An Aussie builder has been threatened with a $740,000 fine for the cubby house he built for his daughter after neighbours complained the structure was an ‘eyesore’.
Owner and managing director of Imagine Kit Homes, Keith Richardson, designed and built a double-storey cubby house for his daughter Sophie when she was two years old.
Mr Richardson built the cubby house against the back fence line of his family’s home in Upper Coomera, Gold Coast.
The elaborate cubby house had specific design requirements, including cantilevered balconies, hardwood flooring, and raked ceilings.
Despite the property backing onto a main road and the cubby house blending in with the trees behind the fence, a neighbour complained about the structure to the council.
Mr Richardson had to go through a rigorous approval process – similar to that required for normal homes – to keep the cubby house.
The tradie employed five designers and architects who submitted plans to the council and even had an engineer inspect the cubby house before he was given approval.
However, eight years later, a second neighbour has complained to the council, claiming the cubby house was an ‘eyesore’.
In an eight-page letter, the council has now threatened Mr Richardson with a $740,000 fine if he does not make the cubby house compliant or refuses to pull it down.
‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. My 10-year-old thinks it’s the best thing she’s ever seen,’ Mr Richardson told the Courier Mail.
An Aussie builder has been threatened with a $740,000 fine for the cubby house he built for his daughter after neighbours complained the structure was an ‘eyesore’.
Owner and managing director of Imagine Kit Homes, Keith Richardson, designed and built a double-storey cubby house for his daughter Sophie when she was two years old
‘The fact that this person thinks that is their opinion, but it’s then made the council come around, do the inspections, and send this big eight-page letter basically saying that there’s a $740,000 fine if I don’t become compliant.’
Mr Richardson said he believes the cubby house is the only one in the country that has ever had council approval.
However, the council informed Mr Richardson the original approval could not be found.
Mr Richardson said he could ‘easily fight’ the latest complaint but did not have the energy to engage anymore.
‘I don’t want to upset them, because I need the council, but I just think seriously… there’s bigger things than a cubby house to worry about. I just can’t be bothered fighting with them,’ Mr Richardson said.
Despite spending ‘a lot of money’ to build the cubby house and have it engineer-approved, Mr Richardson is offering it for free as long as it goes to a good home.
The cubby house was posted to Facebook Marketplace and comes with the condition that the person removing it does so without damaging a pizza oven built next to it.
Mr Richardson added a young family has already contacted him, claiming they ‘love it’ and are keen to take it off his hands.
Mr Richardson said a young family has already contacted him, claiming they ‘love it’ and are keen to take it off his hands
‘I built this for my children, and it’s got emotional value,’ Mr Richardson told the Courier Mail.
‘When I first heard (about the council demand), I thought that was so unfair and but now I just want to give it away to someone… It’s more about making sure it goes to a good family and they enjoy it.’
