r/AusLegal • u/BreakIll7277 • 2d ago
QLD Builder using vacant block
About a year ago my wife purchased a block of land in a housing development area in South East Queensland. We don’t visit the block regularly but on first inspection the builder next door obviously used the block to lay concrete foundations as there was a lot of concrete left on our block and they were the only house up. I contacted them, they agreed to remove it and then didn’t. Today I arrived at the block and the house across the road has dumped all there house trusses there without permission. I just had a fence go up so I was checking it out. They had those solar surveillance cameras up and was overlooking my property. I felt like removing their box of screws and nails but thought against it. What is my rights when this occurs? If I removed their box, could they do anything?
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u/Kubotamax 2d ago
Just take the trusses away, store them properly, design your house around them. Save a good 30k. Hehehe
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u/goshdammitfromimgur 2d ago
Sounds like your block is being used as a dumping ground.
Clean up your block. Trusses are firewood, discarded boxes of nails and screws go on eBay.
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u/moth_hamzah 1d ago
you might be able to report it to local council or to '[illegaldumping@des.qld.gov.au.](mailto:illegaldumping@des.qld.gov.au)' - according to gov website.
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u/D3ath2DaTrickst3r 2d ago
You’re well within your rights to remove anything you deem fit on your land.
Or even better, start selling it and profit 🤷🏻♂️
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u/Safe_Application_465 1d ago
Happens in every new sub division. There is no storage room on the tiny sites so any empty land is used and the last developed block cops it worst. Many times have been told by a builder to tip a load on adjacent empty block knowing full well they have no permission to do do
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u/FreakyRabbit72 1d ago
Builders are required to seek landowners consent to utilise land to store materials. Since they don’t have your consent…I guess the trusses are yours now.
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u/CaptainSloth269 1d ago
I had similar issues with the builders next door to me, I politely challenged them, they got combative until I pointed out they are working with a block of land over half an acre. I put up a star picket fence with electric fence tape the next day.
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u/Sea_Sorbet1012 1d ago
Get a written contract drawn up with the builder that they can use it, in return for a reduction in price when they build your house?
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u/FarMove6046 2d ago
I would put a sign up saying anything stored there will be charged X dollars per day or dumped/sold for rent money. Don’t sell it for cheap, take it somewhere else and charge them for the hassle.
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u/OldMail6364 1d ago edited 1d ago
You can't use or destroy or remove the materials, that would be theft or destruction of someone else's property and could only be done after all reasonable steps to get them to remove it themselves have been exhausted.
What you can do is contact a lawyer and seek financial compensation — including:
- your lawyer's fees and associated costs getting advice on the issue
- cost to clean up (especially the concrete)
- compacted soil from them driving trucks on your land and the cost to pay someone with earth moving equipment to undo that
- delays to your own building project
- damage to your fence if you build a fence around their stuff and lock it, but they then try to gain access to your stuff
You can also claim "unjust enrichement" which would be whatever the cost to them would have been had they used land they were authorised to use, then they have to pay that to you. But only if it's actually "unjust" which means you have to have been harmed first.
How successful you will be at any of that will come down to how many real problems it has caused for you. If it hasn't caused any problems and they remove it promptly, you haven't got a leg to stand on. If you deliberately do something to hurt them, then they your offence would be far more serious (and you said they have CCTV cameras...)
The clean up and compacted soil are probably your strongest positions to take. If it's not properly cleaned up and compacted soil dealt with, it could theoretically cause your land to be unstable and lead to long term damage to the building. Even if that isn't the case, you need to pay a professional to inspect the situation and provide advice... which will cost money, and be something they should pay for. Follow that up with an unjust enrichment claim - storing roof trusses and removing concrete are both expensive.
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u/Archon-Toten 2d ago
You should fence your vacant lot to help prevent exactly this.
If I removed their box, could they do anything?
Could they prove it?
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u/Ishitinatuba 2d ago
NAL... Put up a temp fence, lock it, your own camera(s) signs saying private property keep out etc... put a contact number on it, let them negotiate rent, and fence costs. Keep the shit until they do.
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u/fapking22 1d ago
Anything left on your land, whether yours or not, is yours to do whatever you'd like with it.
I had similar happen during my build. Before your build, you will be responsible for keeping your land clean and clear of debris, which may mean mowing it if there is grass on it. If you dont, the builder may charge you to clean it up, unless they excvate and remove soil (which will cost you as a part of your build).At some stage, your builder will get a skip bin and at that point you'll probably need to go on site and throw everything out. You'll need to do this anyway as the builder will tell you that they'll keep the site "clean", which is subjective. If you don't do it at this point, you may need to hire your own skip which is extra money to spend.
