Mel and Christine Wheater say they are are stressed and more than $100,000 in debt after a three-year legal wrangle with Laings Transportable Homes over two houses delivered to their Stirling sections.
The houses needed repairs after being delivered.
One - a former Laings show home - was damaged before it was transported south from Oamaru, they said.
The houses sit side by side on two 500sq m sections.
The company yesterday accepted both houses were damaged and said it was following an arbitration ruling that required the company to carry out necessary repairs, and required the Wheaters to hand over a final $16,000 instalment for the second house.
Laings director Grant Laing said when contacted the issue was subject to the ruling of the arbitrator and the company intended following that ruling "to the letter".
"I'm all for the truth being told and the truth is there has been a ruling from the arbitrator in which the Wheaters must pay us $16,000 and we will carry out the repairs."
The payment and repairs were both meant to have been completed by the end of last month.
Laings was committed to completing its side of the ruling, he said.
The houses arrived separately on the Stirling sites, the first in November 2005 and the second two months later.
The Wheaters had planned the development as a labour of love and a retirement project.
Both houses were damaged, including extensive cracks, faulty joinery and structural defects, Mr Wheater said.
Signed agreements between Laings and the Wheaters show the company agreed to undertake the necessary repairs.
The Wheaters are living in one of the houses while they wait for the company to fix the second.
Although the first house was in a state of being "95% fixed" no work had started at the other house, Mr Wheater said.
They paid about $282,000 for the two houses but said they had to spend more than $100,000 extra in legal and accountancy fees, for building inspections and other work.
The couple approached the Otago Daily Times because they were frustrated at the inaction.
Mr Laing said the company had employed a Balclutha-based building company for the repairs and hoped both houses would be finished by the end of this month.
"The trouble is, even though we are fulfilling our side of the bargain, the Wheaters have not paid the money the arbitrator said they must pay us."
Mr Laing did not rule out other options in an attempt to recover the outstanding money.
