For Lucy and Brock Lindsay, buying a home in beautiful Rous Mill was the dream they had worked towards throughout their 20s — a few acres in the hinterland, space for their growing business, and a sense of permanence they thought they might never achieve.

Through years of hard work, they managed to secure it before the age of 30 – albeit with an almost crippling mortgage, like many of their generation. 

But just months after moving in, they say their dream turned into a nightmare, when Ballina Shire Council began what they describe as a long campaign of “harassment” that has cost them more than $10,000 –  and even had an officer go through their garbage looking for evidence.

“It felt like they were spying on us, like the secret police,” Lucy said.

The couple’s property included a large shed they use for their business, Northern Rivers Plant Hire, with a mezzanine level at the back, including a toilet and shower. 

Before buying, they were told the mezzanine space inside the shed wasn’t council-approved. 

“We thought, we’re on a rural property with no neighbours – surely it’s not going to be a concern,” Brock said.

“The space was not fully enclosed and used only for storage. We had no plans to use it as a second dwelling.”

From Realestate.com to the Front Gate

Trouble began soon after they moved in, when they let a friend in crisis with nowhere else to go  use the mezzanine temporarily. During that time, a council compliance officer arrived unannounced, when they weren’t at home.

The Lindsays say they later learned the visit was triggered by council compliance officers trawling realestate.com.au for floor plans of recent property sales in the shire and comparing them to council records. 

“They turned up without notice, didn’t identify themselves as council until the very end, and handed over a card,” Lucy said.

After months of difficulties and a second unannounced visit, the couple requested the officer be removed from their case due to what they saw as an aggressive approach. Council agreed to the change.

On the second visit, the officer noted the home’s exterior cladding had been changed from fibro to cement sheeting and allegedly suspected the Lindsays had removed asbestos themselves and hidden the waste.

“She admitted in an email she’d gone through our bin – inside our boundary – looking for asbestos,” Brock said.

“We’d hired a licensed contractor, we had the receipts, but they still went after the asbestos company too.”

Ironically, the actions took place at a time when Ballina Shire Council had been singled out by the NSW Local Government Minister for having one of the worst records in the state for approving new homes, a situation the council claimed was due to being “short of staff”.

“It Could Have Been Solved With a Phone Call”

Council eventually required engineering certification, a “works-as-executed” plan, plumbing documentation, and a statutory declaration that no one would live in the mezzanine – costing more than $10,000.

Then came the final shock – a $750 invoice for council’s “investigation time.”

 “It wasn’t a fine or a fee for services we’d asked for,” Lucy said. 

“They decided to investigate off their own bat, and now we’re being billed for their time. It felt like a kick in the guts.”

The couple engaged an administrative consultant to help manage the process. They say council later threatened her – and them, with fines of up to $150,000 for allegedly withholding information they had already supplied. Council eventually admitted they had the material and they were told to disregard the threat.

“We knew the mezzanine wasn’t approved and we’ve always been more than willing to comply with whatever needs to happen to make it legal,” Brock said.

“It could have been resolved with a phone call from the beginning. But instead of helping or working with us, they’ve made life a lot harder than it needed to be.”

Hoping for help, the Lindsays took their concerns to Ballina Shire councillor Simon Chate, who they say was helpful and empathetic. He later told them there was nothing he could do further, on the advice of senior council management.

Adding to their frustration, the Lindsays say friends have had legitimate complaints about unapproved builds ignored by council. 

“They told our friend, who had an unapproved granny flat built hard up against her home, that  they didn’t have time to investigate.  Yet in our case, they have time to monitor realestate.com and go through our bins,” Lucy said.

The couple are now calling on the Mayor to intervene, and question the culture within the council. 

“We’re 30, running a small business, paying our rates.  We expect to be treated respectfully – the same way they ask us to treat their staff.  That hasn’t happened here,” Brock said.

Ballina News Daily has contacted Ballina Shire Council for comment. 

Main image: Lucy and Brock Lindsay in their “office” shed – the disputed mezzanine floor can be seen at the rear.