North Shore & Northern Beaches
Private building certifier in the Lane Cove Council area
CertifiBuild certifies homes, additions, pools and outbuildings across Lane Cove. Trees are the main local issue. Council’s tree rules capture a lot of ordinary garden planting. On sloping, leafy blocks, the trees often decide where you can build.
Local plan
Lane Cove Local Environmental Plan 2009
Bushfire prone land
Some suburbs
Flood planning
No LEP flood map
Heritage areas
Greenwich only
Most building activity right now
All 9 Lane Cove suburbs, ranked by building work
Ranked by ABS building approvals for new homes, duplexes, townhouses and renovations over the 12 months to August 2026. Choose a suburb for its local guide.
Local rules
What shapes approvals here.
Trees come first
Lane Cove slopes toward its namesake river and has plenty of bushland and canopy. Council treats a woody plant as a tree if it is taller than four metres or spreads wider than five metres. Trees are also covered where the trunk is over 150 millimetres across. Even pruning live branches needs an application, and a qualified arborist must do the work. On sloping blocks in Northwood, the footprint is often fixed by what the arborist finds.
Heritage is limited to Greenwich
The Lane Cove Local Environmental Plan 2009 maps only one heritage conservation area. In Greenwich, this mapping takes in roughly 18% of the suburb's area. Greenwich also holds many of the council's listed heritage items. Elsewhere, conservation area rules do not block a complying development certificate (CDC). A CDC is a code-based approval a private certifier can issue.
Bushfire and other hazards
The local plan's maps show no flood planning land, landslide risk or river front area. Bushfire is the hazard to watch. Roughly one third of Lane Cove North, and the same share of Lane Cove West, is mapped bushfire prone. On those lots, a bushfire attack level (BAL) assessment decides how the home must be built. We confirm this early on every job.
Lot sizes and house shapes
Lots across the council must be 550 square metres or larger. Dual occupancies need 750 square metres if attached and 900 if detached. Knockdown rebuilds are frequent on 550 square metre blocks in Riverview and Linley Point. In Longueville, additions may not exceed two storeys, and 35% of the site must be landscaped. St Leonards has its own high density controls, which sit outside our house-scale work.
To get started, send us your survey, plans, planning certificate and any arborist report. We will let you know if a CDC or a development application fits the job.
Local know-how
Lane Cove streets and the rules that shape them
Longueville
Tambourine Bay and Woodford Bay frame the Longueville peninsula, where nearly every home, about 99%, is a separate house. Even so, the local plan shows no foreshore building line anywhere in the suburb. Waterfront work is still judged on merit. The suburb has 49 locally listed heritage items. Next to a bushland reserve, council wants fences of colour-blended steel or cyclone wire, and white fences are not permitted.
Riverview
St Ignatius' College is a single heritage item, yet its mapped area takes in roughly a quarter of Riverview. Owners close by may need a statement on heritage impact. This report explains how new work affects a heritage place. On sloping sites, council's design plan allows no more than one metre of cut and fill, except where the slope would otherwise make two storeys impossible. For sites up to a thousand square metres, the rear setback is 8 metres or 25% of the site depth.
Greenwich
Greenwich holds the council's only conservation area, and its own section of the design plan is strict. Front and side additions are refused unless a heritage report shows a positive effect on the street. There is more flexibility for additions that are hidden from view from both street and harbour. Within the conservation area, tree work requires development consent, not just a permit.
Lane Cove North
About 59% of Lane Cove North falls in Lane Cove council, with the other 41% in Willoughby. Two houses across the street from each other can fall under different plans and lot sizes. Flats made up about 71% of occupied homes. It also holds the council's only category 1 bushfire vegetation, the highest risk class.
Why Lane Cove owners and builders pick CertifiBuild
CertifiBuild handles houses and Class 10 structures only, from pools and decks to garages and retaining walls. We work around Lane Cove often and understand how its local plan and design rules apply to sloping, tree-filled lots. We confirm which council and which maps cover your address at the start. Messages are answered without delay. Site inspections are timed to suit your build program and your trades.
Suburbs we cover
All 9 suburbs in Lane Cove
We certify homes and Class 10 structures in every suburb listed. Some suburbs cross council boundaries, so we always confirm the council on your planning certificate.
- Greenwich
- Lane Cove
- Lane Cove North
- Lane Cove West
- Linley Point
- Longueville
- Northwood
- Riverview
- St Leonards
Nearby council areas
Neighbouring councils we cover.
Building near a council boundary, or planning another project close by? Each neighbouring council page explains its own local rules.
Our services
From approval to sign-off.
One certifier for the whole job, whichever council your lot is in.
Local questions
Questions we hear in this area.
No two lots are alike. Share your address and we will review the maps that cover it.
All council areasDo I need approval before I prune a Lane Cove tree?
Often, yes. In Lane Cove, a plant counts as a tree if it is taller than four metres, spreads wider than five metres, or has a trunk thicker than 150 millimetres. That captures a lot of ordinary garden planting. Even pruning live branches needs an application, and a qualified arborist has to do the work. Inside Greenwich’s conservation area the bar is higher again, as tree work needs full development consent, not just a permit. If you are also planning an addition or pool, get an arborist report early, as trees often fix the footprint on sloping blocks.
Is heritage an issue outside Greenwich?
Not through conservation areas, since Greenwich holds the only one in Lane Cove, covering roughly 18% of that suburb. Outside it, conservation area rules will not block a complying development certificate (CDC). Individual heritage items are another matter. They appear in other suburbs too, such as Longueville with its 49 local listings, and Riverview, where the mapped area of St Ignatius’ College covers roughly 25% of that suburb. Work near an item may need a statement on heritage impact. We check the listing for your address first.
How big must my lot be for a dual occupancy in Lane Cove?
For a dual occupancy in Lane Cove, the lot must be 750 square metres or more if the two homes are attached, or 900 square metres if they are detached. The council’s standard minimum lot is 550 square metres. Blocks of that size in Riverview and Linley Point often see knockdown rebuilds of single homes. Width, slope, trees and bushfire mapping can also affect what fits. Some of Lane Cove North sits in Willoughby, so confirm your council first. Send us the survey and we will check the numbers.
Building in this area?
Send us the address first.
We check the local maps for your lot, confirm the approval path and quote in writing.