The very first thing you should do is contact your local council to establish if there are any overlays (heritage or vegetation) affecting your land or alternatively you can access this information here (simply type in your address and click search). The next screen will bring up your address, tick the box and click search again. On this screen, you will see a number of reports you can choose but we recommend you tick the box which is your basic property report and then click next. This is a summary page of your parcel of land which includes your Planning Zone and Planning Overlays affecting your land. Take the time to click on these reports to review, or contact your local council for further details regarding clarification.

Setbacks – All new dwellings must comply with building regulations where minimum front, side and rear setbacks need to be met. Discuss these requirements with your Sales Consultant when considering your new home. Also ensure you take your existing driveway position into account when you are choosing a house plan. Should you wish to change the existing location of your crossover (driveway) you will then need to obtain approval directly from your Council.

Easements – Does your block of land have any easements? Easements can impact which designs will work on your block. This information can be obtained by contacting the owners of the easement (ie: council, water authorities) or from your Plan of Subdivision.

You will need to take into account how accessible your block is for both demolition and construction. Size of roads, schools in the area, overhead power lines and the requirement for traffic management (if you are on a busy road or in a difficult to access area) will need to be factored in. Please be aware that restricted access blocks may incur additional charges due to management of traffic and manual unloading of materials.

Neighbours can play a part in assisting with the approval of your design. Should your proposed build fall outside of the standard building regulations, you should gain consent from your neighbours upfront as any objections they may have can affect the design of your home (ceiling heights and windows etc), and this can delay your build time. Neighbours also need to be engaged regarding shared fencing as depending on your build, fencing may need to be removed prior to site start.

Do you intend to put in a new pool or keep an old one? Please ensure you discuss this with Porter Davis upfront as this can have a bearing on which house plan you proceed with, and may impact on the cost of your slab design (foundations of your new home) and construction.

To maintain a safe workplace, Porter Davis requires a minimum distance of 1800mm between your home and pool and you will be required to install a hard pool cover to Australian Standards prior to construction commencing.

Read our handy guide and tips on pool installation here