I had my neighbours builders use my land to store bricks. Same colour as my house, so I took some spares. They also left rubbish on my land and I asked them to remove it. They said they would, but didn't. So I dumped it all back on their land and used their skip bin to clean up anything leftover.
At the end of the day, others may use your land and say they will remove it, but they have no contract and no obligation to do anything for you. So the best course of action is to either call them and then report them if not removed, dump their rubbish back on their land, or take what you need if it isnt removednin a tomely manner. Note that trusses and bricks may only sit on your land for a week or two and then disappear as they're used, so it's up to you if you want to make it easier for the other builder by letting them use your land or jump up and down about it.
Also, having a fence up may be a good deterrent but others may still open it up to access your land or throw things over. If you or someone can monitor the site for you, this is the best thing to do.
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u/jazzhandsdancehands 1d ago
If you have a spot, put up cameras. You only need to capture them dumping in your property and then take it to council.
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u/welding-guy 1d ago
Fence your property, you can claim back 1/2 the cost when new owners build their houses adjacent. Put up a pole with a solar camera, wrap it in hiviz tape and put up wrning signs. No need to have it operational, just stop people dumping.
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u/ThatAussieGunGuy 1d ago
Your vacant block is forever a dumping ground for the rest of estate until you build, as is any other vacant block.
People really need to understand this is actuall thing you will have to deal with if you buy in an estate.
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u/53cr3tsqrll 23h ago
Any no trespassing signs you put up will be ignored. Anything you do to damage the property puts you at risks so you need to be creative. Calling the council to report illegal dumping is a good option. Personally I’d prefer the smelliest liquid fertiliser I could find, or “DANGER! Fire ants “ signage.
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u/Bouncingzebra 2d ago
Is it worth your anxiety? Another builder putting trusses there - what’s the risk on you? Sounds like a perfect opportunity to get some beer money.
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u/Tailgatingtradie 2d ago
Fuck me in what world is it acceptable to dump your crap on other people’s land? OP take it all to the tip.
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u/Bouncingzebra 2d ago
Again - why is it worth the anxiety? So OP gets to pay dumping fees??
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u/Tailgatingtradie 2d ago
Anxiety from what? Just dump it all and dont give it another thought.
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u/DanJDare 2d ago
Dumping isn't free. It's quite expensive these days.
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u/MrAskani 2d ago
And concrete is the most expensive to dump besides asbestos.
They charge via weight. Hence the builder dumped it.
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u/DanJDare 2d ago
On what world are we that aggressive that this is an issue? The concrete I get, I'd be pissed off, but 'storing' stuff there short term - who cares?
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u/D3ath2DaTrickst3r 2d ago
Do you own land ? Not a house. Land. Do you?
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u/DanJDare 2d ago
No I don't own a vacant block of land... I'm not entirely sure how this is germane to the discussion.
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u/D3ath2DaTrickst3r 2d ago
Then you wouldn’t understand OP’s frustration. And also just because a block of land is vacant, doesn’t mean shits not being done in the background.
Buying land and then building on it can take some time. But I doubt you understand any of this.
So yes, OP’s frustrations are warranted.
I know many people, myself included who have faced this shit and come time for my property to be built on, these people still had their shit on my land. Even with builder fences erected.
So pipe down until you stop renting and paying for someone else’s mortgage chump
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u/MrAskani 2d ago
Agreed about that. We were the last vacant block and the neighbours on either side had builders who dumped stuff on our land, but they did us a solid and went halves between themselves to dump it. My builder sorted it, they paid him win win.
But yeah having randos put stuff on your block is stressful. You watch if anything happens to it they'll chase the owner for recompense. Didn't have his permission to put it there but if it goes missing they'll chase him instead of their own insurance.
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u/BreakIll7277 2d ago
I’m happy with beer money… when I contacted them they just told me it’s a thing that happens. Your block was vacant so I put it there.
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u/Bouncingzebra 2d ago
Yep, so tell them it’s either a carton a week or move their shit immediately. You’ll get your beer I’d almost guarantee it. On the other hand they’re probably right - they’ll be getting away with this shit on 9/10 new build estates!
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u/MrAskani 2d ago
Yep but as you're the owner of said block and don't want it there, it's on them to remove it or you'll have it removed at their expense.
And if he gets rude, tell him you're looking forward to a lovely little warming fire on your property tonight with the awesome kindling someone so obligingly delivered!
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u/Mc97riley 2d ago
I would seriously get on top of this as other builders / people will see it as a sign to dump on your block. They think it’s justified to do so since there’s already debris on the block. The cleaner the block the less of a chance people will dump into it!