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What
are the consequences of doing work which is not approved by Council?
Council views illegal building works or failures to comply with
the terms and conditions of their development consents as extremely
serious.
Regulations and systems are put in place for the benefit of the
local community and the area as a whole. Council is committed to
rigorously monitoring any unauthorised changes to Development Applications
or illegal building works.
There are a range of legal mechanisms in place to control illegal
building works. Builders, home owners and developers caught carrying
out these works without the required consents will be prosecuted
or fined in the Local Court, or in more serious cases injuncted
through the Land and Environment Court.
Illegal building works are those undertaken without the issue of
a valid Construction Certificate. This also includes building work
where a Construction Certificate has been issued and certain conditions
under the Development Consent have not been met.
Council is generally successful when it brings cases before the
Land and Environment Court or Local Court against a developer, builders
or home owners who carry out illegal building work contrary to their
development consent. Often the Courts will impose hefty fines, or
in cases known as ‘class 4 appeals’ in the Land and
Environment, can order the demolition of the illegal building works
entirely.
Where illegal building works are identified Council will:
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Issue the builder with penalty infringement notices; and
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Issue a “Stop Work” notice where illegal building
works continue to be built.
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Offer builders either the option of demolishing the illegal works
or submitting a S96 application for a current Development Application,
to modify the consent or a Building Certificate application.
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Illegal building works which constitute major breaches will be
prosecuted through either the local Court or the Land and Environment
Court.
If illegal building work is observed by Council that is under
the control of a Private Certifier, the Private Certifier will
be given the opportunity to respond to the illegal building works.
Should the response be deemed inadequate, Council may report the
Private Certifier to The Building Professionals Board.
The consequences of carrying out illegal building works are significant
and you should not under any circumstances risk it! |
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What
should you do if you believe work is being undertaken which is not
approved?
If you witness
suspected illegal
building works or failures to comply with the terms and conditions
of development consents, you should report it to Council
as soon as possible. You can do this by calling Council on 99113555
or by lodging a Request
for Service online (Category: Building Complaint).
It is the role of the
Principal Certifying Authority (PCA) to investigate and respond
to these complaints.
Where Council
is the PCA (or there isn't one) Council staff will investigate and
respond to these complaints.
Where the
the PCA is a private certifier, upon receipt of a complaint, the
Environmental Services Division will ;
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