Homeowners on Richter say they are faced with daily challenges after construction began on a development right beside their home

Andrea and Ryan Hilton say they have had to deal with a whole host of issues with their home ever since construction on a neighbouring development began a few months ago.

The couple were hoping to sell their home, but were forced to take it off the market when they realized the foundation of their Richter property was shifting.

“We had to outsource a geotech from Vancouver just to come to take a look. The site next door had their own geotech, but obviously, they stopped communicating with us about the issue. We had to outsource a geotech by ourselves. It was very evident right away he saw the damage," Ryan Hilton said.

The couple said they reached out to the developer on April 1st after crews had hit groundwater.

“We noticed the site was filling up. They didn't know it was groundwater. So they stopped work and thought they may have hit a pipe so they may have to come and dig up the side of our house. It was probably five days the water sat while they were trying to source it out. It was basically that same weekend we had noticed some shifting," Andrea Hilton said.

After three surveys of the home by the developer, the Hiltons said they were told that nothing crews were doing was causing any damage to their property.

The couple said they also reached out to the City of Kelowna and were told that because it was a neighbour to neighbour dispute they weren't going to get involved.

"The amount of day to day things we have had to deal with is atrocious. Just in the last week, we have had cement sprayed all over the side of our house. Our patio, our furniture, our fruit trees. We have had rocks dumped from overhead all over the property. That happened four weeks ago. We are talking about hundreds of rocks, and [we] have requested for them to pick them up."

The Hiltons say sometimes construction begins at five in the morning.

“We would like some accountability really for the developers. It seems like they get their run around here, or at least this one does, with all the disturbances and grievances we have had with them it really seems like there aren't any consequences with them."

"If you are a neighbour stuck beside them I don’t wish this on anyone really. In our position right now it is not a good position to be in. It's not a fun place to call home anymore," Ryan Hilton added.

Castanet has reached out to both the developer of the project and the City of Kelowna for comment.