Liverpool City Council
Private building certifier in Greendale
Rural Greendale projects often hinge on where the septic disposal area sits, because new buildings cannot cover it. CertifiBuild certifies house additions, sheds, garages and extra family dwellings here.
NSW 2745
Class 1 homes and Class 10 structures
Local rules
Rural Greendale: houses, sheds and septic land
A small rural community
This small rural area lies in western Liverpool and is made up almost entirely of separate houses on larger parcels. Farming and timber cutting came first. The land was then carved into rural lots in the early 1960s. Those old holding sizes explain the landscape, but they do not fix today's minimum lot size or decide whether another dwelling is allowed. Your title and today's planning maps do that.
Rural planning rules
Where it applies, Part 5 of the Liverpool DCP covers rural development. It deals with how buildings are grouped on a site, how they look from the road and surrounding land, stormwater, and treating sewage on the property. The wider western Liverpool area also has precinct planning instruments, so check whether one covers your lot.
Site facts, not assumptions
Rural surroundings do not mean a single zone, one slope or the same bushfire and flood risk. Each of those needs evidence for your parcel. That evidence then shapes where new buildings go and how they are constructed.
Typical work
Common projects and how they get approved
What owners build here
Rural house upgrades lead the way in Greendale, where flats and townhouses are almost absent and most owners live on larger blocks. Common jobs we certify are:
- Additions to existing rural homes, including extra bedrooms that can push up the size of the wastewater system.
- Domestic sheds and garages, with their use kept clearly separate from farm or business activity.
- Granny flats or a second dwelling, once the zone confirms that use is allowed.
- Covered outdoor areas, carports and verandahs on established houses, often added as families grow.
- Pools positioned clear of septic disposal areas, tanks and driveways.
How approval usually works
Decide the use before the size. A granny flat, a dual occupancy and a farm shed are different things in planning terms, with separate rules for each. Next, find out if your lot can use a CDC (a fast-track approval under state rules) or needs a DA. Where the property has no sewer and Part 5 applies, the septic system needs its own council approval, lodged alongside the DA. Bedroom numbers drive system size, so plan both together. Cluster the new work near the sheds and driveway you already have, instead of spreading it over the paddock. Clustering buildings near the house usually reduces visual impact and keeps services shorter. CertifiBuild looks at zoning, siting and wastewater on day one and stays in touch as the job moves through each inspection.
Our services
From approval to sign-off.
One certifier for your whole Greendale job, from the first plan check to the occupation certificate.
Local questions
Questions we hear about this suburb.
No two lots in Greendale are the same. Give us your address and we will check every map that affects it.
See the council pageIs a second dwelling allowed on my Greendale block?
Possibly. It depends on your current zone, the planning instrument that covers the lot and the type of dwelling you have in mind. A granny flat, a dual occupancy and a farm shed are treated as different uses. Greendale’s subdivision into rural lots in the early 1960s gives no automatic right to another home. Confirm the use first, then plan access, servicing and siting, ideally grouped near the existing house and sheds. A planning certificate is a good starting point, and some western Liverpool land also sits under precinct instruments.
Can my new shed go near the septic trench?
Not without careful planning. On unsewered Greendale land, any new shed, driveway or drainage line must stay clear of the septic system and its disposal area, which buildings cannot cover. Locate the tank and trenches on a site plan first, then position the shed around them. Relocating a disposal area later is expensive, and extra bedrooms elsewhere can mean the system needs to grow. Where the rural chapter of Liverpool’s development control plan (DCP) applies, the wastewater system also needs its own council approval.
Do the old acreage figures set my lot’s subdivision potential?
No. The old holdings explain how Greendale grew from farming and timber cutting into rural lots in the early 1960s, but minimum lot size and dwelling rules come from today’s planning instrument and its maps. Today’s title boundaries may not match the first holding either. Work from present records, a planning certificate and the latest maps rather than old acreage figures. Liverpool’s wider western area also has precinct planning instruments, so check whether one applies to your lot before exploring subdivision or an extra dwelling.
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.