This house costs $0 but there’s a very expensive catch

A crumbling cottage is being offered for free in a last-ditch attempt to save it from demolition, but there’s a catch.

The abandoned home in Trevallyn, Tasmania, has sat empty since 2023 after air quality testing found extensive mould contamination and structural reports revealed endless defects.

Now, the City of Launceston is inviting expressions of interest from anyone willing to relocate the cottage and restore it at their own expense.

If the historic home cannot find a new owner, it will be demolished.

The push to save the house comes after Launceston councillor Tim Walker successfully amended a council motion that would have allowed the building to be knocked down.

“Does anyone want a house?” Walker wrote on Facebook.

“The recommendation was to demolish, but I’m hoping someone will see the potential of moving it to a new location and give it a new lease of life.”

Council documents have painted a grim picture, explaining that a structural assessment found uneven floors, rotting timber, cracking walls and ceilings, fire-damaged flooring and springing floors throughout the home.

There is also the issue of air quality, which is affected by an “abnormal settled mould ecology”.

The building, believed to be close to a century-old, would require a massive undertaking to make it liveable.

Despite its dilapidated condition, Walker is offering the community the opportunity to save a slice of Tasmanian history.

“Time is running out for Trevallyn Cottage,” he wrote, noting expressions of interest had been extended by 10 days.

“I am still hopeful that someone who has the land to put it on will see value in this opportunity, not only to get a house, but to restore a little piece of Launceston’s built heritage.”

For former tenant Greta John, the cottage is worth fighting for.

A single mother, John and her children were the last family to live in the home before being forced to leave as it was no longer safely habitable.

“Even though it was rundown, I still loved that house,” she wrote under Walker’s post.

“It housed many, many families.”

The home’s future now hinges on whether someone is willing to take on the costly challenge of relocating it.

Interested applicants will need to ensure they have suitable land, the finances needed to complete the project and a detailed plan covering transport, permits, remediation works and the building’s future use.