A year or so ago a chimney fell off the building at 14 Lindall Place.

Neighbors had been expecting it to do so, since for years the chimney had leaned dangerously over an adjacent back garden, and they could see sky between the bricks.

As soon as it fell, neighbors reported it to the city. Time went by. What had happened to the furnace or fireplaces connected to the chimney? Was there a risk of fire? Were the tenants inside being poisoned by carbon monoxide? After all, chimneys must serve some purpose, since we all have them.

A chimney’s fall, though, didn’t seem remarkable. Many buildings, on both the north and south slopes, are in terrible condition. A few years ago the bricks on the front of a Phillips Street building fell onto the sidewalk, exposing the interior. If buildings seem hazardous from the outside, what must they be like inside?

Just as bad, according to two recent newcomers to the Hill who were looking for apartments to rent. One said Beacon Hill’s apartments were expensive, shabby and possibly a safety risk.

Beacon Hill’s shabby buildings were one of the main concerns neighbors expressed at a meeting the Beacon Hill Civic Association held for the public in May.

Is this something to worry about? If you don’t have to live in one of these buildings, do you care? After all, we city dwellers are not like suburbanites who complain if a neighbor doesn’t mow his lawn. We presume we have more tolerance for quirkiness. And while some bad buildings look hazardous, others may not be.

Beyond the ugliness, there’s another factor at play. Responsible homeowners look at such buildings and think their owners are taking advantage of the rest of us. Never maintain your building? Why should you if you’re on tony Beacon Hill, where enough buildings are pretty? Everyone wants to live here, especially the young, single professionals wanting safety and convenience and looking for a mate. (Interestingly, brokers said the number of students looking for places has declined considerably as the area’s colleges have built dorms.)

So the young lawyers, bankers, researchers and doctors come looking for rentals, of which we have plenty. The 2000 census showed 6,478 housing units on the Hill. Two-thirds of these, or 4,250, were either rented or available for rent.

Some rentals are single-family houses or condominiums. Brokers say these are often in good condition because the owner has once lived in them.

The culprits are buildings owned by absentee landlords who have no incentive to maintain their buildings, since they command high prices, even in their decrepit state.

Moreover, one broker pointed out that the supply of rental units has declined as developers turn them into condominiums, so prices go up every year.

Those who’ve lived on the Hill for some time generally don’t see the insides of decrepit buildings. But the broker who was the most vocal in his complaints about what he is asked to show potential renters says most apartments he shows have numerous problems. They smell. The carpet is stained. They haven’t been painted. Kitchens are out of date, some are not fully functioning and are overrun with cockroaches.

He said rental agents speak ironically of “deferred maintenance.”

“Landlords don’t spend a dime,” he said. “But in the right location, people will look beyond the condition.”

He named buildings on Irving Street, Anderson, Revere, Pinckney and Chestnut that he described as “pits.” He named half a dozen landlords who own several buildings as the biggest contributors to the decrepitude. He could name only one good landlord who improves his building year by year.

Is there a solution? It won’t come from the Beacon Hill Architectural Commission. “We can’t do anything about the inside,” said commission chair Joel Pierce of Garden Street. Neither can the commission force a building owner to improve his property or fix a hazard. The only thing it can do is to oversee a change an owner has proposed.

Boston’s Inspectional Services Department inspects problem buildings and requires that landlords ask for an inspection when a new tenant moves in. But an ISD spokeswoman didn’t really answer a question about what ISD does when it has a complaint. Observers say the agency has so few employees it can follow up on only the most egregious situations. Rental agents say few landlords get apartments inspected. ISD’s manpower is too limited, and apartments turn over too fast to schedule such inspections.

One solution for the neighborhood is to encourage buyers to renovate buildings with a unit for themselves and use the other units to help pay the mortgage. But brokers say purchase prices are too high for most people to afford this.

Developers reliably buy decrepit buildings to turn them into renovated condominiums, but again, prices are such that it’s hard to make a profit.

Another solution could be peer pressure—pictures in the newspaper and civic association newsletter of the worst offenders.

So what has happened at 14 Lindall Place? In late July a couple bought it for approximately $800,000, a good deal. The next day, said neighbors, a crew showed up to demolish the inside. The plan is to convert the building into condominiums. Good luck to the new owners.