Featured Planning Issue
Unauthorised works being pursued by Councils
Over the last few years I have noticed an increase in the number of property owners who are being issued with notices by councils regarding illegal structures or illegal use related to their properties.
Usually this has been triggered by a neighbour making a complaint to council, however in other cases council actively reviews adverts for rental properties (especially for granny flats or Air bnb) and then they check their records to see if approval has been granted or not.
If approval has not be granted, council will send a letter, usually asking for demolition or directing you to seek approval for the illegalities (either way usually needs to be done within 21 days or so). This can be a very stressful time for owners because in many cases they assumed the structure, and it's use, was approved.
If you receive such a letter do not ignore it or potentially fines can be issued without further notice (but sometimes a final warning letter does come). Best to act on it quickly. If you are in this situation, please send me an email or call to discuss what options are available. Look forward to helping.
In previous years this process would usually involve gaining a Building Certificate for the structure and simple floor plans, however, there has been a trend recently for councils to need an application for a Building Certificate as well as a Development Application. To support the DA the supporting documentation has expanded accordingly and includes a survey, full set of plans, full set of compliance certificates, BASIX, Waste Management Plan and Statement of Environmental Effects, to name a few. Sometimes the need for this approval is triggered by a complaint to council from a neighbour and the council then must take action. The other case can the need to regularise the dwelling so the property can be sold because the potential buyer will usually discover that some structures have not been approved and this may negatively impact on your chance of a property sale.
Usually this has been triggered by a neighbour making a complaint to council, however in other cases council actively reviews adverts for rental properties (especially for granny flats or Air bnb) and then they check their records to see if approval has been granted or not.
If approval has not be granted, council will send a letter, usually asking for demolition or directing you to seek approval for the illegalities (either way usually needs to be done within 21 days or so). This can be a very stressful time for owners because in many cases they assumed the structure, and it's use, was approved.
If you receive such a letter do not ignore it or potentially fines can be issued without further notice (but sometimes a final warning letter does come). Best to act on it quickly. If you are in this situation, please send me an email or call to discuss what options are available. Look forward to helping.
In previous years this process would usually involve gaining a Building Certificate for the structure and simple floor plans, however, there has been a trend recently for councils to need an application for a Building Certificate as well as a Development Application. To support the DA the supporting documentation has expanded accordingly and includes a survey, full set of plans, full set of compliance certificates, BASIX, Waste Management Plan and Statement of Environmental Effects, to name a few. Sometimes the need for this approval is triggered by a complaint to council from a neighbour and the council then must take action. The other case can the need to regularise the dwelling so the property can be sold because the potential buyer will usually discover that some structures have not been approved and this may negatively impact on your chance of a property sale.
Although the approval process is now more difficult when trying to gain retrospective approval, there are serious home insurance implications if an unauthorised Granny Flat or illegal structure suffers a fire and destroys not only that structure but allows the fire to spread to the main dwelling.
New Service - Feasibility Reports
I have been receiving requests for development feasibility reports from people who are looking to purchase a specific property. Sometimes they wish to confirm if a subdivision can be done or a Dual Occupancy constructed.
At other times they want to confirm whether what a real-estate agent has said about what they can do with the property after purchase is correct or not. This is all part of the due diligence process and is a small cost compared to the price of houses in Sydney now and gives some peace of mind that your planned renovation, knock down and rebuild or sub-division is potentially achievable.
Another way to use these feasibility reports is if you are thinking of developing on land you already own. In this case we can review all the council rules and regulations (usually the LEP and DCP rules) that apply to your property to give you an idea how hard or easy it may be to get council approval.
New Service - Feasibility Reports
I have been receiving requests for development feasibility reports from people who are looking to purchase a specific property. Sometimes they wish to confirm if a subdivision can be done or a Dual Occupancy constructed.
At other times they want to confirm whether what a real-estate agent has said about what they can do with the property after purchase is correct or not. This is all part of the due diligence process and is a small cost compared to the price of houses in Sydney now and gives some peace of mind that your planned renovation, knock down and rebuild or sub-division is potentially achievable.
Another way to use these feasibility reports is if you are thinking of developing on land you already own. In this case we can review all the council rules and regulations (usually the LEP and DCP rules) that apply to your property to give you an idea how hard or easy it may be to get council approval.
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Client Reviews ★★★★★
"We contacted Anthony at Environmental Planning Approvals when we had a complicated issue to resolve with Hornsby Council involving a section 4.2 for our dream house build (modification to an existing DA approval).
With Anthony's practical help and excellent knowledge of the most suitable format and process to approach Council with our response we were able to achieve a positive outcome in a very short time frame. All of this at a very reasonable price considering the time and thought and many phone discussions involved. In addition to producing the response documentation Anthony also assisted by directly communicating with Council prior to and after submission.
This professional approach on our behalf assisted greatly as council were able to provide direct feedback on a peer to peer basis that is often difficult for a layperson to obtain. We can only highly recommend their service to anyone who is finding difficulty with their DA process. Engaging a professional service such as Anthony's will save you much heartache and uncertainty in the sometimes confusing world of planning approvals.
We can't thank Anthony enough as we doubt we would have achieved the same outcome and may have been left with a far more expensive and time-consuming option of starting a complete new DA!"
--Pete and Jude Best, Cowan, NSW
With Anthony's practical help and excellent knowledge of the most suitable format and process to approach Council with our response we were able to achieve a positive outcome in a very short time frame. All of this at a very reasonable price considering the time and thought and many phone discussions involved. In addition to producing the response documentation Anthony also assisted by directly communicating with Council prior to and after submission.
This professional approach on our behalf assisted greatly as council were able to provide direct feedback on a peer to peer basis that is often difficult for a layperson to obtain. We can only highly recommend their service to anyone who is finding difficulty with their DA process. Engaging a professional service such as Anthony's will save you much heartache and uncertainty in the sometimes confusing world of planning approvals.
We can't thank Anthony enough as we doubt we would have achieved the same outcome and may have been left with a far more expensive and time-consuming option of starting a complete new DA!"
--Pete and Jude Best, Cowan, NSW