Burwood Council
Private building certifier in Burwood Heights
CertifiBuild certifies additions, pools, sheds and attic conversions in Burwood Heights. Here the catch is area wide heritage: conservation areas take in over half of Burwood Heights, even though few houses are listed.
NSW 2136
Class 1 homes and Class 10 structures
Local rules
Conservation streets in Burwood's smallest suburb
Small and evenly zoned
Burwood Heights is the council area's smallest suburb. It covers about 23.5 hectares. Low density residential zoning applies to roughly 86%. Nearly all of it, about 97%, has a 400 m² minimum lot size. Around 94% is capped at 8.5 metres in height. You will not find any medium density, high density or mixed use zones here.
Area heritage, not listed houses
Conservation areas cover about 53% of its land. The one between Badminton Road and Culdees Road takes in roughly half of Burwood Heights on its own, and the Appian Way area also crosses into its edge. Yet only four local heritage items are listed, and none are on the State Heritage Register. Many owners assume heritage means a listed house. Here it mostly refers to your own street.
Distance from the town centre
Burwood Heights has no mapped town centre. As a result, just a sliver of Burwood Heights falls inside the walking catchment for the state's low and mid-rise housing rules. Conservation status does not exclude land from those rules.
Typical work
Common projects and how they get approved
What owners build here
With so much conservation area land, the range of practical projects here is narrower than elsewhere. Most work fits inside the existing house or out in the back yard, and internal renovations are not touched by the conservation controls. Common Class 1 and 10 jobs include:
- Rear ground floor additions that leave the street facade alone.
- Swimming pools, which can still use the fast-track route in conservation areas.
- Detached sheds and outbuildings in the back yard.
- Renovations to semis and attached homes.
- Attic conversions using flush rear roof windows.
How approval usually works
On conservation area land, most state housing code work cannot be done as a CDC (fast-track approval under state codes). The exceptions are a detached outbuilding, a pool, or other detached work, provided it is not a studio. The alterations code still works, but only for ground floor work away from street facing walls, with no roof changes and no extra height. Attic conversions there must not include dormers or roof extensions. Windows must sit flush with the rear roof plane, with a combined area of 1.5 m² at most. Anything beyond that needs a development application (DA) and then a construction certificate. CertifiBuild confirms early whether the mapped area takes in your Burwood Heights lot, so you know which of these limits applies before you pay for drawings.
Our services
From approval to sign-off.
One certifier for your whole Burwood Heights job, from the first plan check to the occupation certificate.
Local questions
Questions we hear about this suburb.
No two lots in Burwood Heights are the same. Give us your address and we will check every map that affects it.
See the council pageWhy do heritage rules affect my unlisted Burwood Heights house?
Because conservation areas, not individual listings, take in about 53% of the land in Burwood Heights. One area, between Badminton Road and Culdees Road, accounts for close to half of the suburb by itself, and the Appian Way area clips its edge. A conservation area controls change across the whole streetscape, so your house is affected even without an individual listing on the house. Only four local items are listed here, and none is on the State Heritage Register. Order a planning certificate for your address to confirm whether the mapped area includes your lot.
Can I alter my house’s street front without a DA?
Not if your Burwood Heights lot is on conservation area land. There, the state alterations code leaves out any wall facing the main street and any wall that joins it. Work must also stay on the ground floor, excludes roof changes and allows no added height. A front facade change therefore needs a development application (DA), and a construction certificate comes after that. Internal renovations are not caught by the conservation controls, and rear ground floor additions can sometimes stay on the fast-track path. Check your lot’s mapping before you brief a designer.
Is a dormer allowed on my Burwood Heights attic?
Not on the fast-track route if your house is in a Burwood Heights conservation area. The attic conversion rules there exclude dormers and any roof extension. Windows must lie flush with the rear roof plane, and their combined area cannot exceed 1.5 m². If you want a dormer, or glazing on a roof slope facing the street, you will need a development application (DA) and then a construction certificate. Before paying for drawings, confirm whether the mapped area takes in your lot, because these attic limits only bite inside that boundary.
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.