MIDDLEBORO — The Middleboro Select Board condemned a property at 321 Wareham St. at its meeting Monday, Dec. 12, citing conditions that “pose a serious danger to the life and health’’ of the occupant.

The decision was the culmination of long-standing complaints about conditions at the rear unit at 321 Wareham St., including the lack of a “properly functioning septic system,’’ according to the Board of Health. 

The dwelling is “neglected and in significant disrepair’’ and “littered with junk, refuse and debris,’’ according to the Board of Health.

Previous clean-up orders had been issued June 13, Aug. 29 and Dec. 6, according to the Board of Health.

The owner of the property, Shirley Broomhead, had been asked to have the septic system pumped within 48 hours of the board’s Dec. 5 meeting. When that didn’t happen, Town Manager James McGrail said, the town contracted a company to do the work.

The company subsequently determined that the cesspool had “completely collapsed,’’ McGrail said.

The tenant at the now-condemned property, Denise Parker, had previously told the select board that she was unable to flush her toilet without plunging. An overflowing trash container was also attracting animals, she said.

The property is “unfit for human habitation,’’ select board member Brian Giovanoni said. He noted that the property owners had been ordered to replace the septic system in 2017 but “nothing was done.’’

He said that “the disgusting thing is that it was rented out’’ despite having a failed system.

Broomhead and her attorney Robert Perry have said that Parker owes rent and has not been cooperative. But select board member Nathan Demers said the Board of Health has had a “laundry list of complaints’’ about the property dating back “five or six years,’’ before the current tenant moved in.

Parker will be housed in a local hotel for the short term, McGrail said, and reimbursement will be sought from Broomhead through housing court. He said he is working with the state to secure longer-term housing for her. 

The apartment cannot be re-occupied until the Board of Health determines that all violations have been corrected, board members said.