Developers who illegally demolished an historic Melbourne pub could be forced to rebuild it and can't build anything taller than the original two storeys.
The 159-year-old Corkman Irish Pub in Carlton was knocked down without a permit 11 days ago.
The Victorian government and City of Melbourne have launched action against developers Stefce Kutlesovski and Raman Shaqiri in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Planning Minister Richard Wynne says the government and council will demand the developers be forced to rebuild the pub.
He has also put a planning control in place to stop anything over two storeys being built on the site for two years.
"This planning control will ensure that any future development of the site will be limited in what can be done," Mr Wynne told reporters on Thursday.
The developers bought the site for $4.7 million, but Mr Wynne said it could now be worth up to $10 million.
He said the planning control would limit how much profit the developers could make if they sold the property now.
Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said the developers ignored a heritage overlay and a stop work order to knock down the pub.
Should VCAT rule in favour of the government and council, an enforcement order would require the developers to rebuild the pub in line with the design, scale and layout of the demolished building.
If the developers - also in trouble for allegedly dumping asbestos from the Carlton site at another property in northwestern Melbourne - sold the property, they would still be obliged to pay any outstanding fines, Mr Wynne said.
The demolition of the pub and subsequent illegal asbestos removal has prompted investigations by state and local governments, the EPA, WorkSafe, Heritage Victoria, the Victorian Building Authority and construction union CFMEU.