Shiny roof costs homeowner $40k in neighbourhood dispute

A shiny roof has cost a homeowner $40,000 and could see them facing criminal charges.

When Kelly Hunter built a house for her and her husband on the Gold Coast three years ago, she had no idea her roof would cause so much contention with the neighbours.

However, retired couple Heather and John Day next door weren't fans of how the sun would reflect off the newly-painted roof onto their property.

"I don't want the sunlight to be shining into their house and for them to be upset by it but there was nothing we could do," Ms Hunter told A Current Affair.

"We tried but it just wasn't good enough.

The Days told a local paper the reflection was like "a mirror shining in our house".

Ms Hunter said while she understood the initial period of dazzling reflection would be "horrible", she felt the Days were being unreasonable.

"I just asked for time to let it fade," she said.

"The experts from Bluescope said you need time for it to get dirty."

The Days say that from April to October the reflection is unbearable.

They took their complaint to council, which ordered Ms Hunter to fix the issue.

She said in three years, they had tried everything they could think of.

She said they had painted the roof twice, planted bamboo along the treeline and offered to buy their neighbours bamboo blinds.

Along with paying for expert advice and, more recently, lawyers' fees, Ms Hunter estimated her losses at nearly $40,000.

On top of that, the council has slapped her with an $1800 fine for not fixing the problem.

Ms Hunter said she had been happy to argue the case in court, but her lawyer said she and her husband could end up facing a charge of being an environmental nuisance - a criminal offence.

Out of options, they came to an out-of-court agreement with their neighbours.

"It's been really, really financially and emotionally stressful, just dealing with the whole thing over the last three years," Ms Hunter said.

"The constant backwards and forwards with the council and just getting nothing. It's just been horrible."

The Gold Coast City Council said they did not comment on matters that were before the courts or that had been settled.