Certification 101: Renovations, the dos and don’ts

How many times have we seen on TV shows, the internet and in magazines that renovations to domestic and commercial buildings can be done overnight with minimal effort and supervision? There is a plethora of DIY people out there that believe they do not need to meet any construction or building code standards nor go through any approval process as they know the game and have done this before or seen it done on television. It is not that difficult right? Wrong.

They fall into a trap of renovations being about glitz and glamour and keeping up with their neighbours. We do not know how many times we have seen a newspaper article, real estate lift out or magazine photo indicating a lovely swimming pool without a pool fence, or a bathroom renovation completed overnight. How about a restaurant renovation completed over a weekend?

We understand that time is money and rents are high. However there is a reason for going through the correct process. Yes the process can take time and cost more money than expected but it can also save time and money in both the short and long term when the regulators come knocking or when you want to sell or lease the property and you have a big problem if your reno does not comply. There is also an insurance risk if you are operating or using the property without gaining necessary approvals, certifications and inspections. It is not worth the risk.

There are longer term issues for not going through the proper process. Once the regulators get involved they generally look at the history of the property and may point the finger at the owner of the land / building and see a pattern of unauthorised work. Whether this is the case or not, owners and tenants can get caught up in a legal nightmare. Tenants may also have a right to refuse to pay rent or demand their rent back as the renovation works were non-disclosed to them as being unauthorised.

We continue to help people that come to us that have not gone through the correct process, whether by not understanding process, ignorance or something else entirely. Be warned, often the rectification work is laborious, agonising and very expensive, much more expensive and time consuming that going through the process the correct way. Clients in these situations are generally also anxious about their predicament with regulators threatening legal action or court dates looming. There are a percentage of clients that just cannot get a ‘retrospective approval’ unless they radically change their building or even demolish and start again.

We at Certifiers2U do not want this to happen to you.

We feel the best way for us to help is for you to engage with us before you begin your renovation process.

We can conduct site inspections of your property and provide valuable advice including the identification of any planning and building issues, heads of consideration and pathways to gain the necessary approvals, and can provide a discussion of the development potential of the building, property or use.

Some renovations may not require approval at all if they fall into the category of exempt development. Do you know which ones? We do.

Many may just require a complying development certificate(CDC). A core part of our business stems from the complying development certification service. We have approved some renovations in two (2) days! We the issue the approval, do the inspections and sign off the works when completed.

Other renovations may require a Development Application (DA) and a construction certificate (CC). We help out during the construction certificate stage. We the issue the approval, do the inspections and sign off the works when completed.

Our savvy clients use a staged renovation process such as getting their minor works approved by us as a complying development certificate (CDC) and starting those works while their DA is being assessed by the Council. At the same time we assess their construction certificate (CC) application awaiting approval of their DA. Often by the time their DA and CC is ready to go they have completed their first stage (approved under CDC) and they can commence the work for the second stage.

At Certifiers2U we are here to help you with all of your renovation, planning, building and certification needs.

Call us today on 02 66805424, email us using the form below or come in and see us at 1/10 Station Street, Bangalow NSW 2479.