You may require Council to report or consent to certain aspects of the Building Regulations before having a building permit issued.
Consent generally relates to:
- Siting Part 5 of the Building Regulations - the siting and positioning of domestic buildings that do not meet the standard regulations, such as reducing the minimum frontage setback, exceeding maximum building heights,
- Projections beyond street alignment Part 6 of the Building Regulations, and building works that are above or below certain public facilities, Regulation 134,
- Building in areas liable to flooding or construction on designated land or designated works Building Regulations 153 & 154,
- Building over or near an easement Building Regulation 130,
- Demolition of a building Section 29a of the Building Act.
If you have engaged a Building Surveyor, it is most likely that they will be able to assist you with the application or apply on your behalf.
Submitting your application
All application forms can be completed online using the links in each section. If you would like to complete a hard copy form, please visit one of our Customer Service Centres.
A Report and Consent application is needed if you are varying a requirement under Part 5 Siting of the Building Regulations. Consideration is given to requests for minor variations to the Building Regulations that might result from site limitations and design constraints.
Ministers guidelines
An application to vary the Siting requirements under Part 5 of the Building Regulations must be accompanied by written submission explaining how the application satisfies any relevant ‘Ministers Guidelines’ (if applicable). Please refer to a copy of the Ministers Guidelines on the Victorian Building Authorities website
Design considerations
Pursuant to clause 4A of Schedule 2 of the Building Act, Council must refuse to give consent to a design which does not comply with Ministerial decision guidelines for siting matters. Designers will need to be fully aware of these guidelines to avoid refusal of consent and fee retention.
Applicants will need to provide supporting justification that outlines the reasons for the request to vary the regulation/s.
Limitations of Report & Consent
A report and consent cannot be obtained once a building permit has already been issued. In such cases, an applicant must either comply with the Regulations or make an application to modify the relevant regulations to the Building Appeals Board under section 160 of the Act.
Please complete this Report & Consent for Part 5 Siting application form to apply.
A list of building fees and charges can be downloaded here.(PDF, 243KB)
Decision time frame
Pursuant to sub-regulation 34 of the Building Regulations 2018 the time after receipt of an application for the reporting authority to report on or consent to an application relating to a single dwelling is 15 business days. Although Council will endeavour to meet the above time frame, additional time may be needed particularly when Council requires additional information from the applicant or is required to advertise an application to adjoining owners.
Design Fact File
Use this section to help guide you through the process of side and rear setback requirements under Part 5 of the Building Regulations.
How close can my building (house, garage, shed) be to the side or rear boundary?
Where a title restriction, such as a building envelope/covenant, or planning permit does not regulate your setback from a side or rear boundary (that is, not a boundary with a side street) then how close you can build is determined by Regulation 79 and Regulation 80 of the Building Regulations 2018.
These regulations can be viewed in full here.
The Victorian Building and Plumbing Commission also publish a useful practice note which covers all the Victorian Regulations for the siting of domestic buildings and can be found by searching “BPC siting” in your search engine.
Why is the setback restricted?
The primary goal of these regulations is to ensure adequate separation between neighbouring buildings and properties to protect the amenity of your property and your neighbours.
So how close can I build?
Regulation 80 allows for walls of buildings to be constructed on or within 200mm of a side or rear boundary with certain height and length restrictions and must still meet the overall building height requirements of regulation 79 for the rest of the building.
Where the wall of the building is not to be constructed on or within 200mm of the boundary the building must be setback at least 1 meter, with the setback increasing relative to the building’s height.
What are the height and length restrictions when building on or within 200mm of the boundary?
Where the building is proposed to have a wall on or within 200mm of the boundary the height of the wall on the boundary must be limited to a maximum height at any given point (of the wall) of 3.6 meters and must have an average height along the length of the wall of not more than 3.2 meters, refer to figure 1 below. The Building and Plumbing Commissions Practice note on siting provides examples of how to calculate an average wall height.
The length of the wall on or within 200mm of the boundary is limited to 10 meters plus 25% of the remaining length of the boundary. The length of the wall that is allowed includes the length of any existing buildings with walls already built on or with 200mm of that boundary.
Figure 1 – Shows a proposed shed to be built on or within 200mm of the allotment boundary with the wall elevation heights taking into account the cut and fill in relation to natural ground level. Download full size figure here.(PDF, 200KB)
How do I measure the heights?
The heights must be measured from natural ground level, which is generally the soil level before any work is done. This means that any fill material under the building adds to the height and excavation subtracts from the height. This ensures that any alterations to the ground level are considered in the amenity impacts to the adjoining properties.
