Randwick City Council
Private building certifier in Kensington
CertifiBuild certifies house alterations, additions, dual occupancies and Class 10 structures in Kensington. Owners usually meet heritage first, because West Kensington is a large conservation area.
NSW 2033
Class 1 homes and Class 10 structures
Local rules
Kensington between the campus and the racecourse
A planned suburb from 1889
Kensington is named after the London district. Back in 1823, a grant of 570 acres in the Lachlan Swamps went to Samuel Terry. Decades later, in 1889, a company called the Kensington Freehold Corporation held a contest for the layout of a new suburb there, with £250 for the winner. Sixteen entries came in.
Big institutions, a small housing area
Housing takes up only around half the suburb's land. About 24% is private recreation land, which is the racecourse's western third. Special purpose land, mostly the university, covers about 23%. Low density residential zoning takes roughly 29%. Another 14% or so is medium density. Units make up most homes, so houses are a minority here, and many sit in heritage streets.
Heritage layers
Around 16% of Kensington is conservation area land, mostly in West Kensington at about 12%. At the suburb's north-west edge, a sliver of conservation area from the neighbouring City of Sydney crosses the boundary, and that council's plan governs it. The single State Heritage Register item is Carthona, found at 85 Todman Avenue. The university has no State listing, though some campus buildings may hold local ones.
Typical work
Common projects and how they get approved
What owners build here
Most of our Kensington work is on houses, often inside the West Kensington heritage area. Typical jobs include:
- Alterations and rear additions to period houses, designed around the conservation controls.
- Dual occupancies and townhouses under the state housing rules, which reach much of the house land here.
- Carports, garages and decks for detached homes.
- Pools and outbuildings where the lot and heritage controls allow.
- Renovations to semis, where the shared wall needs fire and sound detailing.
Flats, the mixed-use buildings on Anzac Parade and the campus are not Class 1 or 10, so another registered certifier handles them.
How approval usually works
Heritage area mapping limits the fast-track options, so many Kensington additions need a development application (DA) rather than a CDC (fast-track approval under state rules). For density, the state housing rules name two light rail stations here: UNSW Anzac Parade and Kensington. Around each, the inner catchment reaches 400 metres and the outer one up to 800 metres, measured as a walk from a public entrance. The racecourse, campus and hospital grounds block direct routes, so the true walk is longer than a straight line. Measure the route, not a circle. For a lot at the north-west edge, check if City of Sydney rules govern it. CertifiBuild checks heritage and catchment boundaries for your address before the design brief is set.
Our services
From approval to sign-off.
One certifier for your whole Kensington job, from the first plan check to the occupation certificate.
Local questions
Questions we hear about this suburb.
No two lots in Kensington are the same. Give us your address and we will check every map that affects it.
See the council pageHow far do the Kensington housing catchments reach?
Under the state’s newer housing rules for low and mid-rise homes, the inner catchment runs 400 metres and the outer one up to 800 metres from each of Kensington’s two light rail stations, UNSW Anzac Parade and Kensington. Both distances are walking routes measured from a public station entrance, not straight lines. Because the racecourse, the university and the hospital grounds block direct paths, your real walk can be much longer than a map circle suggests. Measure the actual route from your front gate, and check heritage mapping too.
Does my Kensington block have two height limits?
It may. Beyond the base height map, Randwick’s planning maps include an alternative height map showing 16, 19, 31 or 54 metres for parts of Kensington. Those higher figures only come into play if a design meets council’s design excellence test, and the matching extra floor space also needs a voluntary planning agreement. For most house lots the base map is what counts, and heritage controls in West Kensington may limit things further. Read both maps for your lot. Larger buildings using the alternative heights fall outside CertifiBuild’s Class 1 and 10 scope.
Is the university campus heritage listed?
Not on the State Heritage Register. Kensington has just one State listed property, Carthona on Todman Avenue. A few UNSW buildings might hold local listings, and council’s design rules handle the campus in a separate chapter. For house owners, the heritage area in West Kensington, roughly 12% of the suburb, usually matters more, along with a sliver at the north-west edge governed by City of Sydney. Check your own lot on the heritage map before planning external changes.
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.