“I live in a tent”: Horror renovations see woman living in home with no roof
A woman and her son have been left living in a “tent” home filled with mould, exposed wiring and holes after renovation plans went horribly wrong.
In February 2020, Jill Harris hired Extension Factory to extend and add a second storey to her Melbourne home.
Two years later, she says she has been left living in poor conditions after numerous problems plagued the construction work.
With tarps replacing the roof overhead, Ms Harris said the home is flooded by “waterfalls that leak through the light fittings” when it rains and that the only thing her home was good for was Halloween.
“I call this the tent. I live in the tent because there is no roof over my room or my son‘s room,” she told A Current Affair.
“I have good days where I try to be positive and I have the lowest of lows.”
Exposed wiring, holes, and a lack of a watertight roof have been just some of the issues Jill Harris has faced while living in her unfinished home. Images: A Current Affair
Ms Harris said the builders first built the storey out of square, forcing them to knock it all down and start again.
“(It) just went completely wrong from there. They built it 160mm out of square, which we didn't find out till 12 months later,” she said.
Work was eventually stopped by surveyor Steve Maloney after the builders allegedly continued work without the permission of the inspector.
Mr Maloney said work needed to stop because of the “owner(s) and their builders' compliances with the building legislation”.
Since then, Ms Harris has turned her unfinished home into a warning against the company, adorning the front with signs reading that the company is “destroying our lives”, “doesn’t care” and that “a contract with them means nothing”.
“I’ts (sic) cheaper for the “Extension Factory” to put this in the hands than it is to honour my contract with them and finish my home. Tens of thousands of dollars of mistakes, so they gave up and use lawyers to protect them!” another sign reads.
After no resolution was reached to finish her home, Jill Harris let out her frustration against Extension Factory through signs displayed in front of her home. Image: A Current Affair
Gerry Hoggard, the owner of Extension Factory, conceded that there had been issues with the property and said he could appreciate Ms Harris being upset.
“It certainly was an error, it was built out of square, we accepted responsibility and took it down,” Mr Hoggard said.
“I know what she’s living through.
“I don’t like it (my name) being treated that way, but I can appreciate she‘s upset about what’s transpired.”
Although he claimed that Ms Harris was advised to vacate the property at the start of the build, her brother Ashley, a former Extension Factory employee, said it wasn’t going to happen.
“It’s not the sort of job that you would leave anyone occupying the premises,” Mr Hoggard said.
However, Ms Harris said she wasn’t told that she would need to vacate her property.
A Current Affair reported that it alerted the Victorian Building Authority to Ms Harris’ situation, prompting the organisation to release a statement.
"The Victorian Building Authority takes complaints against building and plumbing practitioners extremely seriously,” it read, adding that the building authority carries out thousands of inspections to ensure work is compliant.
"When it doesn't, we use the powers available to us to hold practitioners accountable."
Image: A Current Affair