City of Parramatta
Private building certifier in Ermington
Second storeys, granny flats, duplexes and pools on Ermington house lots all come to CertifiBuild. We begin by testing whether your land is inside the mapped Naval Stores waterfront area.
NSW 2115
Class 1 homes and Class 10 structures
Local rules
Postwar homes beside a riverfront precinct
A postwar housing suburb
Ermington stayed mostly rural until housing estates spread in the years after 1945. Separate houses are still the most common home. Many have been altered over the decades. So the approved plans for your own house are a better guide than any idea of a standard estate design. All of it is governed by Parramatta council.
The Naval Stores waterfront
On the river, the old Naval Stores land has been redeveloped with unit buildings. It was a wartime store, then the Royal Australian Navy used it from 1947. The navy no longer needed it by 1990. Council's DCP (its detailed planning rules) has a chapter only for this defined area. It covers gaps between buildings to keep views, walkways along the foreshore and a scale that suits the river. Elsewhere in Ermington, those rules have no force.
Flood and foreshore
A riverside address is no proof that a lot floods. Council's property information and flood mapping decide whether flood rules apply to your block.
Typical work
Common projects and how they get approved
What owners build here
Most of our Ermington work is on house blocks. Waterfront unit buildings are Class 2, and work within them goes to another certifier. Common jobs on house lots include:
- Rear extensions and upper floors, provided the current structure is strong enough for the load.
- Knockdown rebuilds, when extending a tired postwar house stops making sense.
- Granny flats and dual occupancies on blocks with enough room behind the house.
- Pools, placed with care next to neighbouring yards and fenced with compliant barriers.
- Carports, sheds and garages on the broader inland lots, set back in keeping with the street.
How approval usually works
First confirm your lot is outside the Naval Stores map. Inland house lots follow the normal residential rules. When both land and design clear every test, a granny flat or dual occupancy can use a CDC (a state code approval with no council DA). If not, a DA is needed. Check the Parramatta LEP and state policy before you choose. Draw the whole site, not just the new building. Put access, trees, drainage and open space together on one survey plan. If council says a flood constraint applies, get the flood levels early. They can move floor heights and shape the design. CertifiBuild sorts out the flood question and the approval path with you while the plans are still flexible.
Our services
From approval to sign-off.
One certifier for your whole Ermington job, from the first plan check to the occupation certificate.
Local questions
Questions we hear about this suburb.
No two lots in Ermington are the same. Give us your address and we will check every map that affects it.
See the council pageIs my Ermington street part of the Naval Stores precinct?
Probably not. The Naval Stores precinct is a defined area of riverfront and nearby land, once a wartime store, then a navy site from 1947 until 1990, and now redeveloped with unit buildings. Parramatta’s development control plan (DCP) chapter for it covers view gaps between buildings, foreshore walkways and river-scale building forms. Streets away from the river follow the normal residential controls instead. Check the precinct map against your lot, and do not borrow waterfront building scale for a house block.
Will my granny flat fit behind an old Ermington house?
It might, but Ermington’s postwar blocks vary, so there is no standard answer. Plot the proposed flat on a survey together with the driveway, yard space, trees, drainage and the open space that must remain. That quickly shows whether the rear yard can genuinely take a second dwelling. Where the block and the design pass every code test, a complying development certificate (CDC) can work. If not, a development application (DA) goes to Parramatta Council. Check the local environmental plan (LEP) and state policy before choosing between them.
We can see the Parramatta River. Do flood rules apply?
A river view alone tells you nothing either way. Whether your Ermington lot carries flood requirements depends on Parramatta Council’s property information and flood mapping, not on its outlook. If a flood constraint is identified, get the flood levels early, because they can move floor heights and shape the extension or rebuild. On a flood affected lot, a development application (DA) may be needed rather than a complying development certificate (CDC). Ask council for the flood details on your address before finalising any new work.
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.