3.5 inch home error costs $24,850 to repair

• Tweet

CONCEPTION BAY SOUTH, Newfoundland, July 27 (UPI) -- A Canadian couple said they are facing $25,000 in costs to repair a 3 1/2-inch error in the placement of their half-constructed home.

Steven Boyd and Karen Bursey said the Conception Bay South, Newfoundland, town council told them the house they are building is 3.5 inches too close to a neighboring property and they must now pay $25,000 to correct the error or buy more property to render it moot, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Friday.

Officials said local zoning laws require homes to be 59 inches from neighboring properties, but Boyd and Bursey received an exemption to be only 51.15 inches away. However, a construction error resulted in the home being only 49.6 inches away from the property line.

The council has issued a stop-work order on the home's construction until the issue is resolved.

"We're devastated, obviously," Bursey said. "We have thousands of dollars invested in a home that we can't proceed with."

Burnsey said fixing the error would cost $25,000 and their neighbors want the same amount to move their property line.

"Our only other avenue of appeal is to go through the municipal appeals board, which right now at this point in time there's a wait list of well over a year," Bursey said.