Hornsby Shire Council
Private building certifier in Asquith
Asquith is roughly half houses and half apartments. For house owners, we look at your zone and any named Hornsby precinct before advising on a second dwelling, pool or extension.
NSW 2077
Class 1 homes and Class 10 structures
Local rules
Asquith Houses Among Mapped Precincts
A 1915 railway estate
The Asquith station platform first opened in 1915. The same year, land around it was sold as the Asquith Station Estate, according to the State Library. Many lot boundaries date from that sale, though the age of a lot says nothing about when its house went up. Denser housing has been added over the decades, so house blocks now sit beside townhouses and unit buildings in many streets.
A split housing mix
At the 2021 Census, Asquith had 6,160 residents living in 2,443 private dwellings. Of homes with people in them, 48.4% were units or flats. Stand-alone houses made up 42.0%. Townhouses and semis filled most of the remainder.
Named precincts
Hornsby's DCP names several Asquith precincts. The Stokes and Baldwin Avenue areas allow medium density. Hyacinth Street, Lords Avenue and Bouvardia Street are apartment precincts, and every one has a separate diagram. Those diagrams can show pedestrian links that shape where a building or driveway goes. The centre is covered as well by the state's newer rules for low and mid-rise homes. None of these apply to every street, so check what covers your lot.
Typical work
Common projects and how they get approved
What owners build here
CertifiBuild works on the house side of the suburb.
- Rear additions and renovations. Each one is judged individually on boundary setbacks, tree protection, privacy for neighbours and any mapped hazards.
- Pools and roofed alfresco spaces. Plan them with the full yard and landscaped area in mind.
- Dual occupancies and townhouses. Worth exploring where the zone and state provisions allow them.
- Sheds and garages. Design them within the overall site plan, not as an isolated footprint.
Apartment renovations are Class 2 work. Those need a certifier who holds the right registration for them.
How approval usually works
If your house is outside the precincts, your first documents are a survey and the planning certificate. Plenty of extensions and pools can then be approved by a certifier through a CDC (the fast-track route) when the plans comply with the state housing codes. If not, you lodge a DA with Hornsby Shire Council and get a CC after consent.
Close to a precinct, read the correct diagram before you settle on a footprint or driveway. The approval next door may have relied on other controls or another precinct. The DCP also covers how sites meet heritage items and busy road or rail corridors. For dual occupancies, confirm the current state housing rules for your exact lot, since older height summaries can be out of date. If you are planning a pool or extension, also work out how much landscaped area is left once paving goes in. CertifiBuild can confirm the controls on your house before your designer starts drawing.
Our services
From approval to sign-off.
One certifier for your whole Asquith job, from the first plan check to the occupation certificate.
Local questions
Questions we hear about this suburb.
No two lots in Asquith are the same. Give us your address and we will check every map that affects it.
See the council pageDoes living near Asquith station make my lot eligible for townhouses?
Not automatically. Asquith’s town centre falls within the State’s policy for low and mid-rise housing, but whether your lot qualifies turns on the block, the kind of homes proposed and the policy’s exclusions. Older height summaries may no longer reflect current rules, so do not rely on them. Hornsby’s development control plan (DCP) also names medium density areas around Stokes and Baldwin Avenues, each with its own diagram. Order a survey plus the planning certificate, then confirm the current State housing rules for your exact address before a designer draws anything.
Why would my Asquith neighbour’s approval not apply to my house?
Because Asquith is divided into several named precincts with separate diagrams, and the house next door could fall in another one. Hornsby’s development control plan (DCP) covers medium density areas around Stokes and Baldwin Avenues and apartment precincts at Hyacinth Street, Lords Avenue and Bouvardia Street. Their diagrams can show pedestrian links that move a building or driveway. Your neighbour may also have been approved under older controls. Your own zone and precinct set the limits, so check them on the planning certificate before reusing a neighbour’s footprint.
My Asquith house sits between apartment blocks. Can I extend it?
Usually, yes. The unit buildings around you do not set your house’s building envelope, since many Asquith streets mix lots from the 1915 station estate with later denser housing. Your extension is judged on your own lot: boundary setbacks, tree protection, privacy for neighbours, drainage and any mapped hazards. Work out how much landscaped area remains once paving and any pool are included. If the plans meet the State housing codes, a certifier may approve the work as a complying development certificate (CDC). Otherwise it goes to Hornsby Shire Council as a development application.
Building in this suburb?
Send us the address first.
We check the local maps for your lot, confirm the approval path and quote in writing.