Homeowners from the failed Bella Vista development are taking their local council to court.
The Tauranga City Council is now facing legal claims from all 21 homeowners, who said they've been left with no choice.
It was a defiant stand from the homeowners of Bella Vista, many holding up placards calling out the Tauranga City Council.
"The council is not prepared to do what is fair and just," said homeowner Sasha Tyrel. "We have no choice but to turn to the legal system for help."
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They were once neighbours, and although they've now been scattered across Tauranga in temporary housing, they are united in what they believe they deserve.
Shoddy building work was discovered at the development site at The Lakes in March and the new homes were deemed uninhabitable, despite four of them already having code of compliance certificates from the council.
An independent report recommended the council buy the 21 houses.
The homeowners wanted to sell at market rate, but the council instead offered each of them what they had spent, plus expenses.
The chief executive of the council, Garry Poole, said in a statement on Wednesday that "when we receive the homeowners' response to the offer, we will consider it".
Later on Wednesday, the homeowners made their response crystal clear.
"It is an offer that will potentially strip many of us of the opportunity of ever being able to own a home again," Ms Tyrel said.
Mr Poole said the council needed to balance the needs of the homeowners with the expectations of ratepayers, but the homeowners would like to remind him of something.
"We are ratepayers; we expect them to look after us. I think the city feels let down."
A recent online poll found 79 percent of the community back the homeowners, and many turned out in support on Wednesday.
But the Tauranga City Council has other ideas. It announced last week it would be pursuing legal action against the developer, Bella Vista Homes.
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