How close can I build if I’m not building a wall on or within 200mm of the boundary?
Where the building is not being built on or with 200mm of the boundary, it must be setback a minimum of 1 meter from the boundary. The height of the building at any point is limited relative to the distance of that point from the boundary. This means that the higher parts of the building must be further from the boundary.
The distance (of a given point of the building) needs to be setback from the boundary 1 meter, plus 300mm for every metre of height over 3.6m up to 6.9m, refer to table 1 and figure 2. The height to setback ratio changes after the building height reaches 6.9m to require an additional setback distance of 1 meter for every additional 1 meter of height up to the maximum height allowed by your planning zone.
Table 1 - The table below shows setback requirements when starting at a 1 meter setback from the boundary as required by Regulation 79
|
Building Height (meters)
|
Required setback from the boundary (meters)
|
|
3.6 m or less
|
1.00 m
|
|
4.1m
|
1.15 m
|
|
4.6 m
|
1.30 m
|
|
5.1 m
|
1.45 m
|
|
5.6 m
|
1.60 m
|
|
6.1 m
|
1.75 m
|
|
6.6 m
|
1.90 m
|
Figure 2 – Shows a visual representation of the height restrictions relative to the boundary where the black dotted line represents the maximum height relative to the distance from the boundary. The building needs to be under this line to meet the height and setback requirements of Regulation 79. Download full size figure here.(PDF, 210KB)
How does it all work together?
The building needs to meet the setback requirements of regulation 79 but may also include a part of the building which has a wall built on or with 200mm of the boundary under regulation 80. In these cases, the building needs to meet the requirement of both regulations. See figure 3 below.
Figure 3– This building has a part that is constructed on or within 200 mm of the boundary but also meets the requirements of regulation 79 for the rest of the building with the lower-level setback 1.0m and the upper-level setback 2.0m. Download full size figure here.(PDF, 187KB)
What happens if I’m too close to the boundary for my proposed height?
If the building is located too close to the boundary for the proposed height you can talk to your designer and consider options like relocating the building further from the boundary, adjusting the size of the building, lowing floor, ceiling or roof levels to achieve the requirement.
Where the issue is unable to be designed out but has been minimised as far as practical give the site constraints and application can be made for the report and consent of council for a site-specific variation to these regulations.
Part 6 of the Building Regulations 2018 govern building elements that are allowed to project beyond the street alignment and regulation 134 considers building works that are above or below certain public facilities.
If your proposed building includes projections beyond the street alignment that do not comply with Part 6 or you are proposing building works above or below certain public facilities, your private building surveyor may require you to obtain report and consent for projections beyond the street alignment or the construction works.
If report and consent is required, Council will consider the potential impact of the projection on public safety and infrastructure operations.
Please complete this Report and Consent Part 6 application form to apply.
A list of building fees and charges can be downloaded here.(PDF, 243KB)
Decision time frame
Pursuant to sub-regulation 34 of the Building Regulations 2018 the time after receipt of an application for the reporting authority to report on or consent to an application is 10 business days. Although Council will endeavour to meet the above time frame, additional time may be needed when Council requires additional information from the applicant.
If you are proposing to construct a building over an easement vested in the interest of Council your building surveyor will require you to obtain consent from Council before your building permit can be issued pursuant to Building Regulation 130.
Apply to build over an easement
You must apply for the individual consent of each service authority who has an interest in the easement you are proposing to build over and each may have different requirements based on the specific services located in your easement.
Council will assess your detailed design plans and footing details of the proposed structure to ensure that all aspects of this meet councils current building over easement guidelines. This is to protect Council's assets and right to access an easement for the construction, maintenance, replacement or duplication of the existing or future drainage network without incurring the additional public expenses of specialised construction equipment or techniques.
Why is there an easement in my property?
Easements are shown on your properties title and referenced plan of subdivision. An easement may be anywhere on the property but are most commonly located at the rear of a property or down the side of the property. An easement generally allows someone to use your land for a specific purpose. A typical example is the use of the easement land by a utility company or authority to convey and maintain utility services such as Council's storm water drainage network.
Easements may contain multiple utilities such as sewer mains, electricity supply mains or gas mains. An easement may also be empty and reserved for a future drain, sewer, power or gas supply and networks.
Generally building over these easements is not permitted because access to the land or buried services is required for ongoing maintenance or renewal.
