Since February 28 2009, there are two ways to obtain approval for building a new house in NSW.

1. Submit a merit-based development application to your local council. Your new home will need to comply with your local planning controls - consult our council pages, or visit your local council’s website for details.

2. Apply for a complying development certificate from either your local council or an accredited certifier. To be granted this new kind of approval, your new home will need to comply with the state-wide NSW Housing Code. You can read these controls on the NSW Department of Planning web page.

The NSW Housing Code is a State Environment Planning Policy (or SEPP). It aims to reduce the amount of time it takes for your local council to approve a detached dwelling. Before the code, new houses were taking around 120 days (that’s four months) to be approved. According to the NSW government, it should only take 10 days for the council or certifier to certify your plans as complying with the Code.

There are two reasons why having your house certified as complying with the Housing Code is a fast process. Firstly, your plans aren’t advertised – that is, they’re not sent to your neighbours, and they don’t have the opportunity to object. Instead, they’re sent a notice after your plans have been certified.

Secondly, the Housing Code is a simple but strict set of controls. You either comply or you don’t – there’s no chance of discussion or negotiation as there can be with traditional development applications. Think of it as the difference between a teacher having to read through and respond to a student’s essay, or simply having to mark a multiple choice test. Even if you choose the second most correct answer in a multiple choice test, you’re still marked wrong. However, when you write an essay, if you can give compelling reasons as to why your answer isn’t totally correct, you’ll often get as least some marks.

Does the Code Apply to you?

So far, the Housing Code only applies to blocks of land that meet each of the following criteria:

• Your block of land must be 450m2 or larger.
  
• Your block must be at least 12 metres wide.
  
• Your land must be zoned Residential.
  
• Your council must not have nominated your local area as, “having particular character that requires a merit assessment of any development proposal”.

Check with your local council before assuming that you can comply with the NSW Housing Code rather than your local planning controls.

Do You Want the Code to Apply to You?

Remember, even if the Housing Code does apply to your land, you can choose to have you new home approved according to your council’s local development controls, using a traditional development application process

In some councils, the code is actually more restrictive than the existing development control. For instance, if you want to build a two-storey house, then your side setback is going to have to be at least 1.5 metres, whilst in many councils it only needs to be 0.9 metres. Similarly, there are a few councils in outer Sydney that will still allow a triple garage – there’s no way you’re getting away with that in the Housing Code.

Remember:

• You still need to comply with BASIX.
• Your neighbours will notice when you knock down your house and start building a new one – for the sake of neighbourhood harmony, talk to them before they receive the letter advising them that they’re about to have a construction site next door.