Burwood Council
Private building certifier in Burwood
We certify house additions, dual occupancies, pools and outbuildings in Burwood. Most streets are capped at 8.5 metres, and your first job is reading the heritage maps for your block.
NSW 2134
Class 1 homes and Class 10 structures
Local rules
Burwood houses beside a high-rise town centre
Two very different Burwoods
Heights are capped at 8.5 metres across about three fifths of Burwood. One Railway Parade site reaches 144 metres. Apartments now make up most homes, but detached houses and semis remain in the quieter streets. Around three quarters of Burwood's land has a 400 m² minimum lot size, and the bulk of the remainder 500 m².
Heritage in depth
Burwood holds the council's biggest cluster of heritage items, with 137 listed in the Burwood LEP 2012 (local environmental plan). Nine conservation areas take in roughly 12% of Burwood. A council notice in June 2026 said the online Planning Portal viewer had left out the conservation area covering Wallace Street and Brady Street. Until that is fixed, owners should look at the LEP heritage maps.
Town centre and height planes
Extra town centre rules apply to lots that council's Additional Local Provisions Map labels as area A, B or C. These cover street setbacks and distance from heritage neighbours. Any lot with a heritage item on it needs at least 1,500 m². Burwood also maps a Building Height Plane. It shapes your allowable envelope by angles, not a single height figure.
Typical work
Common projects and how they get approved
What owners build here
Burwood's house streets generate steady renovation work, quite separate from the apartment towers. Our Class 1 and 10 registration does not extend to flats or mixed use buildings. Many houses here are period homes on modest lots, so additions tend to go to the rear. On houses, typical projects are:
- Additions to period homes in and near conservation areas, where the codes are narrower than owners expect.
- Dual occupancies on low density zoned land under the state housing rules.
- Pools and pool barriers on detached lots.
- Sheds, garages and alfresco roofs, checked against the height plane.
How approval usually works
Where every standard is met, a CDC (fast-track approval under state codes) can apply. Otherwise a development application (DA) goes to council, and a construction certificate comes after approval. Start by checking the official LEP heritage maps rather than the online viewer, and order a council planning certificate for the property. Next, see if the mapped town centre area takes in your lot. For a dual occupancy, the state's low and mid-rise rules need at least 450 m² of land, a lot whose width is 12 metres where the house front sits, an FSR (floor space ratio) no higher than 0.65:1, and a building no taller than 9.5 metres. A conservation area alone does not exclude you. CertifiBuild works only on homes and Class 10 structures, and checks your Burwood lot's maps before the drawings are fixed.
Our services
From approval to sign-off.
One certifier for your whole Burwood job, from the first plan check to the occupation certificate.
Local questions
Questions we hear about this suburb.
No two lots in Burwood are the same. Give us your address and we will check every map that affects it.
See the council pageCan I trust the Planning Portal map for heritage in Burwood?
Not by itself. In a June 2026 notice, Burwood Council said the Planning Portal viewer was missing the conservation area that covers Wallace Street and Brady Street. Until that is fixed, the heritage maps in Burwood’s local environmental plan (LEP) are the reliable source. With 137 listed items and nine conservation areas spread over roughly 12% of Burwood, this check is worth doing properly. Read the LEP maps for your street, then order a planning certificate from council so you know exactly how your lot is affected before any drawings begin.
How big must my Burwood lot be for a dual occupancy?
Under the state’s low and mid-rise housing rules, a Burwood dual occupancy needs a minimum land area of 450 m². The block must also be 12 metres wide where the front of the building sits. Floor space ratio (FSR) is capped at 0.65:1, and buildings can reach 9.5 metres. These standards apply on land zoned low density residential. Sitting in a heritage conservation area will not exclude your block by itself, although a listed heritage item needs separate checking. Confirm your zone and frontage width with a survey first, then test the design against each standard.
What does the Building Height Plane mean for my extension?
It is a mapped Burwood control that shapes your building envelope with a starting height and an angle, rather than one fixed number. Height is measured against a sloping line, so taller parts of an addition might have to sit further in from the boundary. This works alongside the 8.5 metre cap that covers about three fifths of Burwood, and it applies to sheds, garages and alfresco roofs too. Look up your lot on the Building Height Plane map at the outset, while changes are cheap, and test the angle on your section drawings.
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.