The Moors paid a $5,000 deposit in April 2022 for a 2‑hectare lot in a Camperdown subdivision that was still part of an 8‑hectare paddock. They assumed they had the correct block after a real‑estate agent showed them the property and fence post numbers. In 2023, before settlement, they built a driveway on the lot they thought was theirs, with the former owner’s permission. A builder later used that driveway as a reference when relocating a four‑bedroom house onto the site. The relocation cost the couple more than $500,000, but the house ended up on an adjacent block that belonged to another owner.
Corangamite Shire Council issued a building permit in April 2024, but aerial photographs in the approval documents were taken from the wrong lot. Council staff visited the site three times in one month and inspected the foundation holes, yet they did not notice the error. In August 2024, a council officer halted work and told David Moor to seek legal advice, after the couple realized the house had been erected on land they did not own.
The Moors offered to swap the two lots, but the neighboring owner’s lawyers declined, citing unequal views, a registered easement, and tax implications. In July 2025, the lawyer for the other owner warned the couple that the house could be sold if they did not remove it within 14 days. The contractor who had moved the house earlier warned that a second move would likely damage the structure. The dispute highlighted a gap in Victoria’s property law that leaves builders with limited recourse in such mistakes.
After months of negotiation, the parties agreed in February 2026 that the Moors would clear the disputed area by May 2. A new mover lifted the house and transported it roughly 100 metres south onto the correct block just before Easter. The move was completed without further damage, allowing the couple to finish finishing touches on the property they finally own.
The couple, who had planned to retire on the new home, faced months of uncertainty and financial strain, putting a heavy toll on their savings.