she complained for six years.
“Thanks to you folks making an effort on the neighbors’ behalf,” she told Sparvero. “You know, with all the rats and the feces, I thought this is how plagues started.”
Kopriva is now getting treatment.
Last month, she talked to Sparvero about her health issues, which she said kept her from taking care of her home.
“I had MRSA and major bronchitis,” Kopriva said.