An Adelaide family say they are “living in fear” after the alleged illegal demolition of a neighbouring house caused damage to their home.
An Adelaide family say they are “living in fear” after the alleged illegal demolition of a neighbouring house caused damage to their home.
Yali Wu told the Adelaide Advertiser she was shocked when she returned to her Park Holme residence on November 9 to discover an excavator tearing down her neighbour’s house.
She said the demolition was done without any notification and “unsurprisingly damaged my home” with internal cracking, dislodged bricks and exposure to rain and water damage.
“We have been living in fear since it happened,” Ms Wu told the newspaper.
Marion Council mayor Kris Hanna said there was “no doubt” demolition approval was required where properties shared a wall and that no application had been lodged by the building company, Adelaide Building Consulting.
But the company’s managing director Timothy Rogers said the code around semi-detached properties was a “grey area” and that “it is not like we have deliberately done something wrong”.
Mr Rogers claimed the council had already informed his company it would not be issuing any fines.
He said a private certifier has since granted approval for the demolition.
“It was easier to pay $500 to get the council off our back then go to a big legal battle,” he said.