Being that that's not far from me, I've been following that story.
The later news stories detail the fact that the city condemned both houses, and contracted the company to demo them both, but on Nov. 3 notified them to not demo the one. The guy in charge forgot, and they both came down. The company spokesman commented that if there had been a building permit posted, his crew might've noticed that and questioned whether they were to take it down or not. I find that a reasonable comment, and the fact is that the owner had not applied for said permit. Stupid mistake, still.
I do have a bit of a problem with how the story has been reported though. Not every house is a "home". In the context of the sentence, "A Pittsburgh man's home has been leveled after city officials say a contractor mistakenly demolished it along with a neighboring house", the inference is that the guy lost his furniture and clothes, and all his other belongings. (Especially since the second structure is referred to as simply a "house".) That wasn't the case. He lost a house he'd been working on. In this instance, that's an important distinction. Somebody who reports the news for a living should be able to make that distinction.
I have a feeling that by the time it's said and done, Mr. Hall will make out on the deal.
Google Maps Street View of both houses:
