Lane Cove Council
Private building certifier in Northwood
CertifiBuild certifies Northwood houses, pools, decks and waterfront structures such as stairs and sea walls. On harbour lots, start by checking if the narrow mapped foreshore band reaches the property.
NSW 2066
Class 1 homes and Class 10 structures
Local rules
Big blocks and a rare foreshore line in Northwood
Large lots, standard minimum
The suburb spans about 36 hectares of Lane Cove Council. Around 88% carries R2 zoning, a larger slice than in any other Lane Cove suburb. Almost all dwellings are detached houses. Those big blocks are a legacy of how the land was first carved up, not a special control. Lots need 550 square metres at minimum, matching elsewhere in Lane Cove, and buildings can reach 9.5 metres.
A named house
Northwood House supplied the suburb's name. It stands at 1 Private Road, a late 1870s Blacket design on the State Heritage Register. No conservation area applies, yet the Lane Cove 2009 LEP lists 43 items in Northwood. An old convict stockade site on Kellys Esplanade is listed too.
Foreshore, fire and soils
The council maps very little foreshore building line land. Northwood holds around two thirds of that mapped land, affecting around 2% of the suburb. Bushfire mapping covers about 15% of Northwood, more than any other peninsula suburb. About 10% is affected by acid sulfate soils, once more the top figure among the five peninsula suburbs. Test the soil early for pools and basements.
Typical work
Common projects and how they get approved
What owners build here
Northwood work is mostly about upgrading family homes on steep, water facing blocks, many of them large by Sydney standards. Typical projects include:
- Upstairs levels and rear additions kept inside the two storey cap and minimum landscaping.
- Knockdown rebuilds on falling ground, where the one metre dig limit shapes the levels.
- Pools, decks and terraced retaining walls on sloping sites with harbour views.
- Waterfront items like boatsheds, sea walls, jetties and access stairs inside the narrow foreshore strip.
- Dual occupancies on lots that reach council's 750 or 900 square metre thresholds.
How approval usually works
Away from the foreshore band, most Northwood lots can be tested for a CDC (a fast-track approval under state rules). Inside the band, fast-track approval is excluded. Council can then only consent to limited work, such as enlarging or replacing a building already there, or adding pools, fences and structures at the water's edge. It also weighs views from the water, marine habitat and sea level rise. Check the bushfire map next, because it sets construction levels and takes the newer state housing options off the table. Trees need care too, as consent applies to trees over four metres and pruning needs an application. Work near Northwood House may also need Heritage Act approval. CertifiBuild checks foreshore, bushfire and heritage mapping before design and replies promptly once building starts.
Our services
From approval to sign-off.
One certifier for your whole Northwood job, from the first plan check to the occupation certificate.
Local questions
Questions we hear about this suburb.
No two lots in Northwood are the same. Give us your address and we will check every map that affects it.
See the council pageDoes Northwood have a larger minimum lot size?
No. The minimum in Northwood is 550 square metres, matching the rest of Lane Cove, and buildings can reach 9.5 metres. Its generous blocks come from the way the land was first subdivided, not from a special control. A dual occupancy needs a bigger site, though: 750 square metres when the two homes are joined, or 900 when they stand apart. Check your lot area on a survey before planning a second dwelling, and look at bushfire and foreshore mapping too.
Can I rebuild a house that sits within the foreshore area?
Usually, yes. Inside the mapped foreshore band, council can approve work that enlarges or replaces an existing building. A brand new building there is only allowed where unusual ground levels or lot depth justify it. Complying development is excluded in that band, so a development application (DA) is needed. Council also weighs views from the water, marine habitat and sea level rise. Around two thirds of Lane Cove’s mapped foreshore land is in Northwood, so check your lot.
Do the newer state housing rules for duplexes reach Northwood?
Not through a town centre catchment. The nearest one is Lane Cove, roughly 1.1 kilometres off, which puts all of Northwood beyond the catchment distance. A dual occupancy may still be permitted with consent on R2 land, unless the land is excluded. Bushfire prone land, about 15% of the suburb, is one such exclusion. Council’s larger minimum site areas for dual occupancies still apply too. Check the bushfire map first.
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.