A building permit is certainly needed to demolish and then remove all or part of a Melbourne area building. It’s a very complicated process and in most cases, these permits are only issued to Council registered house demolition Melbourne contractors.
Other reports and consent approvals may be required before your demolition permit can be granted as well.
So, not only do you need a demolition permit before work begins, but you’ll also need to take care of several other regulations before you start.
We recommend you allow sufficient time to plan for your house demolition Melbourne, as there are many steps to get through before any demolition work can proceed.
Can I apply for a permit as an owner-demolisher?
The building permit process for demolition is very complicated and time-consuming. Litigation can be started if the demolition isn’t carried out correctly, safely and legally.
Councils do not usually grant demolition permits to owner-demolishers, but they will to registered demolition companies. It’s quicker and less complicated to engage a registered house demolition Melbourne company than to attempt to do it yourself.
If you are still thinking of applying for one yourself, you will have to provide your building surveyor with documentation that you have the necessary knowledge, experience, equipment and storage facilities to properly, legally and safely conduct the demolition.
House Demolition Melbourne Permit
Before you start work on your demolition, you will need to obtain a demolition permit and a building permit before work on either process can begin.
We can arrange this as part of the demolition process and know what needs to be done in what order.
NB: Getting a permit for both processes for your demolition will take a minimum of four weeks or twenty working days. With the building boom Australia is currently experiencing, we advise allowing four to six weeks once you have the documentation ready to submit to Council.
Mandatory Council Documents
Not all Melbourne Councils require all documents, but the three listed below are mandatory for all Victorian demolitions and rebuilds, irrespective of the area council or your property type:
- A copy of the title for your property
- Plan of your subdivision, which can also be known as the title plan.
- The site plan of the existing buildings and property that shows the measurements of the property boundary.
You might also be required to produce the following documents:
- A planning permit, if the demolition works are within a special overlay such as a significant landscape or heritage overlay.
- A report and consent form will be required from the Council for the protection of the public if your demolition works are close to a street frontage or any public area.
- Any works on the property boundary will need to have protection works notices served on the adjoining property owners. These notices will let your neighbours know the scope and details of the works so they can undertake protective action against their own assets.
Cancellation of services to your property
Before you can demolish the house, you will need to make arrangements for the complete removal of the services from your property, including company metering, serving assets and any service distribution.
This includes services like power, water gas and phone lines and services.
Request through your provider that they don’t just disconnect the service but have the infrastructure removed.
If these steps are not taken, house demolition Melbourne cannot take place.
Other permits that may be required in Melbourne
Tree Removal Permits
Depending on the type of trees and their size on your property, you may need one of these permits to remove any trees before work can start.
Asset Protection Permit
This permit pertains to the road, footpath and verge that belong to the council that may be damaged during demolition or construction.
Temporary Fencing Permit
It is the owner’s responsibility to have a permit for temporary fencing and have it in place before demolition begins.
Asbestos Removal checklist
Asbestos is often found in many places around the home:
- Exterior fibre cement cladding and weatherboards
- Roof tiles
- Artificial brick cladding
- Flexible building boards used in bathroom linings, eave linings and cement tile underlay.
- Corrugated cement roofing
- Flue pipes
- Architectural cement pipe columns
- Some textured paints
- Vinyl floor tiles or coverings
- Asbestos cement water pipes
- Millboard linings of switchboards
- Sprayed Insulation – acoustic walls, beams, and ceilings.
Should your demolition require asbestos removal, we will organise all the relevant paperwork and removal for it in our quote.
Asbestos removal also requires WorkSafe to be notified, which we will also do for you.
Dial Before You Dig
Always check with Dial Before You Dig before you start any work so that relevant companies can respond with the most recent information about where lines, pipes and other underground infrastructure may be lurking.
There are a lot of permits and paperwork involved in demolition, making it far more sensible and less time-consuming to contract companies like ours that do this type of thing all day every day.
We have years of experience and many contacts in the industry to call on for a safe, legal and professional demolition.
If that’s what you are looking for, call today and let’s see if we can work something out and get that house demolished as soon as possible!