Renovation dream uncovers a hidden nightmare for Perth family

A Perth family's plans to renovate their home has led to the discovery it was so badly built, half the property will have to be demolished.

Kieran Emery started the renovations to accommodate his growing family, he discovered half the house was illegally built and too dangerous to live in.

While the original structure is secure, the back extension was built without approval and is barely holding together.

"It's a miracle we haven't had it fall down so far," Mr Emery said.

"Everyone that's come here to have a look to try and fix it have said they've never seen anything like it."

Mr Emery spotted the character home for sale online in 2015 and it came with a glowing property condition report from a building inspector, who didn't spot the shoddy construction because it had been covered up.

"The defects that we found were hidden behind walls, things like that," he said.

Mr Emery was working away and the first time he saw the property in person was at the pre-settlement inspection.

Alarm bells started ringing when the shed's dimensions didn't add up.

"I've gone inside this annex area and I've found this rear wall which I gave a bit of a tap and a panel fell off and there was a hydroponics room," he said.

Mr Emery was alarmed enough to take out title insurance and request proof of approvals for the whole property.

The owner sent an email through a real estate agent stating all buildings were council approved and conformed to the Building Code of Australia.

Mr Emery began finding problems when he started renovating the property more than two years later.

"There are a number of defects I thought could never have had approval," he said. "

“I've gone to see the council and requested the approvals that have been given in the past and found that about half of our house has been built without council approval and since then the council has come out and made a determination it meets no building code within Australia and needs to be demolished."

The cost of demolition and the rebuild will exceed $100,000 and the title insurance will only cover part of that.

"They've offered us a sum of money that would leave us out of pocket by about $40,000 to get the house repaired to being a three by one, which is what we paid for."

Unable to track down the former owners and not even sure if they carried out the extension, Mr Emery approached Consumer Protection to report the real estate agent - only to find there was a two weeks left on the three year statute of limitations.

"I was then told I didn't allow the consumer protection team enough time to investigate the claim so they wouldn't be progressing with it," he said.

Mr Emery said he took all the right steps and was not sure what else he could have done.

REIEA president Damian Collins said about 40% of properties had some form of illegal structure.

"The challenge is, of course, with privacy rules you can't just go down to your local council and expect to get handed over the plans for a property," he said.

"One of the recommendations I would make is for somebody to put it in as a contract condition that the sale of the property is subject to all structures on the property being council approved," he said.

Muray Thornhill, from HHG Legal Group, it was important to remember the seller's agent only represented the seller.

"They're only looking after the seller and not the buyer, so think about a buyer's agent.

"The law does protect you and you can seek redress but you need to prove a case and that can be quite difficult."

Although it doesn't cover everything, title insurance has saved Mr Emery a small fortune.

"Especially if you're buying an older home like we have, I'd definitely be recommending it," he said.

With one young child and another on the way, Mr Emery said he just wanted what he had paid for.

"That's heart wrenching to know as a father, that I'm not able to give my family the home that I had my heart set on," he said.

Mr Emery is looking into legal options to hold the previous owner to account.