A family home of seven that recently had a new build is set to be demolished for being 75cm too tall.
The property, on the edge of Stoke-on-Trent, owned by owner Asif Naseem was supposed to only be two storeys but has dormer windows in the eaves and a roof higher than agreed before the work was done.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council says the builders failed to dig the foundations deep enough.
The only hope for him to save his home is if another retrospective application currently going through the planning process wins approval.
The authority has deferred making a decision for six months to see if a compromise could be reached.
Members of the planning committee have voted in favour of enforcement.
Mr Naseem’s wife, Faranzana Asif, told a council meeting: “It’s not fair. It’s worrying us. I don’t know what will happen now.”
Some of the residents have also shown their support behind the family and are opposing demolition.
One resident who lives opposite the property in Star and Garter Road, said: “I hope it doesn’t come to demolition. When they started building it, it ripped my house to pieces. It was horrendous the whole house shook. It shouldn’t be that big, but Asif says it’s because the groundworks aren’t deep enough.
Another resident added: “They’ve gone over and above the planning regulations. I think for the people it overlooks, it’s bigger than it should have been, and I imagine that’s quite intrusive.”
But six councillors decided not to grant another reprieve.
Councillor David Evans said: “People want a solution, but I do think we have deferred enforcement action already and I wasn’t happy about that then. We should take action. I’m not happy with the deferral.
“If you build a building without permission you are risking any investment you spend. No authority should be pressured into giving permission because it has already been built.
Councillor Ross Irving said: “I second the proposal to move to enforcement. We’ve been here twice before, and I said it was the last chance saloon then.
“We are left with a problem that’s got to be sorted and I’m in favour of taking enforcement action. We have been here for months and months on end and we need to send a message to sort this out.”
Mr Naseem has previously told StokeonTrentLive he had spent £500,000 on the building project since plans for the development were approved in 2016. He claims it would cost £200,000 – money he does not have – to lower the roof.