Before preparing a design or making an application
Where an easement is identified on your property and in the intended location of your building proposal it is strongly recommended that you apply to council for size depth and offset information for any Council assets within the easement. This information will help you identify any Council drainage pipes, pits or property connects located in the easement and their location prior to proceeding with your design or application.
Information on easement drains size, depth and offset can be applied for at Requests For Information. Before conducting any excavation work you should also complete a dial before you dig application but should not rely completely on the dial before you dig information for your buildings design as not all underground infrastructure on private property may be identified.
What structures will Council consider for approval to be built over an easement?
A detailed plan of the proposed structure including footing details must be submitted for any structure seeking to be built over an easement.
Council does not allow any habitable or commercial building to be built over an occupied or required easement.
Any building proposed to be built over an occupied easement must:
- Not obstruct or limit the ongoing maintenance of the drain or any inspection opening, and
- Not be located over a property connection point, and
- Not be located over or within 600mm horizontally of the outside edge of the Council pipe or asset, and
- Not require site excavations of more than 250mm or placement of fill exceeding 500mm within the easement, and
- Have all footings founded below the angle of response to the pipe or asset.
Any building proposed to be built on an unoccupied easement must not impact on the future drainage of an adjoining allotment or on Council's future drainage network. Consent will not be granted where the easement could reasonably be required to meet future drainage needs.
Please note you will need to obtain written consent from all authorities that govern the easement, for example Gippsland Water in respect of a water easement, please check your title carefully.
The owner of the property will also need to sign the indemnity statement and conditions form(PDF, 159KB) and submit it with the application form. These conditions will affect the owner and the property should the application to build over the easement be successful.
Please complete this Report & Consent to build over an easement application form to apply.
A list of building fees and charges can be downloaded here.(PDF, 243KB)
Decision time frame
Pursuant to sub-regulation 34 of the Building Regulations 2018 the time after receipt of an application for the reporting authority to report on or consent to an application is 10 business days. Although Council will endeavour to meet the above time frame, additional time may be needed when Council requires additional information from the applicant.
Before a building permit can be issued, you may need a flooding application if the land is prone to flooding pursuant to Building Regulation 153 or 154. If you are unsure whether a property is located within land subject to flooding, you may obtain a Property Information Certificate from Council.
Before lodging your application, please discuss with the private building surveyor engaged for the issue of the building permit, as exemptions may apply.
If your property is identified as liable to flooding or within designated land or works area in your Property Information Certificate it doesn’t necessarily mean that you won’t be able to build on it, it means that you will need to submit an application to have your proposal assessed by Council. The Council assessment considers the location of proposed buildings and their floor levels.
The following supporting information from the relevant authorities should be submitted with you application. Without this information Council will be required to consult with the relevant authorities which may delay your application.
Regulation 153 applications - written flood advice
In deciding whether to consent to an application made pursuant to Building Regulation 153 council must consider written flooding advice from the relevant Floodplain Management Authority.
The Baw Baw area is covered by two floodplain management Authorities, Melbourne Water and West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority. To find out the relevant Authority for your property please visit this website.
You can then apply for the written flood advice to submit with your application from your relevant floodplain management Authority:
Regulation 154 applications - written advice for building on designated land or designated works
In deciding whether to consent to an application made pursuant to Building Regulation 154 council must consider written advice from the relevant Waterway Management Authority.
The relevant Waterway Management Authority for areas of designated land or designated works in the Baw Baw area is Melbourne Water.
You can apply for the written advice to submit with your application from Melbourne Water.
Please complete this Report & Consent to build on flood prone land application form to apply.
A list of building fees and charges can be downloaded here.(PDF, 243KB)
Decision time frame
Pursuant to sub-regulation 34 of the Building Regulations 2018 the time after receipt of an application for the reporting authority to report on or consent to an application is 10 business days. Although Council will endeavour to meet the above time frame, additional time may be needed when Council requires additional information from the applicant.
Section 29A of the Building Act requires the issue of a Report and Consent from the Council where demolition is proposed. Please consult with your private building surveyor with regards to the requirement of this application.
For additional information about the Section 29a Report and Consent process please refer to Practice Note PN 43 - Demolition of Buildings on the Victorian Building Authorities website.
Along with the completed application and payment form also submit:
- A site plan that clearly indicates the structures to be demolished
- Photographs of structures to be demolished (including front & rear) & date taken (less than 2 months old)
This information will assist in a prompt response to your application.
Please complete Report & Consent to demolish application form to apply.
A list of building fees and charges can be downloaded here.(PDF, 243KB)