Renovation approvals
My home: does this renovation need approval
Kitchen, bathroom, deck, pergola, carport, fence, shed, garage conversion, pool. Enter your address and see which of them needs nothing, which needs a certificate and which needs the council, at this address rather than in general.
No signup. The address is used to read the heritage, flood and zoning layers over your lot.
Eleven jobs, and where each one lands
The NSW position on an ordinary residential lot. Enter an address to apply the overlays on your own.
KitchenNo approvalWork inside the house that touches nothing structural is not development anyone has to approve.
Stay inside these
This one has no measurements. It is a test of what you touch, not of how big it is.
- The layout of the room cannot change and an open area cannot be enclosed.
- Nothing that carries load can be touched.
- Go past that, by taking a wall out for instance, and the job moves to the certificate track rather than becoming impossible.
- No approval does not mean no rules. The work still has to meet the building code.
- Electrical and plumbing work still has to be done by a licensed tradesperson and certified.
- Removing more than 10 m² of non friable asbestos, or any friable asbestos, takes the job off the exempt list unless a licensed removalist does it.
- There are three kinds of heritage listing and they do not have the same effect. Find out which one you are on before you rely on this row.
Overlays on this lot
No address, so no overlay was read. This row is the clean lot position.
Building approval
Not required for work that stays inside the limits above.
Source
Codes SEPP 2008 cl 2.51-2.52 · read 2026-09-15
Read the clauseMore about KitchenBathroomNo approvalWork inside the house that touches nothing structural is not development anyone has to approve.
Stay inside these
This one has no measurements. It is a test of what you touch, not of how big it is.
- The layout of the room cannot change and an open area cannot be enclosed.
- Nothing that carries load can be touched.
- Wet area waterproofing is a building code requirement and is certified on its own, whether or not anyone had to approve the job.
- Electrical and plumbing work still has to be done by a licensed tradesperson and certified.
- Removing more than 10 m² of non friable asbestos, or any friable asbestos, takes the job off the exempt list unless a licensed removalist does it.
- There are three kinds of heritage listing and they do not have the same effect. Find out which one you are on before you rely on this row.
Overlays on this lot
No address, so no overlay was read. This row is the clean lot position.
Building approval
Not required for work that stays inside the limits above.
Source
Codes SEPP 2008 cl 2.51-2.52 · read 2026-09-15
Read the clauseMore about BathroomInternal alterationsNo approvalWork inside the house that touches nothing structural is not development anyone has to approve.
Stay inside these
This one has no measurements. It is a test of what you touch, not of how big it is.
- The layout of the room cannot change and an open area cannot be enclosed.
- Nothing that carries load can be touched.
- Go past that, by taking a wall out for instance, and the job moves to the certificate track rather than becoming impossible.
- No approval does not mean no rules. The work still has to meet the building code.
- Removing more than 10 m² of non friable asbestos, or any friable asbestos, takes the job off the exempt list unless a licensed removalist does it.
- There are three kinds of heritage listing and they do not have the same effect. Find out which one you are on before you rely on this row.
Overlays on this lot
No address, so no overlay was read. This row is the clean lot position.
Building approval
Not required for work that stays inside the limits above.
Source
Codes SEPP 2008 cl 2.51-2.52 / Housing Alterations Code cl 4.1-4.2 · read 2026-09-15
Read the clauseMore about Internal alterationsDeckNo approvalStay inside the numbers below and nobody has to approve this.
Stay inside these
- Floor area no more than 25 m²
- No more than 15 % of the ground floor of the house, added up(On a lot of 300 m² or less the combined cap is a flat 25 m² instead of a share of the house.)
- Floor no more than 1 m above the ground(measured from the ground as it is now, not from a level you build up to)
- Height no more than 3 m(measured from the ground as it is now, not from a level you build up to)
- Wall height no more than 1.4 m
- At least 0.9 m off each side and rear boundary(larger on rural and large lot residential land)
- It has to sit behind the building line of every road frontage.
- On bushfire prone land it has to be non combustible if it is within 5 m of the house.
- No approval does not mean no rules. The work still has to meet the building code.
- There are three kinds of heritage listing and they do not have the same effect. Find out which one you are on before you rely on this row.
Overlays on this lot
No address, so no overlay was read. This row is the clean lot position.
Building approval
Not required for work that stays inside the limits above.
Source
Codes SEPP 2008 cl 2.11-2.12 · read 2026-09-15
Read the clauseMore about DeckPergola or patioNo approvalStay inside the numbers below and nobody has to approve this.
