Bishnu Aryal, from Nepal, moved to Australia and saved up $700,000 AUD (£391,000) for the Sydney plot and the building. He signed an agreement for the building with Zac Homes for $322,400 (£180,000), on top of a separate land purchase for $398,950 (£222,700) in the suburb of Edmondson Park.  

According to reports, the agreement was for a free-standing home but, three years later, Aryal was left scratching his head when he checked the progress and realised contractors had built a duplex on half the block - with a huge windowless grey wall erected down the middle.

Rather than having another building attached to the side, like with a regular duplex, the lot sits empty - giving the Aryal family home an unfinished look, with startled passersby even stopping to take pictures of it.

Aryal admitted that his English isn’t perfect, but he said he didn’t sign up for half a house. 

“I called the supervisor and asked him what’s going on, why is the house like this? And he said, ‘It’s a duplex, semi duplex, and I nearly fainted that day,” he told A Current Affair.

“Where’s my house? I want the rest of my house. It’s not a free-standing house, it’s not a duplex, it’s half a house. And it looks embarrassing.” 

A spokesman for Zac Homes said the company “appreciates the frustrations of Mr and Mrs Aryal surrounding the delay in the issue of the Occupation Certificate, these delays are not caused by Zac Homes.”

“Instead, Zac Homes has worked diligently and at its own cost to attempt to remedy the outstanding matters so that the Occupation Certificate can issue,” it added.