ZACHARY - A family in Zachary says someone else built a home on their land. 

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The home owned by Steve and Alicia Mulder was built in 2012 on Heck Young Road on a tract of land called 3-H-1.

The problem is 3-H-1 is owned by Alonzo Bell. It was bought by his brother Thomas Robertson in 2011. 

"The surveyor messed up but the City of Baton Rouge also gave the permits to build at that wrong location," Robertson said.

Unbeknownst that a home had already been built on his property, Robertson legally donated it to Bell in 2015.

He says they didn't find out about the home and its owners until 2018.

"We don't have access to the property. In the past, this same person has called the sheriff's office on [for] trespassing on property that is legally in my brother's name."

The Mulders technically own the lot next door, 3-H-2, a wooded lot that has not been cleared, but a mix up from the surveyor designated the wrong lot and the city parish approved it. 

Rachael Lambert with the Department of Development said from the city-parish standpoint, everything lined up and the permit was granted.

"The address, lot, etc., all matched up, and hence why it was granted a permit. To further add, when inspectors went out, the lot it was built on was the lot that was permitted, so everything matched," Lambert said.

She says it's not standard practice for the permitting office to double check ownership, because they say if someone is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to build a home, it's expected that person would make sure they're building on the right property.

Robertson says they've had to resort to litigation.

"We've been trying to resolve this problem with them and the homeowner, he's not talking, his lawyers are not talking to us. We've been in court for the last seven years," he said.

Despite that legal battle, Robertson says he's been paying the property tax on his land since he purchased it, which adds up to more than $10,000.

"It's my brother's land. We're citizens, so we're going to go about the business of the city in terms of being law-abiding citizens, paying our taxes, doing our part, but we just need this resolved as soon as possible."

Robertson says he just wants his brother to get his land back so he can have something to pass down to his family.

"I want my brother to be able to have his back rent and his land that was clearly purchased for him and given to him."