Penrith City Council
Private building certifier in Penrith
Penrith takes in the city centre, the North Penrith estate and older streets of houses and townhouses. We help owners find the right controls for their home project and certify the build.
NSW 2750
Class 1 homes and Class 10 structures
Local rules
Three settings within Penrith
A mostly attached and apartment suburb
Penrith had 17,966 residents at the 2021 Census, with 9,388 private dwellings counted. Flats and apartments were the biggest group at 43.4% of occupied homes. Then separate houses, with 36.0%, and semis, terraces and townhouses with 20.4%. The numbers describe the entire locality, not only the commercial core.
The city centre
Penrith's development control plan (DCP) has a chapter for the city. Its first part describes a centre that grew in a long east to west strip beside the road and railway. It mixes shops and housing across several character areas. Controls on spacing between buildings, deep soil, pedestrian routes and driveways may set the site layout before any floor plan exists.
North Penrith
A second part of that chapter covers North Penrith. It builds on a concept approval from November 2011 and design guidelines released in 2013. The residential rules cover the space each home may occupy, outdoor living areas, access and secondary dwellings. It also maps height and building depth, including laneway homes.
Older house streets
Elsewhere, homes follow the residential controls and the Penrith Local Environmental Plan 2010, plus any heritage listing. On these streets, typical projects are extensions, new garages and secondary dwellings on lots that suit them.
Typical work
Common projects and how they get approved
What owners build here
Class 1 and 10 projects we see across Penrith:
- North Penrith additions and courtyard roofs. Check them against the precinct envelope and the first consent, not ordinary house setbacks.
- Garage changes and new driveways. In the central area, extra driveway crossings are limited on mapped pedestrian routes. Lane or side street access is preferred.
- Townhouse alterations. Review the shared access and the layout approved for the site.
- Extensions and granny flats on detached lots. These follow the residential chapter. A tall building nearby does not tell you how big your addition can be.
Apartment and commercial work is outside Class 1 and 10. It needs a certifier who holds the matching registration.
How approval usually works
Minor works can be exempt where each standard is satisfied. Other work needs either a CDC, which a certifier assesses against a State code, or a development application (DA) to council with a CC after it. A CDC may be off limits because of flood mapping, heritage or a precinct approval. Start by ordering a planning certificate for the lot. Add a survey and any approvals for the house or estate. For North Penrith homes, the estate approval shows what was planned for your lot. From that starting point, CertifiBuild can work out the right controls and keep the job moving through each inspection.
Our services
From approval to sign-off.
One certifier for your whole Penrith job, from the first plan check to the occupation certificate.
Local questions
Questions we hear about this suburb.
No two lots in Penrith are the same. Give us your address and we will check every map that affects it.
See the council pageWhich part of the Penrith DCP applies to my home?
It depends on where your lot sits. Penrith’s development control plan (DCP) has a city chapter with separately mapped parts for the city centre and for North Penrith. Homes on other streets use the residential chapter and the Penrith Local Environmental Plan 2010, plus any heritage listing. Check your address on the latest maps rather than going by the suburb name. Ordering a planning certificate is the simplest first step.
Can my house near the CBD get a new driveway crossing?
Possibly not. In the central area, the development control plan (DCP) restricts new driveway crossings along mapped walking routes, preferring cars to enter from a lane or minor street. Work out the access first, before designing a garage around a crossing council may refuse. Where your block also fronts a back lane or quieter street, that is usually the better option. A planning certificate and a survey of the frontages will help settle it.
Can I use normal house setbacks for a North Penrith extension?
No. North Penrith comes with envelope controls of its own, which build on a concept approval from November 2011 and design guidelines released in 2013. These rules cover the space each home may occupy, outdoor living areas, access, height and building depth, including for laneway homes. Check an upper floor or courtyard roof against those precinct rules and your estate approval, which records the original intent for the site, not against ordinary house setbacks.
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.