City of Stirling - knock down rebuild question

We are knocking down an old house in city of Stirling

We have been told we can only apply for the new building permit once the house has been demolished - I.e. Our understanding is that we cannot get our building plans approved until we knock down the old house. The council then says approval is up to 90 days from then. (This is all second hand from my husband so hopefully accurate).

We wanted to minimise our rent and it certainly seems ridiculous to have to potentially sit with an empty block for up to 3 months - we presumed we could live in the old house until everything was lined up and approved, then move out, demolish & start building straight after (with the usual builder delays).

Has anyone built with city of Stirling recently who can comment? It just seems a ridiculous set up but I half expect that from them!

Councils can vary in time frames for these types of build. Here's my assessment....

Have you a demo company, lodged a demo permit etc. do you require a surveyor at this point?

I suspect you will need to vacate and then rat bait or demo company rat bait and this may require 2-6 weeks before demo can commence after permit issued, provided you have capped sewer, removed power meter after disconnection , and removed gas meter after disconnection. You may need to notify neighbours , require traffic assistance , kerb bond paid, verge inspection fees paid, asbestos removal, temporary fencing etc. tho demo company can do all this for you if you wish. Then demo company will begin removing all other items of value, floorboards, glass, frames etc for a couple weeks, then the excavators move in and flatten the joint. Rake soil, discover buried treasures such as old bike frames etc. you may need a plumber to verify there are no septic tanks still on premises.

Building plans can be lodged but build permit won't be issued until land is vacant to their satisfaction. If demo company hasn't destroyed the kerb and/or footpath maybe you get your verge bond back from council. Builder will take care of all this if you wish and then building commences after permits, scheduling, inclement weather and all the other delays you already know about.

Best of luck , enjoy the ride.

Rules are rules, particularly with councils. But here's an interesting story to lighten your day.

An interesting job in Croydon, Victoria in the early 80's in a council with the same rules, a builder now deceased built a house over the existing house which he lived in whilst he built a top floor right over the old house until he could live in that new upper level and then demolished the old house. He was very eccentric and did it to thwart the rules I believe. He did however finish with a 4.5m ceiling height downstairs when it was complete - chandeliers and a spiral staircase and probably cost a fortune except he did most of the work. It was unique house, but the Coonara? commercial heater worked overtime to heat the house, and I think it had 4 large downdraft fans in order to heat the lower level.

Leonardo_23

I am in the City of Stirling. You need planning approval first, then you need building approval, then you can get demo approval. You must have building approval to obtain demo approval. Stirling is pretty painful.......

I was not living in my house but if I were I would have gone through the entire process and stayed in it up to demo.