Council approval for internal stairs

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  colbus123 on 20/01/2014 - 13:57

  Just do it and don't worry about the council. They don't know what's inside your house, only outside. You will be fine.

  • 

    _Bruce_ on 20/01/2014 - 16:46

    -1

    Apart from the obvious problems, think about what happens when you try to sell it and the house doesn't match the documentation.

    • 

      colbus123 on 20/01/2014 - 19:13

      Well I do agree you MIGHT be faced with that issue….

    • 

      NancyCat on 20/01/2014 - 20:05

      +2

      The documentation you are referring is a Building Certificate that comes from a building surveyor, who basically certify plans and structures in accordance with building legislation and the Council's Planning Permit conditions. Then he would issue a Building Permit so you could start building. He/she would also need to inspect the building during construction, and then issue a certificate when building is completed.

      The permit from the Council is only a Planning Permit that deals with issues such as 'the look' of the building, building height, overshadowing, overlooking, heritage, car park…

      But as long as you don't touch the exterior of the house, you don't need anything from the Council.

      • 

        snook on 24/01/2014 - 23:06

        "as long as you don't touch the exterior …" - this isn't correct.

        Council rules vary widely. You need to look in the specific Council's DCP and see what is exempt and complying development.

        I look at DCPs a lot and some Council DO want DAs for internal work and not only for listed properties. Heritage listed properties in Sydney are an exception and all require consent.

        I personally don't know how they can catch you because they do not keep internal plans of your house in Council. Find a renovator who has a licence and will do the work without Council approval.

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  NancyCat on 20/01/2014 - 14:04

  +2

  Better check with your local Council.

  We live in a heritage listed building in a bay suburb in Melbourne. We were told by our Council that we could do whatever we want inside the house, even completely gutted it, WITHOUT a permit from the Council.

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  onlyletters on 20/01/2014 - 14:08

  +1

  If you're replacing stairs, then you do not need council approval but if you are installing stairs to make your house double story, then it will need a permit to build another level with the consent of your neighbors.

  • 

    NancyCat on 20/01/2014 - 14:30

    +1

    To add another floor to the house, you first need to get a 'Planning Permit' from the Council. As eXtremist said, so that the Council and your neighbours know what you plans are. You'll only need to have 'stairs' on your plan, as long as the stairs look 'normal' and are fit into the layout of the house.

    But you'll need a more detailed plans to apply for a 'Building Permit'. With stairs, you'll need all the details of the stairs. I've looked at the building regulations book re stairs, there are many straight rules that we must follow: the angle of the stairs, the height of each step, the 'depth' of each step, what type of turn, size of the landing, the 'nosing' of the steps, even hand rails… things only the builder/stairs builder can work it out.

    Also, you don't need get the 'Building Permit' from the Council.

    • 

      emiko on 20/01/2014 - 14:51

      Hi all,

      thank you for the reply. we already got the second floor , but now is external stairs access.
      If I just want to build the stairs inside the house, do I still need approval?
      It's not a heritage house.

      Many thanks

      • 

        NancyCat on 20/01/2014 - 15:24

        Don't think so. Perhaps get a second opinion from another builder? And double check with the Council.
        But of course, like any 'major' internal renovation, eg removing walls, adding walls, lifting the ceiling… there are regulations that the builder will have to follow, but it has nothing to do with the Council.
        However, to remove your existing external stair case, you may need to have a permit from the Council.
        Like I said, I can gutted my house without a permit, but I need to get a permit to paint the fence of the house!

      • 

        onlyletters on 24/01/2014 - 12:13

        No you will not need approval to do this, but you might need to update your "plans" if you ever plan on selling the house, if you have house insurance, they also need to see the "updated" plans, in the event of a fire, they will say "your stairs" were not on the plans so it wont be covered or they might void your policy all together at the time of a claim.

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  StuffnStuff on 21/01/2014 - 10:12

  Not sure which state you are in, in QLD most certifier/planners can approve most items providing they fit into the council "Guidelines", they only need to goto Council when it falls outside of the guidelines which generally means you can get an approval through within a couple of weeks.

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  Geewhizz on 23/01/2014 - 09:32

  Just be sure before removing any walls that they are not load bearing.

  >
  we already got the second floor , but now is external stairs access.
  If I just want to build the stairs inside the house, do I still need approval?

  You should really check with your local council, because it varies from one council to another.

  I know that many councils state that any renovation work with a value of over $10 000 requires a building permit.

  I noticed the other day that our local council seems to want one for anything at all, with a category for 'small renovation works less than $5000.'