Richard Anderson, of Wingatui Rd, in Mosgiel, featured on the Fair Go television show on Monday night, after a 7m tin shelter he attached to a back fence ran foul of council staff.
A neighbour had complained about a pergola built over a spa on Mr Anderson's property, built too close to the boundary, but when council staff visited they found other problems.
That included two garden sheds also built too close to the boundary, as well as the tin firewood shelter.
Council staff issued Mr Anderson with a notice to fix, requiring him to remove the offending structures, which were deemed illegal under the Building Act.
Alternatively, he could move the structures or make changes to ensure they complied with legislation, or seek a costly building consent to approve them, council community services general manager Simon Pickford said yesterday.
Mr Anderson said he would comply with the notice, despite being less than impressed by the council's approach.
''Everyone in Dunedin has got the same problem ... I guess I've got no option.''
Mr Pickford said there was more to the dispute than he was able to divulge, but one neighbour in the area had filed more than 20 complaints with the council alleging breaches by others in the area.
Each complaint was being investigated, as was the neighbour who filed them in the first place, and other notices to fix were being issued, he said.
The Building Act required the council to investigate when a complaint was received, including carrying out a site visit.
If breaches of the legislation were observed, they could not be overlooked.
''We can't choose not to do it,'' he said.
Under the Building Act, structures needed to be positioned as far away from boundaries as they were high.
For garden sheds, this reflected the fact they were often used to store potentially flammable solvents, petrol and other dangerous materials, which presented a fire risk to neighbours.
Although it was ''technically'' a structure under the Building Act, and required a building consent, it was only the complaint - and the requirement on the council to act - that triggered action, he said.
''If it was just that on its own, and no-one had complained ... we wouldn't have known,'' Mr Pickford said.
The notice to fix had been issued in February, and the deadline to resolve the matter later extended in July, giving Mr Anderson until September to resolve the matter.
If he failed to do so, the council could ultimately seek a prosecution through the Dunedin District Court, although ''that's a pretty extreme end''.
''We don't want to do that.''
Complaints like the one received against Mr Anderson's structures were becoming increasingly common, including in Mosgiel, where smaller sections and larger homes left less room for legal structures.
The council used to receive about one such complaint a month, but now fielded two a week, on average, he said.
''It does create problems, but unfortunately this is an issue not just limited to Mosgiel.
''It's usually a situation between neighbours which then escalates. Unfortunately, the council gets brought in as an enforcer to settle a dispute between neighbours or as a weapon which is used between neighbours.''
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Comments
"one neighbour in the area had filed more than 20 complaints"
There it is. Sounds like a sticky beak hand wringing neighbour with nothing better to do than to, sounds like the type of neighbour who moves next to an airport then complains about the noise.
"For garden sheds, this reflected the fact they were often used to store potentially flammable solvents, petrol and other dangerous materials, which presented a fire risk to neighbours.
What about motorcars parked next to fences, houses etc. They also store "potentially flammable solvents" and could "potentially' catch on fire.
This whole thing is just ridiculous.
Start a neighbour hood watch, invite the complaining neighbour to join keep them closer than anything, mentor coach them and say hello and wave to them, be overly nice, they might have a problem and think the whole world is against them.