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Construction in Sydney: does every project need building development approval?

Building development approvals are an essential part of any type of construction in Sydney. However, newcomers to the industry as well as first time home builders are unaware of who requires building development approvals in addition to what building development approvals constitute. It’s expected that those unfamiliar with our industry are none the wiser, however, all parties involved in a project must understand building development approvals.

What is building development approval?

Building development approval does not refer to a singular type of approval or application process. A building development approval can be acquired through either of the following:

  • Development consent – consent from a consent authority (typically a council). This is acquired through a Development Application.
  • Complying development certificate (including a Construction Certificate) is acquired through a Complying Development Checklist.

Either of the above can be acquired through the local council or a private certifier (this is only for the Complying Development Certificate). The type of building that was approved to be constructed or altered is dependent on the application put forward.

Does everyone need building development approval?

The short answer is no, not everyone needs building development approval; in that case, their building would be considered an exempt development.

Projects that are considered exempt developments usually have low-impact construction being done. These include minor building works or renovations that don’t need any planning or building approval. This can occur for some residential, industrial and even commercial developments, provided that they meet the requirements stipulated in the State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008 and Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000.

Here are a few examples of what may be considered as an exempt development:

  • decks,
  • garden sheds,
  • carports, fences,
  • repairing a window or
  • painting a house.

Who needs building approvals?

People with more complex projects require Development Consent and a Complying Development Certificate.

Development Consent

This is formal consent for your development by the local council. To acquire development consent, you must undergo the development assessment and construction approval process. It is a merit-based assessment conducted directly through the local council. Here is a brief overview of the steps of that process.

  • Pre-lodgement
  • Lodgement and initial administration by the council
  • Assessment of your application
  • Determination of your approval
  • Acquisition of Construction Certificate
  • Occupation Certificate

Development consent is mostly needed for small residential developments including:

  • Alterations and additions to houses.
  • New houses.
  • Secondary dwellings – i.e. granny flats.
  • Dual occupancies

Complying Development Certificate

This is a fast-track approval process meant for straightforward residential, commercial and industrial development. Complying development generally includes larger building works than exempt development but does not take as long as a Development Application.
Examples of developments that may require a Complying Development Certificate include:

  • building a one and two storey home
  • building a granny flat or secondary dwelling
  • building earthworks and structural supports
  • building a fence
  • building a swimming pool
  • building waterway structures
  • carrying out a strata subdivision
  • demolishing a building

Why is it important to understand who requires building development approval?

If you engage a professional building design company like ES Design, you will be briefed on whether you need building development approval and the type that you need. However, it is still important that you have a fair understanding of what your type of construction will entail.
Understanding who requires building development approvals in Sydney is important because of the following reasons:

  • It helps you to ensure that your professional help is taking the right legal steps for your project.
  • It provides you with a realistic expectation of the approval process and the overall time needed for the entire project.
  • You aren’t caught off-guard when it comes to determining specific details of your construction. Many building development approval processes require specific details of the construction project that property owners may not have decided on yet.
  • You can prepare the necessary documents beforehand to quicken the process.

At ES Design, we know how overwhelming a project can be. The building development approval process can be extremely confusing for building owners and nerve-wracking on some levels. For this reason, our team will work with you to ensure that the proper application processes are used.
As you can see from the above article, applications are multi-layered and integral to the success of a project. Our team will thoroughly analyse your project and, in consideration of your future needs and intentions for the building, submit an application that is guaranteed to be successful.


To find out more about our building design and drafting services, call us on 0460 000 000.

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What are the advantages of a manor style home?

When people build homes, they build for a purpose. That purpose may be for investment, comfort or design versatility. Regardless of what their purpose is, different houses can achieve different goals which is why the design of your home is crucial for achieving what you want. Some home designs are self-explanatory, such as a single living family home, however, others have more complex benefits. A manor style home is one of the designs that requires some explanation. In this article, we’ll discuss what a manor style home is and why it might be the most advantageous option for you.

What is a manor style home?

A manor house is a single building consisting of three or four dwellings on one lot. It can be up to two storeys in height (excluding the basement), and each dwelling must be attached by a common wall or floor/ceiling. The dwellings can be a studio or 1, 2, 3 or 4-bedroom. Each dwelling has its entrance and amenities. Depending on the design of the property, each dwelling may be either directly and wholly or partially on top of another.
Manor houses fall under the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment’s Low Rise Housing Diversity Code. This means that it must follow the stipulations of the code (e.g. two storey limit), but also benefits from the goal of the code which is to provide faster housing approvals.
Mano style homes are unique in their design and offer a special selection of advantages. To help you decide if a manor style home is right for you, we’ve outlined 4 of the main benefits of building this type of design.

4 advantages of a manor style home

Quick approvals

Manor style homes often benefit from quick approvals because they fall under the Low Density Housing Code. This code facilitates a diverse range of housing and allows well designed dual occupancies, manor houses and terraces to be carried out under a fast track complying development approval.
You can acquire complying development approval within 20 days if the proposal complies with all the relevant requirements in the State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008.
This can be considered an advantage for property owners who are interested in a quick approval and construction process. It can potentially reduce the amount of time and money spent waiting on approval and instead, get you quickly on track with your construction.

