Building without an approval?

Think again! It's not worth the extra money and the worry.

Here’s what will happen;

1.       You decide to sell the house – you may want to move to another area; upsize or downsize;  you may have experienced a traumatic event like a death in the family or divorce. You want to sell quickly, but a Council search shows unapproved building works, so the sale falls through. Council will follow up, as detailed below.
OR

2.       You might get a new neighbour. For whatever reason, the new neighbour complains to Council about something that interferes with their lifestyle - your dog; your cat; your kids playing the drums etc. Council will investigate the complaint. During the investigation, they discover that there has been an addition or alteration. This will need building and possibly planning approval. Since these are different sections of Council, a request will go to both of these sections to investigate a complaint. So now you have two more Council officers knocking on your door, possibly several months apart. If you tell them to go away, they will come back with a warrant to inspect the property.

In scenario 1 or 2, once Council inspects the property, they will issue a show cause notice asking you why you have built without an approval. If you do nothing, they will issue an enforcement notice requiring you to demolish the structure or obtain an approval. If you ignore it, they will either issue an on the spot fine, or take you to court. Either way, it costs you money. If at some point you decide to get an approval for the unauthorised work instead of demolishing it, you will have to pay for a building approval.  This is the role of Building Certifiers.  Building Certifiers want to approve, inspect and finalise new proposals, so if you happen to find a private building certifier willing to take on your job, treat them with respect. They are likely to ask for;

1.       Architectural plans – drawn by a QBCC registered building designer;

2.       Structural engineering plans – drawn by a RPEQ registered engineer;

3.       Land surveyors plan– showing the location of the addition and property boundaries;

4.       Since no inspections have been carried out during construction, engineering reports (Much more expensive to do retrospectively);

5.       Details of termite management systems (More expensive to install retrospectively);

6.       Details of wall & roof insulation (More expensive to install retrospectively);

7.       Sewer location and depth details;

8.       Details of any Council approvals obtained for the building, such as siting variations, build over sewer approvals and plumbing approvals.

Once you have obtained an approval for the work, there will be conditions attached to the approval which you must complete to obtain a satisfactory final inspection certificate. These often include rectification work and the provisions of certificates for wet area sealing of showers and window glazing. If you can’t provide the certificates within the prescribed time, your application will lapse, meaning your approval is invalid. This allows Council to re- start the process of pursuing you to obtain an approval for the building work. If the building needs rectification work, the occupants are living in a substandard building until the work is done. So isn’t it easier to get an approval before you start work?

 

Blue Tongue Approvals does not certify existing structures.