It was meant to be a £520,000 dream home.
But a row erupted at a new build estate in Horsford as a developer and customer clashed over one of the homes.
The buyer of a plot at Pyehurn Close, Derek Jordan, moved into the property on June 19 after giving builder Norfolk County Developments Ltd nine weeks to complete almost £30,000 worth of extras.
But when he arrived he found plumbing and electrical work had not been done.
For six weeks he was forced to use the toilet at the nearby doctors and bathe in the garden using kettles of water.
Norfolk County Developments Ltd said Mr Jordan had 'illegally occupied' the house before handing over any money. While he has now paid £520,500 in full, the developer says Mr Jordan does not yet have ownership of the property as a completion notice for the five-bedroom home has not yet been issued.
But Mr Jordan has accused the firm of failing to make the home habitable before he moved in and claims he had a right to occupy it.
He said: 'I had sold my other house, so where else was I supposed to go?'
Seventeen weeks later and the 78-year-old grandfather was still living out of boxes, among work he describes as 'shoddy and unfinished'. His wife refused to join him while the home was incomplete, instead living nearby with their daughter.
Norfolk County Developments, which was commissioned to build the property by the company which owns the land Orrick (UK) Ltd, blamed Mr Jordan for some of the problems.
'He is slightly the architect of the problems there,' said director James King. 'He moved in six weeks before he paid us a penny for it and was illegally occupying it.
'It is deeply frustrating and it has cost us in excess of £2,500 extra in additional costs we have had to pay to contractors to do the job.'
He said workmen who he commissioned only work in new build, unoccupied properties and had refused to return while Mr Jordan was there. He added the belongings Mr Jordan had moved in made work 'very difficult'.
But he admitted: 'There are some things I am not happy with and we will be putting that right.
'I just want to be finished and get everything done. I personally am a little fed up with it. It is regrettable in my opinion because we should have had him removed from the premises when he moved in.'
The homes were marketed as 'top quality' and 'high-tech' but Mr Jordan claims the electric garage door does not fully open, there was damp and fixings seemed poor quality, with cracks in paint on door frames and holes in walls.
Solicitors are already involved in the dispute between Mr Jordan and Mr King, but an agreement has now been reached to complete all works by October 27.
'It is frustrating and annoying,' said Mr Jordan. 'He says when there is a recession then tradesmen are ten a penny but when people are building it is difficult to find one.'
When he moved in he said the five-bedroom house was covered in dust and waste from building work, with holes in the walls waiting to be plastered where electrics had been fitted.
Since moving in he said he feels let down paying an extra £29,000 for luxury fittings.
Some of the problems Mr Jordan had outstanding with the home last week included;
? No extractor fan in the kitchen
? Incomplete paving slabs on the garden path
? Curtain rods to be fitted
? Garden to be levelled
? Building materials abandoned around the house and garage
? Industrial clean needed
As the completion notice has not been issued, Mr Jordan has no guarantees or warranties for any of the fixtures.
'I don't have a copy of the contract and I have got no proof I own this,' he said.
Over recent days progress has been made on the property and Mr King said they are ready to issue the completion notice.
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