City & Eastern Suburbs
Private building certifier in the Randwick City Council area
Across Randwick City, CertifiBuild certifies homes, additions, retaining walls, decks and pools. Coastal hazard is the key local issue. Clifftop and beachfront lots from Clovelly to La Perouse can be excluded from code-based approval, depending on the hazard mapping.
Local plan
Randwick Local Environmental Plan 2012
Bushfire prone land
None mapped
Flood planning
Council mapping
Heritage areas
Most suburbs
Most building activity right now
The 10 busiest suburbs for building work in Randwick
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.
Coastal hazard comes first
Randwick has one of the longest ocean coastlines of any Sydney council. It stretches south from Clovelly, past Coogee, Maroubra and Malabar, and ends at La Perouse. A complying development certificate (CDC) cannot be used where land is mapped for coastal erosion or coastal hazard, or within a foreshore area. A CDC is a code-based approval a private certifier can issue. On those lots, the work needs a development application (DA) to council, usually with a coastal assessment.
This turns on mapping, not zoning. Neighbouring houses can get different answers. We check the hazard mapping for your exact address before we give any design advice.
Which DCP applies?
The main rulebook is the Randwick Local Environmental Plan 2012. Council's development control plan (DCP), which holds its detailed design rules, has been remade. Some centres, such as Matraville and Randwick Junction, still rely on sections of the older plan. So the rules that apply depend on where your site sits.
Soils, heritage and housing
Phillip Bay has low ground with acid sulfate soils. These can affect pools and other excavation. Acid sulfate soils are natural soils that can release acid when disturbed. Most Randwick suburbs include heritage conservation area land, but Maroubra has none. Inside a conservation area, most house works also need a DA.
Of all suburbs in the area, South Coogee has the largest proportion of separate houses. Clifftop lots there often get decks, retaining walls and second storeys. In Census 2021, flats and apartments were 55.5 per cent of all lived-in homes across the council.
Your next step
Send us your survey, plans and planning certificate. We will check the coastal mapping for your address and which DCP parts apply.
Local know-how
Randwick suburbs and the approval questions they raise
Randwick
Randwick itself has the most heritage land in the council. Conservation areas cover some 37% of the suburb, for example High Cross, St Jude's or North Randwick. Two DCP chapters override the general rules where they apply. One applies to the racecourse, and the other to the hospital and university precinct. Before a semi or pool is drawn, we confirm which section of the plan controls the lot.
Kingsford and Kensington
Kingsford has no land in any conservation area. Extensions, pools, second storeys and dual occupancies are all frequent. Dual occupancies under the state low and mid-rise housing rules turn on how far the lot is to walk from a nominated station. In this case that station is Kingsford Juniors, rather than the Nine Ways stop most people assume. On around half the suburb, buildings may be up to 9.5 metres high. In Kensington, two light rail stations each create their own catchment.
Coogee
Coogee has four conservation areas: Edgecumbe Estate, St Mark's, Moira Crescent and Dudley Street. Most homes are flats, but the remaining houses and terraces often want more space. Within these areas, a CDC can still be used for pools and detached outbuildings. The Housing Alterations Code also survives. It only covers ground floor work away from street-facing walls, with no added height.
Chifley and Malabar
Chifley has no mapping for heritage, bushfire, flood or coastal hazard, so the lot itself and the design set the approval route. Owners here tend to add second storeys, pools, garages or granny flats. Malabar is very different. Under half the suburb carries a housing zone, so the zoning is our first check. Malabar Headland is on the State Heritage Register, and work affecting it also needs Heritage NSW approval.
Why Randwick owners and builders choose CertifiBuild
CertifiBuild works only on homes and Class 10 structures. Randwick's semis, cottages and beach houses sit squarely in our lane. We read the heritage, light rail and DCP maps for each lot at the start, before drawings are fixed. We know how this council's plans fit together and explain the outcome in plain terms. We answer questions promptly and book inspections to suit your builder's program, so trades are not kept waiting.
Suburbs we cover
All 13 suburbs in Randwick
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.
- Chifley
- Clovelly
- Coogee
- Kensington
- Kingsford
- La Perouse
- Little Bay
- Malabar
- Maroubra
- Matraville
- Phillip Bay
- Randwick
- South Coogee
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 areasCould a Clovelly clifftop home add a second storey under a CDC?
Only when the Clovelly lot carries no coastal hazard, coastal erosion or foreshore mapping, and the new upper floor ticks every box in the code. Clifftop homes along Randwick’s coast, from Clovelly down to La Perouse, are often mapped. If yours is, the second storey needs a development application (DA) to council, normally with a coastal assessment attached. Mapping, not zoning, decides this, so two neighbours may face different approval routes. We look at the hazard maps for your exact address first, then advise on design.
Does heritage affect building in Maroubra?
Not through conservation areas. Maroubra has no heritage conservation area, unlike most Randwick suburbs, so a typical house job there is not held back by streetscape heritage rules. Individual heritage items can still matter, so check your planning certificate. The bigger issue near the beach is coastal hazard. Lots with coastal hazard, erosion or foreshore mapping are shut out of the complying development certificate (CDC) route, and the work then goes to council. We check both the coastal and heritage mapping for your Maroubra address before plans are drawn.
Will acid sulfate soils affect my pool at Phillip Bay?
They can. The low ground around Phillip Bay contains acid sulfate soils, which are natural soils that can release acid when dug up or drained. A pool involves significant digging, so the soil class for your lot affects how the excavation must be managed and whether extra reports are needed. Your planning certificate notes the class. Checking it before the pool is designed lets your pool builder and engineer plan the dig properly. Waterside lots may carry coastal mapping too, and we review that at the same time.
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.