'Accidentally crossed 1m...' 250 Million Won Lawsuit Against Neighbor in New Zealand

Depark Lal stands with his arms crossed in front of his house.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choyoung Kim] Due to a design error, a homeowner ended up building a house that encroached on a neighbor's boundary line, putting them in a position where they must pay over 200 million won.

On the 17th (local time), New Zealand media reported the story of Dipak Lal, who now faces tens of thousands of dollars in additional costs because his house was built 1 meter away from its originally intended location.

According to reports, Lal had commissioned a home construction company called 'Pinnacle Homes' and was nearing completion of the house when, in August last year, the company suddenly announced a halt in construction, saying, "Something seemed off during construction, so we reviewed the documents and found an error. It appears there is confusion regarding the boundary with the neighbor."

As expected, the neighbor's landowner, a real estate development company called 'C94 Development,' filed a lawsuit against Lal, demanding either compensation of 315,000 dollars (approximately 250 million won) for the boundary encroachment or that the house be relocated.

The problem is presumed to have arisen due to a mistake made during the process where Pinnacle Homes subcontracted the design to the architectural firm 'HQ Designs' and obtained building approval from the authorities.

Lal's lawyer, Matt Taylor, stated, "It appears the issue arose from a mistake in the design process where the architect transferred resource consent information into the building approval documents."

Pinnacle Homes emphasized, "Our company carried out all work according to the design plans," adding, "The fault for the boundary dispute lies with HQ Designs and the city authorities."