Browse Forums Renovation + Home Improvement 1 Mar 25, 2014 2:53 pm Hi All. I have a property that I inherited some years ago that was valued at around 1 million. It has beautiful views on a decent sized block of land, however the house is showing its age. I really think this house would greatly benefit from a major renovation. At the moment, I am trying to work out the feasibility of renovating the house, but I am also looking into the possibility of adding a story to the house (on top of the existing floors). Now, I have had no experience with this, and have not yet talked to any builders yet- this is just in my head at the moment. My questions are: a) How hard/likely is it to get a permit to put a new floor on an existing house (1970s)? b) Do/will they take into consideration the house that is being me that may have some of their view blocked off? c) Can you get approval in principal without submitting plans, or do you have to spend $$$ on getting plans drawn up even though you are likely to get rejected for the second storey? Any advice appreciated! Re: Adding another storey 2Mar 25, 2014 3:38 pm A - a tough one to answer but is often possible. B - if you submit a DA expect that your neighbours may lodge an objection. Sometimes a good design can lessen the impact on them losing views or light but an objection doesn't mean they won't approve it. C - arrange a meeting with one of the town planners to discuss your ideas and check out similar properties in the street and area as a bit of a starting point. http://camdenbuild.blogspot.com.au/ by invite only please pm me Re: Adding another storey 3Mar 25, 2014 3:51 pm robbie55 A - a tough one to answer but is often possible. B - if you submit a DA expect that your neighbours may lodge an objection. Sometimes a good design can lessen the impact on them losing views or light but an objection doesn't mean they won't approve it. C - arrange a meeting with one of the town planners to discuss your ideas and check out similar properties in the street and area as a bit of a starting point. Thanks Robbie. Yes, I am sure the neighbors would object. Would the people handing out permits take into consideration the view that someone may loose because of such a renovation? When you say town planners, who exactly are these people? Are they the council or are they a private body? Sorry for the basic questions- have never ever had a reason to learn about this stuff but now is as good as any other time to start! Re: Adding another storey 4Mar 25, 2014 5:48 pm Yep council has town planners that will give you some advice about what would generally be allowed. Seeing them with drawings is more the norm but don't be shy. I've never gone through CDC before but might be worth looking into if you can do it as I don't think the neighbours have the opportunity to object. If it meets all requirements it passes. Just don't expect to borrow a cup of sugar. http://camdenbuild.blogspot.com.au/ by invite only please pm me Re: Adding another storey 5Mar 26, 2014 8:56 am robbie55 I've never gone through CDC before but might be worth looking into if you can do it as I don't think the neighbours have the opportunity to object. If it meets all requirements it passes. CDC being a Certificate of Design Certificate of Design Compliance? (I just Googled it). Can you explain a little more about this? Is this something a town planner would know about and would be able to tell me about? robbie55 Just don't expect to borrow a cup of sugar. I'll just have to be extra vigilant in my shopping list! Re: Adding another storey 6Mar 27, 2014 2:03 pm No, CDC = Complying Development Certificate ( Consent it is also referred to as well ). Basically if you know all the rules regarding your councils DCP eg max roof height, hard surface allowed per block, setbacks, shadowing etc and your design meets all those criteria then you can apply for a CDC not the standard DA process. You should download a copy of your councils DCP and/or ask a local building designer or draftie. Having rough overall measurements and a floorplan ( do one yourself to scale just showing the outside of the existing dwelling on the block ) helps a lot. Stewie Re: Adding another storey 7Mar 27, 2014 3:08 pm Sorry Lockmac missed your post but Stewie is more qualified than me to respond. Out of interest Stewie do neighbours still get a look at the proposal prior to being approved or does the simple fact that it meets all requirements mean that any objection they may have would not affect a decision in any event? http://camdenbuild.blogspot.com.au/ by invite only please pm me Re: Adding another storey 8Mar 27, 2014 3:25 pm Neighbours can always object however if all is in compliance with the rules for that block then it makes it difficult. Consider the scenario where you knock down and rebuild. If you were to develop a 2 story home the that would need to comply. Neighbours can always oppose however they must also state the reason. As has been said, speak to the town planners. May want to also weigh the cost of Reno vs kdr. Cheers Mark Re: Adding another storey 9Mar 27, 2014 6:07 pm Quote: Out of interest Stewie do neighbours still get a look at the proposal prior to being approved or does the simple fact that it meets all requirements mean that any objection they may have would not affect a decision in any event? AussieMark is correct in that a neighbour can always object however when you lodge a complying development it means you have complied with all the rules pertaining to a new dwelling or reno eg shadows, heights etc as I previously mentioned and as such no notification plans need to be sent to neighbouring properties. CDC's are usually approved in a week so in theory the day after you get it approved you can start knocking off the roof etc ( as long as you have all the other relevant documentations in place- PCA's for NSW, engineering drawings etc ). When you lodge a normal DA in most councils the neighbours have two weeks to object from the day they receive their notification plans ( usually site plan and elevations ). A bit hard to lodge an objection when the bulldozers just gone through. And yes like AM says they do need a pretty good reason to object for a normal DA. Stewie Re: Adding another storey 10Mar 29, 2014 3:58 pm Hi everyone, Sorry lockmac, I don't have anything to contribute but we are in a position where we would like to kdr a double story in an established suburb with mostly single storey houses around (haven't bought a block yet though!) Can I ask what would be a very good reason to object? Is simple lack of privacy sufficient? Cheers Re: Adding another storey 11Mar 29, 2014 4:28 pm It must go against the residential development codes or not be inkeeping with the street scape. The codes are quite comprehensive and usually because all houses are built in line with the codes the streetscape is quite uniform. i.e. all the same set-back. Just because all the houses are single storey is not enough to stop a double storey getting approved. As urban density comes under pressure blocks become smaller and therefore houses must go to the second storey. 15 years back my street had no double storey houses. Now it only has a couple remaining single level dwellings. Privacy is covered as windows on second level must be opaque if they are lower than a certain level. From balconies there must be privacy guards in place to block visibility beyond a certain angle. Over shadowing is also covered as well. Build within the guidelines and you will get approved, however objections may take time to sort through. When designing my house I spoke to the neighbours and showed the designs and where the windows would be. Not that I want to look in anyones' yard, the windows are such that I cannot anyway. Get the council codes for your area and study them so you know what can and cannot be done. Hope this helps. Mark Adding another storey 12Mar 30, 2014 12:22 pm Your first step is to check with council requirements. As an example, with regards to my local council, there are no planning permit requirements to extend or kdr - you must comply with rescode (and therefore comply with overlooking, overshadowing, setback, heights and so on) but all you need is a building permit. What this means is there is no ability for neighbours to object at all and you can add another storey or build a new house without any problem as long as it is compliant. They don't get to view plans or voice objections However council requirements differ to the extent that in some cases if you want to do as little as change the colour of the paint on your house you need council approval.. 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