Canterbury-Bankstown Council
Private building certifier in Bass Hill
Bass Hill is mainly detached houses, with a good number of semis and townhouses. For most owners, certification means extensions, granny flats and backyard structures, each tested against the residential rules on that owner’s lot.
NSW 2197
Class 1 homes and Class 10 structures
Local rules
What shapes building work in Bass Hill
Homes and households
In 2021, 10,230 people were counted in Bass Hill, living in 3,212 private homes. Of the homes people lived in, 72.1 per cent were stand-alone houses. Semis, terraces and townhouses were 20.2 per cent, and flats 7.2 per cent. A freestanding house often has side access and a rear yard to work with. An attached home may share walls, a driveway or common property, so its title needs checking.
The plans that apply
The Canterbury-Bankstown Local Environmental Plan 2023 sets zoning and height limits. The council's 2023 DCP holds the detailed rules. Its housing chapter covering what was Bankstown council treats granny flats and dual occupancies in separate sections, with different tests for each.
The village centre and highway
A small village centre next to the Hume Highway is mapped in the DCP. It wants a landscaped buffer along the Remembrance Driveway corridor and better amenity for homes facing the highway. Certain corner sites in the centre are marked as gateways that need stronger design. A corner block somewhere else in Bass Hill is not caught by those rules merely for having two street frontages.
Typical work
Common projects and how they get approved
What owners build here
The most common Bass Hill projects are:
- Rear extensions and new homes. Confirm setbacks, height and privacy for the neighbours.
- Granny flats. Test what space is left once the main house keeps its parking, access and landscaping.
- Garages and carports. Check the driveway position, street setback and how roof water is managed.
- Pools. Design the water, safety barrier and any retaining wall as one layout.
- Townhouse alterations. Confirm shared walls and any strata approval first.
Shop and apartment buildings in the village core sit beyond Class 1 and 10, so another, suitably registered certifier must take them on.
How approval usually works
Some small structures are exempt. Granny flats, additions and pools that satisfy the state codes can often get a CDC, the fast-track approval a certifier grants. Where a site constraint exists or the design falls short of a standard, you need a DA to council and then a construction certificate. Gateway and corridor rules belong to the DA stage for centre sites, so they should never be left for the construction certificate to fix. Decide early whether you want a granny flat or a duplex, as the rules and future options differ. A granny flat stays tied to the main home. Send the survey, title and concept plans first. CertifiBuild can then map out the pathway and carry out the inspection at each stage.
Our services
From approval to sign-off.
One certifier for your whole Bass Hill job, from the first plan check to the occupation certificate.
Local questions
Questions we hear about this suburb.
No two lots in Bass Hill are the same. Give us your address and we will check every map that affects it.
See the council pageDo the Remembrance Driveway rules apply to my Bass Hill house?
Only if your lot falls within the small village centre that council’s development control plan (DCP) maps beside the Hume Highway. Inside that area, the plan wants a landscaped buffer along the Remembrance Driveway corridor and better living conditions for homes facing the highway, and some corner sites are marked as gateways needing stronger design. Most Bass Hill houses sit well outside it and follow ordinary residential controls. Owning a corner block elsewhere does not bring those centre rules with it. Look your address up on those maps before assuming either way.
Is a granny flat or a duplex easier in Bass Hill?
Neither is simply easier, because each faces its own set of tests. A granny flat stays tied to the main dwelling on the lot, whereas a duplex, or dual occupancy, creates two principal dwellings with stricter lot requirements and different future options. Council’s housing rules for the old Bankstown council area deal with them in separate sections. Decide which one you actually want first. Then check whether that type can go through a fast-track complying development certificate (CDC) on your lot, keeping enough space for the main house’s parking, access and landscaping.
Do house renovation rules also work for my Bass Hill townhouse?
Not always. Around one in five Bass Hill homes is attached, and these often share walls, a roof or a driveway with neighbours. Some of those parts may be common property, so strata approval can be needed before any building approval. Check your title, the strata by-laws and how fire separation works at the shared walls. Then choose how the work will be approved. A design borrowed from a freestanding house one street over will not account for any of that.
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.