Local Authority Insists on Relocation of Shed by Resident, Disregarding Pending Law Adjustments
In the heart of Hamilton, a simple garden shed has become the centre of a heated debate between resident Brian Morgan and the local city council.
Brian Morgan, a foreman at a local construction company, and his wife recently purchased the house they were renting using his pension from the United Kingdom. The couple had dreamt of starting a new life in New Zealand and providing a place for their grandchildren to visit. However, their dreams have been put on hold due to a seemingly innocuous garden shed.
Brian built the shed without consent, right beside his property's boundary, at a cost of around $5000. The shed, measuring around 7.5m2, is 250 millimetres away from the fence. Despite its seemingly harmless nature, the Hamilton City Council has issued Brian a warning to move the shed or face a daily fine of $20,000.
Brent Austin, the regulatory operations manager for the Hamilton City Council, stated that they must adhere to the Building Act legislation currently in place. However, Brent also acknowledged that they cannot legally assess building works against proposed legislation changes until they come into effect.
The rules making Brian Morgan's shed non-compliant are set to be scrapped with an incoming law change. Regulation Minister David Seymour has come to Brian's defence, criticising the council for hassling him over his garden shed. Seymour mentioned that shrinking section sizes and the cost of living make it nonsensical to force people to put sheds in the middle of their lawn or pay for consent to store tools.
Seymour has explicitly stated that the government has acknowledged the issue and plans to fix it by the end of the year. He accused the council of wasting ratepayers' time and money, and has even gone as far as to defend Brian against the council's actions.
Interestingly, the identity of the anonymous person who filed a complaint about Brian Morgan's garden shed with the Hamilton City Council remains unknown. Other houses on Brian Morgan's street have sheds next to the boundary, but have not been forced to comply.
This standoff between Brian Morgan and the Hamilton City Council has sparked a larger conversation about the regulations surrounding sheds and the impact they have on homeowners. As the law changes approach, it will be interesting to see how this story unfolds.
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