"This is another case of picking on an Aussie battler who is trying to do the right thing to protect his daughter," Matt McKinlay, of Victoria Street, said.

Mr McKinlay said he built the carport with a roller door two years ago from the front of his garage to the boundary line, not realising planning permission was required.

"I went to sell my house late last year and it sold in the first week of being on the market, on proviso I got council permission for the carport," Mr McKinlay said.

When he applied for approval, the council ordered the carport's demolition.

The council's order said if Mr McKinlay failed to comply he could face a maximum fine of $1.1 million. A council spokeswoman said the carport had been built "forward of the building line, is out of character with the streetscape and non-compliant with the Building Code of Australia".

Mr McKinlay said the sale of his house had fallen through.

"I have a three-year-old daughter and I'm trying to teach her to ride a pushbike and I don't have an area to do that apart from underneath my carport," he said.

"Council said to use the footpath and I said, 'mate, we don't have footpaths out here'.

"He said 'can you take her to the park?' and I said 'our park hasn't been mowed for two months'."

Mr McKinlay said Eleebana and Warners Bay "get all the fancy foot bridges and pathways and we get nothing".

He said it was unfair to target his carport when many similar structures were built in the city without approval.

"What's good for the goose is good for the gander," he said.

The council said it was investigating similar unauthorised structures in the area.

"We will be taking appropriate action on an individual basis," the spokeswoman said.