Bayside Council
Private building certifier in Eastlakes
Eastlakes is mostly apartments, yet a pocket of detached houses rings the shops on Maloney Street. A private certifier in Eastlakes first works out which setting, and which rules, your home belongs to.
NSW 2018
Class 1 homes and Class 10 structures
Local rules
Houses, flats and the Maloney Street centre
An apartment suburb with a house pocket
In 2021, 6,347 people were counted in the Eastlakes area, living across 2,941 private dwellings. Flats and apartments were 69.0% of occupied homes, freestanding houses 28.5%, and semis or townhouses just 2.0%. Class 1 work here therefore involves a fairly small group of houses.
The Maloney Street centre
Council's development control plan (DCP) describes this neighbourhood centre as a short strip of two-storey shops ringed by detached houses. It asks for the old shop facades, including art deco details, to be kept in any redevelopment. Those are centre rules. They do not make every building in Eastlakes a heritage item. That chapter also deals with footpath and street upgrades, and asks that homes above and behind the shops retain usable outdoor areas, sunlight and privacy.
Special height areas
The Bayside Local Environmental Plan 2021 sets zoning and height. The DCP's low-density chapter also maps special height areas over parts of Eastlakes and nearby suburbs, aimed at particular housing types. Being near one, or even in one, does not settle what your lot may build.
Typical work
Common projects and how they get approved
What owners build here
For the houses around the centre, typical Class 1 and 10 jobs include:
- Rear living additions. Assess them at house scale, not against the shop strip next door.
- Roof repairs and replacements. Find out if the work alters the roof shape visible from the street.
- Decks, pergolas and outdoor rooms. Think about privacy and sunlight for the homes on each side.
- Terrace-style redevelopment. First find the lot on the special height map and in the current LEP.
Apartment bathrooms, balconies, shared entries and shopfronts are other building classes, so a differently registered certifier must handle them.
How approval usually works
Some small structures are exempt and need no approval. A complying development certificate (CDC) is a quick approval that a certifier may grant once a design satisfies every code standard. Where it does not, Bayside Council must grant consent through a development application (DA) before a construction certificate is issued.
In Eastlakes, plans most often stumble when they borrow a height or density from a special area map without checking the statutory controls. Any state rules that apply must be read too, and a taller building next door is not proof of what your lot may hold. Near the shops, keep sunlight, privacy and outlook for neighbouring homes in mind from the first sketch.
Send the survey, a few photos and your concept first. CertifiBuild checks the maps for your lot and explains the approval steps clearly.
Our services
From approval to sign-off.
One certifier for your whole Eastlakes job, from the first plan check to the occupation certificate.
Local questions
Questions we hear about this suburb.
No two lots in Eastlakes are the same. Give us your address and we will check every map that affects it.
See the council pageDo the Maloney Street centre rules apply to my Eastlakes house?
Only where the mapped Maloney Street centre takes in your property. That chapter of Bayside’s development control plan (DCP) sets a defined boundary and covers the short strip of two-storey shops, with rules on retaining old facades and art deco details. Houses outside that boundary follow the general residential controls, even in the same street or with a similar look. The centre rules do not make every Eastlakes building a heritage item. Check your exact lot against the centre map before applying any of its provisions to a house.
Can a special height area give my Eastlakes house an extra storey?
Not by itself. The special height areas in the low density chapter of the development control plan (DCP) target particular housing types, and they only work alongside the zone and height limit in the Bayside Local Environmental Plan 2021, plus any state rules. A taller building nearby is not evidence of what your lot may hold. Confirm your exact Eastlakes lot on the maps, then test the design against neighbours’ sunlight and privacy. Only after that is it sensible to count on extra floor space or a terrace-style scheme.
Why do so few Eastlakes projects suit a Class 1 certifier?
Because most homes there are in apartment buildings. The 2021 Census put flats and apartments at 69.0% of occupied Eastlakes homes, and those buildings are Class 2, outside CertifiBuild’s registration. Class 1 and Class 10 work is concentrated in the freestanding houses, 28.5% of homes, many of them clustered near the Maloney Street strip. Typical jobs on those lots are back extensions, roof replacements, decks and pergolas. If you own an apartment, check the strata rules and find a Class 2 certifier.
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.