pbuilder-dist fails to create a debian sid build environment. Confirmed both on lucid and natty.
Output from lucid:
$ sudo pbuilder-dist sid create
I: Distribution is sid.
I: Building the build environment
I: running debootstrap
/usr/sbin/debootstrap
I: Retrieving Release
I: Retrieving Packages
I: Validating Packages
I: Resolving dependencies of required packages...
I: Resolving dependencies of base packages...
I: Found additional required dependencies: insserv libbz2-1.0 libdb5.1 libslang2 multiarch-support
I: Found additional base dependencies: libnfnetlink0 libsqlite3-0
I: Checking component main on ftp://ftp.debian.org/debian...
I: Retrieving libacl1
I: Validating libacl1
I: Retrieving adduser
I: Validating adduser
I: Retrieving apt
I: Validating apt
I: Retrieving apt-utils
I: Validating apt-utils
I: Retrieving aptitude
I: Validating aptitude
I: Retrieving libattr1
I: Validating libattr1
I: Retrieving base-files
I: Validating base-files
I: Retrieving base-passwd
I: Validating base-passwd
I: Retrieving bash
I: Validating bash
I: Retrieving libboost-iostreams1.42.0
I: Validating libboost-iostreams1.42.0
I: Retrieving libboost-iostreams1.46.1
I: Validating libboost-iostreams1.46.1
I: Retrieving bsdmainutils
I: Validating bsdmainutils
I: Retrieving libbz2-1.0
I: Validating libbz2-1.0
I: Retrieving coreutils
I: Validating coreutils
I: Retrieving cpio
I: Validating cpio
I: Retrieving cron
I: Validating cron
I: Retrieving libcwidget3
I: Validating libcwidget3
I: Retrieving dash
I: Validating dash
I: Retrieving libdb5.1
I: Validating libdb5.1
I: Retrieving debconf
I: Validating debconf
I: Retrieving debconf-i18n
I: Validating debconf-i18n
I: Retrieving debian-archive-keyring
I: Validating debian-archive-keyring
I: Retrieving debianutils
I: Validating debianutils
I: Retrieving diffutils
I: Validating diffutils
I: Retrieving dmidecode
I: Validating dmidecode
I: Retrieving dpkg
I: Validating dpkg
I: Retrieving e2fslibs
I: Validating e2fslibs
I: Retrieving e2fsprogs
I: Validating e2fsprogs
I: Retrieving libcomerr2
I: Validating libcomerr2
I: Retrieving libss2
I: Validating libss2
I: Retrieving libc-bin
I: Validating libc-bin
I: Retrieving libc6
I: Validating libc6
I: Retrieving multiarch-support
I: Validating multiarch-support
I: Retrieving findutils
I: Validating findutils
I: Retrieving gcc-4.4-base
I: Validating gcc-4.4-base
I: Retrieving gcc-4.5-base
I: Validating gcc-4.5-base
I: Retrieving gcc-4.6-base
I: Validating gcc-4.6-base
I: Retrieving libgcc1
I: Validating libgcc1
I: Retrieving libstdc++6
I: Validating libstdc++6
I: Retrieving libgdbm3
I: Validating libgdbm3
I: Retrieving gnupg
I: Validating gnupg
I: Retrieving gpgv
I: Validating gpgv
I: Retrieving grep
I: Validating grep
I: Retrieving groff-base
I: Validating groff-base
I: Retrieving gzip
I: Validating gzip
I: Retrieving hostname
I: Validating hostname
I: Retrieving ifupdown
I: Validating ifupdown
I: Retrieving insserv
I: Validating insserv
I: Retrieving iproute
I: Validating iproute
I: Retrieving iptables
I: Validating iptables
I: Retrieving iputils-ping
I: Validating iputils-ping
I: Retrieving isc-dhcp-client
I: Validating isc-dhcp-client
I: Retrieving isc-dhcp-common
I: Validating isc-dhcp-common
I: Retrieving libept1
I: Validating libept1
I: Retrieving liblocale-gettext-perl
I: Validating liblocale-gettext-perl
I: Retrieving libnfnetlink0
I: Validating libnfnetlink0
I: Retrieving libpipeline1
I: Validating libpipeline1
I: Retrieving libselinux1
I: Validating libselinux1
I: Retrieving libsepol1
I: Validating libsepol1
I: Retrieving libsigc++-2.0-0c2a
I: Validating libsigc++-2.0-0c2a
I: Retrieving libtext-charwidth-perl
