Developer Builds $1.5 Million Home on Lot That Was Never Sold to Him by the Landowner

A new house in development has stirred up quite the commotion in a Connecticut neighborhood, particularly from the owner of the land, who claims he had no idea a house was being built on his property. 

Daniel Kenigsberg filed a lawsuit against a development company alleging he had never sold the vacant parcel of land in Fairfield, Connecticut, according to CT Insider.

Kenigsberg, who now lives on Long Island, had grown up in a home next door and bought the land with his brother in 1991. The land had been covered with trees for years until it was cleared and replaced with a three-story home.

The city’s online property records indicate Kenigsberg sold the lot to Sky Top Partners LLC in October 2022 for $350,000. Kenigsberg filed a lawsuit in July alleging an unrelated Daniel Kenigsberg, or someone posing as him, in South Africa had granted power of attorney to a Connecticut lawyer and authorized an illicit sale. 

“I’m not, and have never been, in South Africa,” Kenigsberg told The Washington Post.

The lawsuit claims Kenigsberg “is suffering irreparable damage” and that he “never authorized the sale of his Property to anyone,” per CT Insider. In addition to voiding the sale and seeking damages, Kenigsberg wants the house demolished and the trees to be replanted, according to The Washington Post.

He was only informed of the development when a friend called him at the end of May and mentioned the construction on the lot.

“I was living my life normally until May 31st,” Kenigsberg told the news outlet, “and all of a sudden, this happened.”

The home was listed for sale in a now-removed but archived post on Coldwell Banker Homes' website is still available. The four-bedroom house was listed for $1.475 million and described as a “stunning new construction built on a quiet side street by a respected local builder.”

Neighbors told NBC 4 the controversy has brought curious onlookers to the site, where construction has reportedly been halted.

"People just keep driving by. They wanna see what’s going on. Take a look at the house. And it just causes traffic," neighbor Adriana Bove told the news station.

Police in Fairfield have been investigating the incident since June.