Stay inside these
- Floor area no more than 25 m²
- No more than 15 % of the ground floor of the house, added up(On a lot of 300 m² or less the combined cap is a flat 25 m² instead of a share of the house.)
- Height no more than 3 m(measured from the ground as it is now, not from a level you build up to)
- Wall height no more than 1.4 m
- At least 0.9 m off each side and rear boundary(larger on rural and large lot residential land)
- It has to sit behind the building line of every road frontage.
- On bushfire prone land it has to be non combustible if it is within 5 m of the house.
- No approval does not mean no rules. The work still has to meet the building code.
- There are three kinds of heritage listing and they do not have the same effect. Find out which one you are on before you rely on this row.
Overlays on this lot
No address, so no overlay was read. This row is the clean lot position.
Building approval
Not required for work that stays inside the limits above.
Source
Codes SEPP 2008 cl 2.11-2.12 · read 2026-09-15
Read the clauseMore about Pergola or patioCarportNo approvalStay inside the numbers below and nobody has to approve this.
Stay inside these
- Floor area no more than 25 m²(smaller on a lot of 300 m² or less)
- Height no more than 3 m(measured from the ground as it is now, not from a level you build up to)
- At least 1 m behind the building line
- At least 0.9 m off each side and rear boundary(larger on rural and large lot residential land)
- No more than 1 of them on the lot
- larger on rural and large lot residential land
- An enclosed garage is not on the exempt list at all. Only a carport, open on at least two sides, is.
- In a heritage conservation area it has to go in the rear yard.
- No approval does not mean no rules. The work still has to meet the building code.
- There are three kinds of heritage listing and they do not have the same effect. Find out which one you are on before you rely on this row.
Overlays on this lot
No address, so no overlay was read. This row is the clean lot position.
Building approval
Not required for work that stays inside the limits above.
Source
Codes SEPP 2008 cl 2.19-2.20 · read 2026-09-15
Read the clauseMore about CarportFenceNo approvalStay inside the numbers below and nobody has to approve this.
Stay inside these
- Side and rear fence no higher than 1.8 m(measured from the ground as it is now, not from a level you build up to)
- Front fence no higher than 1.2 m(A front fence also has to be see through: at least a fifth of it open above 400 mm, with no solid piece wider than 350 mm.)
- Wall height no more than 1.2 m(A masonry or concrete fence has its own, lower limit.)
- On a sloping site a fence may rise higher at each step.
- On a flood control lot the exemption for fences is switched off, and what is left depends on the council flood controls.
- There are three kinds of heritage listing and they do not have the same effect. Find out which one you are on before you rely on this row.
Overlays on this lot
No address, so no overlay was read. This row is the clean lot position.
Building approval
Not required for work that stays inside the limits above.
Source
Codes SEPP 2008 cl 2.33-2.34 · read 2026-09-15
Read the clauseMore about FenceGarden shedNo approvalStay inside the numbers below and nobody has to approve this.
Stay inside these
- Floor area no more than 20 m²(larger on rural and large lot residential land)
- Height no more than 3 m(measured from the ground as it is now, not from a level you build up to)
- At least 0.9 m off each side and rear boundary(larger on rural and large lot residential land)
- At least 1 m clear of a registered easement
- No more than 2 of them on the lot
- It has to stay non habitable. A bed, a shower or a kitchenette turns it into a second dwelling.
- It has to sit behind the building line of every road frontage.
- In a heritage conservation area it has to go in the rear yard.
- There are three kinds of heritage listing and they do not have the same effect. Find out which one you are on before you rely on this row.
Overlays on this lot
No address, so no overlay was read. This row is the clean lot position.
Building approval
Not required for work that stays inside the limits above.
Source
Codes SEPP 2008 cl 2.17-2.18 · read 2026-09-15
Read the clauseMore about Garden shedGarage conversionNeeds checkingNo clause names this job, so the answer turns on the detail.
Stay inside these
This one has no measurements. It is a test of what you touch, not of how big it is.
- No clause names this job. The answer depends on what the finished room is and on whether the front of the building changes.
- The layout of the room cannot change and an open area cannot be enclosed.
- On bushfire prone land the fast track closes only in the two highest attack levels. The layer we can read says prone, not which level, so a bushfire assessment is what settles this.
- No approval does not mean no rules. The work still has to meet the building code.
Overlays on this lot
No address, so no overlay was read. This row is the clean lot position.
Building approval
It depends what you touch. Small and non structural, no. Anything beyond that, yes.
Source
Codes SEPP 2008 cl 2.52(1)(b)-(c), Housing Alterations Code cl 4.2(a), Housing Code cl 3.1(1)(b) · read 2026-09-15
Read the clauseMore about Garage conversionSecond storeyCDCOn the My Block pageMeet the numbers below and this goes through CDC instead of a full application.
