Australian couple’s $500,000 retirement home was built on the wrong block

Melanie and David Moor spent more than $500,000 on what they expected to be their retirement home in Camperdown, south-west Victoria, only to discover that the house had been placed entirely on a neighbouring block. The couple had bought land in a new subdivision in 2021 and, after obtaining permits, installed a driveway and relocated a four-bedroom house onto the 2-hectare property they believed they owned. Instead, the house had been moved onto the adjacent block, which belonged to someone else. The mistake was discovered in August 2024, while the Moors were completing work on the house, after a council officer told David Moor to stop construction and seek legal advice. The couple then spent almost two years trying to resolve the dispute, including an unsuccessful proposal to swap the two properties.