'shabby house' is correct and can be used in written English.
For example, you might use it in the sentence, "The old, shabby house had been empty for years."
As for Mr. Qian, his shabby house was empty on Friday.
Inspired by the myth of Amphitryon, Banville's novel takes place over the course of a single summer's day in the confines of a big, shabby house in the middle of Ireland.
The play's form is dictated by the power struggle that develops when Aston (Mr. MacLachlan) brings a homeless tramp, Davies (Mr. Stewart), back to the shabby house in West London owned by his entrepreneurial younger brother, Mick (Mr. Gillen).
McGill's efforts to protect Zella and his own large, fractious family take him all over the city, from an East River mansion with priceless art in the living room to a shabby house in Coney Island with a decomposing corpse in the laundry room.
$25.95 Related Excerpt: The Infinities (March 7, 2010) Janet Maslins Review of The Infinities (April 5, 2010) The novel takes place over the course of a single summer's day in the confines of a big shabby house in the middle of Ireland.
Or buzz yourself in through the discreet entrance for Müszi (Blaha Lujza tér 1), a huge warehouse arts space, which has exhibitions, a cafe and a barbershop to enjoy in the day but still manages to host rowdy club nights with a shabby house-party feel.
The side streets near some of Mr. Goldman's properties are lined with shabby housing.
It may be shabby housing, I don't know what the quality is.
This includes a wealthy bourgeoisie but also two million people living in bands of shabby housing around Amman, where Islamist ideas have taken hold.
A gloomy wall of shabby houses with tiers of balconies stretches across the stage, parting to display an equally lackluster interior.