I: Validating libtext-charwidth-perl
I: Retrieving libtext-iconv-perl
I: Validating libtext-iconv-perl
I: Retrieving libtext-wrapi18n-perl
I: Validating libtext-wrapi18n-perl
I: Retrieving libusb-0.1-4
I: Validating libusb-0.1-4
I: Retrieving logrotate
I: Validating logrotate
I: Retrieving lsb-base
I: Validating lsb-base
I: Retrieving man-db
I: Validating man-db
I: Retrieving manpages
I: Validating manpages
I: Retrieving mawk
I: Validating mawk
I: Retrieving module-init-tools
I: Validating module-init-tools
I: Retrieving nano
I: Validating nano
I: Retrieving libncurses5
I: Validating libncurses5
I: Retrieving libncursesw5
I: Validating libncursesw5
I: Retrieving ncurses-base
I: Validating ncurses-base
I: Retrieving ncurses-bin
I: Validating ncurses-bin
I: Retrieving net-tools
I: Validating net-tools
I: Retrieving netbase
I: Validating netbase
I: Retrieving netcat-traditional
I: Validating netcat-traditional
I: Retrieving libnewt0.52
I: Validating libnewt0.52
I: Retrieving whiptail
I: Validating whiptail
I: Retrieving libssl1.0.0
I: Validating libssl1.0.0
I: Retrieving libssl0.9.8
I: Validating libssl0.9.8
I: Retrieving libpam-modules
I: Validating libpam-modules
I: Retrieving libpam-modules-bin
I: Validating libpam-modules-bin
I: Retrieving libpam-runtime
I: Validating libpam-runtime
I: Retrieving libpam0g
I: Validating libpam0g
I: Retrieving perl-base
I: Validating perl-base
I: Retrieving libpopt0
I: Validating libpopt0
I: Retrieving procps
I: Validating procps
I: Retrieving libreadline6
I: Validating libreadline6
I: Retrieving readline-common
I: Validating readline-common
I: Retrieving rsyslog
I: Validating rsyslog
I: Retrieving sed
I: Validating sed
I: Retrieving sensible-utils
I: Validating sensible-utils
I: Retrieving login
I: Validating login
I: Retrieving passwd
I: Validating passwd
I: Retrieving libslang2
I: Validating libslang2
I: Retrieving libsqlite3-0
I: Validating libsqlite3-0
I: Retrieving initscripts
I: Validating initscripts
I: Retrieving sysv-rc
I: Validating sysv-rc
I: Retrieving sysvinit
I: Validating sysvinit
I: Retrieving sysvinit-utils
I: Validating sysvinit-utils
I: Retrieving tar
I: Validating tar
I: Retrieving tasksel
I: Validating tasksel
I: Retrieving tasksel-data
I: Validating tasksel-data
I: Retrieving info
I: Validating info
I: Retrieving install-info
I: Validating install-info
I: Retrieving traceroute
I: Validating traceroute
I: Retrieving tzdata
I: Validating tzdata
I: Retrieving libudev0
I: Validating libudev0
I: Retrieving udev
I: Validating udev
I: Retrieving bsdutils
I: Validating bsdutils
I: Retrieving libblkid1
I: Validating libblkid1
I: Retrieving libmount1
I: Validating libmount1
I: Retrieving libuuid1
I: Validating libuuid1
I: Retrieving mount
I: Validating mount
I: Retrieving util-linux
I: Validating util-linux
I: Retrieving vim-common
I: Validating vim-common
I: Retrieving vim-tiny
I: Validating vim-tiny
I: Retrieving wget
I: Validating wget
I: Retrieving libxapian22
I: Validating libxapian22
I: Retrieving liblzma2
I: Validating liblzma2
I: Retrieving xz-utils
I: Validating xz-utils
I: Retrieving zlib1g
I: Validating zlib1g
I: Extracting libacl1...
E: debootstrap failed
W: Aborting with an error
I: cleaning the build env
I: removing directory /var/cache/pbuilder/build//7497 and its subdirectories
I'm afraid I need some more information.
Aside from LP: #805886, it works for me on oneiric (amd64) and I see no problems on natty (i386).
Both test cases have no .pbuilderrc.
> $ sudo pbuilder-dist sid create
You should run pbuilder-dist as your own user, not through sudo (more modern versions complain about this)