A family who has been building a second home near the Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) liquefied natural gas project site are being evicted.

Markku and Wilhelmina Sarubin and their two children were building a second home on the 9 hectare property 53kilometers north of Broome. The family has lived in the area since 1979 when Markku was given a 50 cents miner's rights license and permission to prospect the area.

Wilhelmina claims they were told that they could keep the lease but not for mining activities. She also claims successive governments told them they would be given a long-term horticultural lease.

The lease arrangements did not materialize. In June, Wilhelmina received a letter from the Department of Mines and Petroleum informing her the lease would be forfeited and that she had three months to leave.

The Sarubins claims to have paid royalties of $11,000 to $13,000 a year for the horticultural lease. They planted mango and coconut trees, and maintained a vegetable garden, while they worked in Broome to supplement their income.

On the contrary, Mines and Petroleum Minister Norman Moore insisted the family was told at least three times that the lease must be used for mining. Department officers visited the site in 2008 and found little evidence of mining.