Opportunity for an added income stream

The design of a manor house allows an owner to be both an occupier as well as a landlord. Depending on the number of dwellings within the property, you can occupy one section of the home and rent out the others – potentially acquiring two to three income streams and repaying your home loans simultaneously.
If you are not an owner-occupier, then you can acquire rent from all dwellings while still benefiting from the low operational costs of one, relatively small piece of land (in comparison to three or four single-family dwellings).

Improve affordability for the housing market

As a property developer, the rental prices of dwellings have become unattainable over the last few years. As homeowners search for more affordable options, property developers are tasked with investing in properties that are both profitable and affordable for the tenant.
A manor style home is an affordable unit to rent due to its small area and shared lot of land. However, it’s a profitable option for property developers because it does not require a large investment (again, due to its singular lots of land and structure) and because its profitability is determined by three to four rental streams.

Plan for the future

Lastly, a manor style home allows you to plan for the future with your family. As people grow, their families expand and needs change. Due to the multiple dwellings within their property, a property owner has the option to expand it into a large singular unit (or partial and maintain at least one rental unit).


Alternatively, property owners with older parents can use the units as an independent living space for them while having the peace of mind of keeping them close by.


At ES Design, our team works with you to ensure that you get exactly what you want from your home. While we know that the design and architecture of your manor style home are extremely important, we also know that it is important to your livelihood as well as the overall practicality and functionality of the property. For this reason, our team will collaborate with you and other parties to ensure that your home aligns with your goals.


To find out more about our design services, call us on 0460 000 000.

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4 additions for your townhouse floor plan to make it seem larger

Townhouses can be small spaces that have a lot of potential. A townhouse is a multi-floor home that shares one wall with another property, essentially making it half the size of a single family home in some cases. Though townhouses have this decreased space, our ES Design team can cleverly develop your floor plan to ensure that your space is maximised and that it, overall, appears larger.

Many homeowners make the mistake of waiting until their home is built to then attempt to make their home appear larger. When this happens, they are limited to furnishings and decor. Furnishings and decor can be effective at making your home seem more spacious, however, when you have the advantage of designing and constructing your townhouse, you should capitalise on it with the help of our team.

Why making your townhouse’s space appear larger are important

Clients often approach us to design their townhouse floor plan with the intention of us helping them to determine what they need from their home. While our team is certainly skilled in helping clients achieve this, we can also advise clients on the best ways to make your space appear larger.

Ensuring that your townhouse floor plan’s space is maximised has a lot more to do with just being comfortable. Here are 4 reasons why:

  • Higher renter appeal
  • Allows for a much cleaner and organised space
  • Increases rental/sale price (if it’s an investment property)
  • Facilitates more modern interior design

Let’s now take a look at 5 additions our team can add to your townhouse floor plan to make it appear larger.

4 elements ES Design can add to your townhouse floor plan to make your space appear larger

Raised ceiling

Often, many people don’t think about extending vertically, instead, they extend horizontally. While horizontal extensions can certainly increase the physical size of your home, it is prone to clutter and ineffective layouts which results in the opposite intended effect.
By extending upwards through raised ceilings, clutter cannot be formed and you are left with the illusion of a spacious townhouse.

Large windows

Many townhouses suffer from poorly lit spaces which in turn make rooms seem a lot smaller than they actually are. To avoid this, our team highly recommends including large windows which are positioned either East or West to capitalise on the sun’s setting or rising. Specifically, we advise that they are placed in open rooms that will benefit from the most light and that are frequented by the residents (e.g. living room or kitchen).

This doesn’t just give you an excellent view every morning or evening, but it also ensures that dark corners of the room are illuminated. By placing the windows in open, highly visible areas, you give the sunlight the best chance of reflecting and shining light around the property.

Open floor plan

Open floor space is a common technique used by many designers to make homes appear larger and more breathable. By eliminating useless walls and stopping the flow of the room from being interrupted by single-use, closed-off rooms, the space is seen as a whole rather than a cluster of spaces. For an open floor plan, we recommend multi-use, merged rooms to protect the fluidity of the space. An example of this would be merging the kitchen with the dining room to create one open room fit for both cooking and dining.

This doesn’t just give you an excellent view every morning or evening, but it also ensures that dark corners of the room are illuminated. By placing the windows in open, highly visible areas, you give the sunlight the best chance of reflecting and shining light around the property.

Wide doors

Though open floor plans are the goal, rooms such as bathrooms, bedrooms and offices demand a door for privacy at times. While this is unavoidable, wide doors make it possible to keep the open floor plan as much as possible, when privacy is not needed. Swinging doors also take up a lot of unnecessary space when they are open, ruining the flow of movement and the appearance of the space. In addition to a wide door, we highly recommend a sliding door, to avoid the disruption caused by a swinging door.

At ES Design, our team works with you to design your townhouse floor plan, ensuring that you ultimately get exactly what you want from it. While we know that space, as well as the appearance of space, are important for attraction and aesthetic, we also know that its practicality and functionality are a priority. For this reason, our team will collaborate with you and other parties to ensure that your townhouse meets every need and want you may have.


We understand that townhouse properties don’t just require professionalism and expertise, but also the collaboration with our clients so that we can execute plans and designs that perfectly reflect the intention of your investment. To find out more about our floor plan design services, call us on 0460 000 000.