The survivor of a Chesterfield County house fire that took the lives of his wife and son pleaded no contest Tuesday to violating an order to demolish or repair the family’s fire-ravaged home, which has sat blackened and boarded up for more than seven months.

But a county judge deferred judgment against Kenneth D. Layne and continued the case to Sept. 20.

Layne barely escaped the Dec. 21 fire that killed his wife, Tracey Johnson, 46, and Layne’s 11-year-old son, Jacob Layne, and ravaged the family’s home at 1801 Wrens Nest Road. The fast-spreading fire left the home a blackened shell and a dreary eyesore for residents who live near it in the Settlers Landing subdivision off Robious Road.

Several neighbors who want the house razed have complained to county officials about the aesthetics and potential hazards of the damaged house.

A county building official issued Layne a citation June 20 for violating the county’s building code. According to paperwork filed with the complaint, the building official inspected the home the day after the fire and placed a notice there deeming it an unsafe structure.

But because the house had been secured by authorities for the fire investigation, the building official didn’t issue a notice ordering the house be repaired or demolished until April 7, according to the complaint.

“I had several conversations with Mr. Layne throughout May, working towards repair or demolition,” the building official wrote. “But since the end of May no progress has been made on the property and it remains in non-compliance.”

The case apparently now involves two other unidentified people, but the county, through a spokesman, declined to comment except to confirm there are “two other interested parties.” A call left for a lawyer in the county attorney’s office was not returned.

A second notice of unsafe structure posted by county officials Tuesday on the front door of the home names Joshua Johnson and Cassandra Johnson — Tracey Johnson’s adult children from a previous marriage.

The notice says they have seven days as of Tuesday to repair or demolish the house.

The fatal fire was traced to a malfunctioning electrical outlet in a downstairs living room, and investigators believe the fire burned for several hours in a space inside the wall without producing any smoke. The fire burned while the family slept, fire officials said last year.

Layne escaped by leaping from a second-floor window and suffered injuries that initially were considered critical.