Stay inside these
- Height no more than 8.5 m(measured from the ground as it is now, not from a level you build up to)
- Lot at least 200 m²
- Lot at least 6 m wide at the building line
- This one belongs to the land report, not to this page.
- On bushfire prone land the fast track closes only in the two highest attack levels. The layer we can read says prone, not which level, so a bushfire assessment is what settles this.
- The council development control plan sits on top of this and can be stricter.
Overlays on this lot
No address, so no overlay was read. This row is the clean lot position.
Building approval
Required. A certifier or surveyor has to approve the building work.
Source
Codes SEPP 2008 Housing Code cl 3.1(1)(b), 3.8, 3.9, 3.1(3) · read 2026-09-15
Read the clauseMore about Second storeySwimming poolCDCMeet the numbers below and this goes through CDC instead of a full application.
Stay inside these
- Holds no more than 2000 L(Only a portable pool that needs no structural work to install is exempt. Anything you dig or build is not.)
- Water no deeper than 0.3 m(The child resistant barrier is its own law with its own penalties, and it applies whether or not the pool itself needed approval.)
- At least 1 m off each side and rear boundary
- Floor no more than 0.6 m above the ground(measured from the ground as it is now, not from a level you build up to)
- Only a portable pool that needs no structural work to install is exempt. Anything you dig or build is not.
- The child resistant barrier is its own law with its own penalties, and it applies whether or not the pool itself needed approval.
- The pool has to be registered, and the barrier certified again on a cycle.
- It has to sit behind the building line of every road frontage.
- There are three kinds of heritage listing and they do not have the same effect. Find out which one you are on before you rely on this row.
Overlays on this lot
No address, so no overlay was read. This row is the clean lot position.
Building approval
Required. A certifier or surveyor has to approve the building work.
Source
Codes SEPP 2008 cl 2.59-2.60 and Housing Code cl 3.28; Swimming Pools Act 1992 s 7, s 30B · read 2026-09-15
Read the clauseMore about Swimming poolEvery threshold is read from the instrument named on its row, on the date shown. Council controls sit on top of all of them and are not in this table.
What other people paid for the same job
Published projects with the price attached and a badge saying where the number came from. Nothing here is estimated by us.
Published projects in Kitchen and bathroom · Whole home renovation · Alterations and additions, most recent first.
Kitchen and bathroomThe Rocks NSWNo price publishedPublished by builder岩石区遗产住宅浴室翻新
4 weeks
Kitchen and bathroomHunters Hill NSWNo price publishedPublished by builder亨特山浴室翻新项目
4 weeks
Kitchen and bathroomLittle Bay NSWNo price publishedPublished by builderLittle Bay浴室翻新项目
4 weeks
Kitchen and bathroomGladesville NSWNo price publishedPublished by builderGladesville 浴室翻新
3 weeks
Kitchen and bathroomBalmain NSWNo price publishedPublished by builder巴尔曼浴室翻新项目
3 weeks
Kitchen and bathroomRandwick NSWNo price publishedPublished by builder兰德威克浴室翻新项目
Kitchen and bathroomHornsby NSWNo price publishedPublished by builderHornsby卫生间黑白风格翻新
Kitchen and bathroomHornsby NSWNo price publishedPublished by builder霍恩斯比黑白风浴室翻新
Kitchen and bathroomCastle Hill NSWNo price publishedPublished by builderCastle Hill 浴室翻新项目
Who did these jobsThe builders and trades credited on the projects above. Not a paid list.
Three things to settle before the first tradesman arrives
None of them is on the quote, and all three can stop the job after it has started.
Heritage and conservation areas
A heritage item or a conservation area removes most of the easy answers on this page. Check your own address to find out which one you are on.
Read off the state planning layer. It does not say which kind of listing it is, and the kinds do not have the same effect.
Asbestos
If your house was built before 1990, fibro sheeting, eaves, wet area linings and vinyl backing may contain asbestos. Every state requires a licensed removalist above a small quantity, and the rules bind the homeowner as well as the builder.
We do not know the year your house was built and we do not guess it. Nothing in the land data says so.
Strata and the owners corporation
If you own a unit, a villa or a townhouse, the owners corporation is a second approval sitting on top of everything on this page.
Read off the lot identifier in the cadastre.
Extending, or adding a storey
A renovation that makes the house bigger is a different question with a different answer, and it has its own door. The land report works out whether the state fast track is open for an extension on your block, how long this council takes and what the neighbours declared.
Open the land report