ELKHART — City leaders say more people in Elkhart are not keeping their homes up to code and in some cases are abandoning them.

In many neighborhoods that means unsightly and unsafe properties.

For quite some time, neighbors on Flake Street have been keeping a close eye on a home on Elkhart’s west side.

“I think it’s very unsanitary,” said neighbor Ashley Ivory. “They should either put it up for sale, or fix it up you know, make it look nice, or knock it down."

“They are not real nice to look at," added Alicia Albarran, who lives nearby.

It’s just one of a growing number of homes in the city with owners who are not staying up to code, have abandoned them, or fallen behind on payments and received foreclosure notices.

“It comes down to the money and with a rise in gas prices, the economy is taking a dive,” said building commissioner Dennis Mann. “The housing market is going down, the people just can't afford them plus they're out a job."

In some cases, Mann says the city has to take them over.

He says bottom line, it is in the city’s best interest not to demolish a home. Among other things, it takes it off the property tax rolls and the city is left to care for the vacant lot.

So the city wants to strengthen code requirements and find better ways to combat the problem.

"We’re trying to keep on top of it,” said Mann. “We need the property cleaned up and the building taken care of."

“No one is going to buy a house that's nasty or abandoned looking,” Ivory said.

Some council members want the city to enact tougher enforcement. A special committee will also find other ways to handle dilapidated buildings.