Home Renovation & Extensions Basics

In my experience when thinking about Renovating and Extensions, you will need to look at the following areas:

*The area of zoning of your property in relation to the Council's Local Environmental Plan, whether it lies within a Low Density or Medium Density Residential area for instance, will help you determine the maximum capacity of your extension, usually working with a given floor space ratio per site. 

*The Zoning and Developmental Controls of your property includes Heritage listings as well as Heritage Conservation Areas, Flood Prone areas and Bush Fire Prone areas, and whether there is a sewage line running through your property, etc.

*You will also need to understand what are the requirements in terms of set backs from your property boundaries, for a free standing single dwelling verses a semi detached, verses a single level and multi-level property, etc. Landscaped area percentage, and whether or not the bulk and scale of the new design suits the existing neighbourhood. 

*Another item to consider is Solar Access, maximising natural light penetration into the new and existing areas in your property, making sure that you do not impede on your neighbouring properties, as well as being concious of viewing privacy issues between your property and the neighbours. 

*Specific onsite parking is usually required should you be looking at converting your garage into a granny flat for instance, make sure that you provide an alternative parking arrangement within the property that falls within the setback and floor space ratio also. 

All these items can be researched on your local council's website under the Building/Development section. And are also important to look out for when you purchase a property, as it will have implications on future renovations and extensions.

These elements will help you work out whether your project is eligible for a Complying Development, which can take around 2weeks to appr0ve, without going through your local council, over a Development Application, which can take up to 3mnths for council to process. 

Please also note that, with renovations and extensions of existing properties, there will always be unforeseen surprises that will arise during construction, so please make sure that you allow for sufficient contingencies if you are positive about going ahead with a project. 

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