Home renovations

Because your home should be designed for life too

Owning a home is great, but just as your life changes, what you want from your property changes too. Renovating your home is one way to adapt it, but before you pick up the sledge hammer, there’s a few things you need to know and consider.

We’ve put together the following guide to home renovation for properties within Adelaide city and North Adelaide.

Home renovations are rarely as simple as they seem or as appear on television. There are many things to consider, especially if your property is Heritage listed. 

Depending on the nature of your project, you may need to consult specialists such as: architects, engineers building surveyors and heritage specialists. If you’re not doing the work yourself (be honest about your abilities as “fix-up” jobs usually wipe-out your initial savings quickly!) then you’ll need to get quotes from licenced builders.

You’ll need to obtain Development Approval from Council before you undertake any of the following activities:

• demolish, construct, add or alter a building
• change the use of a property
• any tree damaging activity to a regulated or significant tree
• any external alterations (and in some cases also internal alterations) to a listed heritage place
• divide or alter the boundary of an allotment
• erect a sign.

Here’s a link to more information about the City of Adelaide’s Development Approval process.    

If your work relates to fences, the brochure  Fences and the Law is important reading and you'll need to lodge a Driveway crossover application if your driveway needs to cross a footpath to access your property. 

Once you have full approval from Council and are ready to commence work, you’ll need to notify us at least one business day prior to commencement.

If you require things such as mini-skip bins, or deliveries of building materials, which may take up space on public land including the street, you’ll need to gain a City Works Permit. 

Owner-builders should be aware that certain jobs, must, by law, be completed by a licenced tradesperson. These include: electrical work, gas and plumbing. Failure to do so, may not only be dangerous, your home insurance may not cover you in the event of an incident. The licenced tradie must provide you with a Certificate of Completion once the work is done.

Depending on the nature of the work, you may be required to notify Council at various stages and gain approvals or certification during construction.

The City of Adelaide and the community place great value on the many heritage properties throughout Adelaide city and North Adelaide. For this reason and to preserve them for future generations, there are special requirements when dealing with heritage properties. We recommend you consult with a heritage specialist where possible, but we also have heritage resources to help you. 

Renovations often involve long hours and late nights, not to mention generating dust, debris and noise. They can have an impact on your neighbours and are known as Local Nuisance.

We recommend you have a chat to your neighbours before you commence work and tell them what you are planning, roughly how long it will take, and any impacts it may have on them during the process. Keeping them informed is the best way to prevent any issues.

Once the work is finished, you may need to get certification of the work. This may be a Statement of Compliance and Certificate of Occupancy. This will be advised on your Development Approval.

After renovation you’ve probably got a stockpile of debris from the project. Much of this is not suitable to be placed in your normal waste bins, so you may want to consider booking a hard waste collection.

Once the evidence is gone, you can kick back, relax and enjoy your castle!