If you’re planning on knocking down an existing house to build the home of your dreams, there are a lot of things you need to keep in mind.
Our handy Knockdown Rebuild Checklist can help ensure nothing gets forgotten amongst the chaos. Below, you’ll find part one of the Checklist, which focuses on the planning and approvals process.
Before you do anything, you need to check with your local council whether there are any overlays which may affect your plans.
Depth of Block and Street Frontage
Take into consideration the size of your block and council requirements regarding principal frontage.
Setbacks
Ensure that your plans comply with building regulations regarding front, side and rear setbacks, making sure that you take your driveway into account.
Drainage
Make sure that you have a legal point of discharge (LPOD) and a sewer tie-in before starting any works.
Street Access
Confirm the accessibility of your block, and whether construction works will restrict road access. If this is the case, you’ll likely need council permits and additional charges may apply.
Power and Utilities
When planning your knockdown and rebuild, you need to decide whether you will have overhead or underground power. If you have the former but will be switching to the latter, it will need to be abolished before demolition.
Neighbours
One way to ensure that all these processes go as quickly and smoothly as possible is by maintaining a positive relationship with your neighbours. You will need their consent for many propositions involved in a knockdown and rebuild.
Before you start anything it’s a good idea to order these 4 documents from your council- Title, sewer information, legal point of discharge and building information.