Lane Cove Council
Private building certifier in St Leonards
Towers dominate St Leonards, but a few houses remain, split across three councils. CertifiBuild certifies those homes and their Class 10 structures, beginning with which council covers your lot.
NSW 2065
Class 1 homes and Class 10 structures
Local rules
A tower suburb with a few houses left
Three councils share it
St Leonards covers about 80 hectares. About 57% sits in Willoughby, around 33% in Lane Cove and the last 10% in North Sydney. Every council uses its own LEP and DCP. The railway station and Royal North Shore Hospital fall within Willoughby, while Newlands Park and the bus interchange belong to Lane Cove.
Mostly apartments
Flats make up almost all homes here. Only about 100 separate houses were counted at the 2021 Census. In the Lane Cove portion, the South precinct of St Leonards rezoned former R2 streets near River Road and Park Road for apartments. The Crows Nest precinct, set up for housing near transport, covers a different area again. The two precincts share no land.
Few hazard maps
St Leonards has no bushfire mapped land and no heritage conservation area. Nor does it have a foreshore building line. Gore Hill Memorial Cemetery occupies a modest corner of the suburb. Burials took place there from 1868 until 1975, and it is on the State Heritage Register. The 1890 railway station is older than every other North Shore line stop.
Typical work
Common projects and how they get approved
What owners build here
Most building work in St Leonards is apartments, offices and health facilities, none of which we certify. Our role here is narrow but still useful to the owners of the remaining houses:
- Renovations and extensions on house lots beyond the rezoned precincts.
- Fences, carports and garages, which are Class 10 structures.
- Small pools and decks on the few house lots with a usable yard.
- Garden sheds and pergolas behind older homes.
If your house sits inside a rezoned precinct, check how the planned uplift affects a renovation before you spend on drawings.
How approval usually works
First confirm whether Willoughby, Lane Cove or North Sydney covers your lot, then read that council's plan. Mapped bushfire, heritage conservation and foreshore limits are almost absent here. So for a house upgrade on a lot that meets the code standards, a CDC (a quick approval under state rules) is often a good choice. Check the precinct maps too. The newer state housing rules exclude land in the accelerated Crows Nest precinct. For St Leonards South, the controls assume lots will be joined up for apartments. A small house job is rarely affected, but it pays to know before you spend on drawings or engineering. Also confirm the house sits on its own title. CertifiBuild focuses only on homes and Class 10 work, so it gives straight answers on whether your job fits.
Our services
From approval to sign-off.
One certifier for your whole St Leonards job, from the first plan check to the occupation certificate.
Local questions
Questions we hear about this suburb.
No two lots in St Leonards are the same. Give us your address and we will check every map that affects it.
See the council pageWhich council looks after my St Leonards house?
It depends on where your lot sits, as three councils share St Leonards. Willoughby covers about 57% of the suburb, including the station and Royal North Shore Hospital. Lane Cove has around 33%, including Newlands Park and the bus interchange, and North Sydney holds the remaining 10% or so. All three run their own local environmental plan (LEP) and design rules, so heights and controls change across the lines. A planning certificate for your lot will name the council and the rules that apply.
Can CertifiBuild certify an apartment in St Leonards?
No. Apartment blocks and mixed-use towers are outside Class 1 and Class 10, so they go to a certifier who holds registration in those classes. That covers most building work in St Leonards, where flats made up almost all homes at the 2021 Census and only about 100 separate houses were counted. Our work here is on those remaining houses and their structures, for example a garage, carport, fence, pool, deck, shed or pergola. If you own one of those houses, we can help with renovations and extensions.
Is my house in the southern St Leonards precinct?
Check the Lane Cove local environmental plan (LEP) maps. The southern St Leonards precinct takes in roughly 6.6 hectares inside River Road, Park Road, Marshall Avenue and Canberra Avenue, where former low density house streets were rezoned for apartments. Its controls expect lots to be joined into larger sites. The Crows Nest precinct is a separate area with its own conditions, and the two do not overlap. A small renovation is rarely affected, but knowing your precinct helps before spending on drawings or engineering.
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.