Decking & Council Approval

[Lamingtons]

Ok this is driving me crazy. Pardon me for asking in SS rather than calling City of Banyule. It's Saturday and I am confused.
I have quotes from 5 people regarding building a deck at the rear of my house. All of them have said I do not need council approval then shrug and said I'll get one if you want. But everyone else (friends who used builders) said I do need council permit. Then there are the others who just plonked decking for themselves in their yard never bothered to check approval requirements.

The builders/carpenter said if there is a complaint, i do not need to remove the decking. I just pay a fee to get approval retrospectively.
One of these guys is local and has built decks for my friends living in my suburb.

So who is right??

 

[Fourex]

I think they are all right in a way.

Your local council will require a permit for a deck being a new structure.

You do not need a permit to build a deck just some timber, hammer and nails.

If the deck is built without a permit and there in a complaint you will most likely have two options 1: remove the deck 2: pay some fines. Both options will depend if the deck was built to council specifications as to what the outcome would be.

Cheers,

Fourex.

 

[marg4000]

If you decide to forego council approval, at least ensure that the deck is built to council standards so that retrospective approval will be easier.
Marg

 

[pennyk]

Is the deck raised and does it have a roof structure? If yes, I would definintely get council approval first.
When we built a deck, our builders organised the approval. Two years later, the council inspected the deck and said parts of it didn't comply with their regulations! The builder came back and fixed the problems.
Pen

 

[Lamingtons]

The land is sloped downwards so i would say it is raised. But it will not be covered. Pennyk that's a shocker, but at least he came to fix it.

Thanks Marg and Fourex for your thoughts. Might ask my friend who had hers done up the road about hers as her deck was raised and multi level.

 

[rugrat]

check with council what their regs are. We plan on build a deck at our PPOR, we are going to build to the maximum of what we are able to do without getting approval.

 

[chilliblue]

Always build with Council approval for the following reasons

1. No future arguments or problems

2. Insurance will cover replacement costs

3. If you ever sell, buyers will not be worried about any other illegal addition/work

 

[Lamingtons]

So turns out Mr Lamingtons had called the council ages ago.
They didn't seem fussed about the permits, they said if it is beyond a certain limit etc.
I think i'll just err on the side of caution. It's about 9x5 or 6 metres this deck!
Hate to have to tear it down at my expense if it's non-compliant.

 

[lizzie]

again - depends on the council

in our area you can build a 20m2 (ie 4m x 5m) deck without council permission, as long as it is no higher than 1m off the ground