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:
Issue the
builder with penalty infringement notices; and
Issue a “Stop
Work” notice where illegal building works continue to be built.
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.
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!
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 PCA is a private certifier, upon receipt of a
complaint, the Environmental Services Division will ;
