Table of Contents
In this blog, I will be discussing the definition of the Section 10.7 Planning Certificate, who issues it and how much does it cost to obtain, how long does it take and its content.
Definition
A Section 10.7 Planning Certificate (formerly Section 149 Certificate) is a certificate issued by your local Council under the provisions of Section 10.7 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.
The certificate provides various information on:
- a specific lot of land,
- how the land may be used and
- potential restrictions on its development.
A Section 10.7 Certificate can only be issued on a lot that has been registered, i.e. a block of land that “legally exists”, and is only legally correct as of the issue date.
There are two parts to the Section 10.7 Certificate:
- Section 10.7(2) Certificate provides information as required in the Regulations. This MUST legally be attached to the land sale contract.
- A Section 10.7(5) Certificate provides a range of information relevant to the land including but not limited to: exhibited draft DCP’s, applicable SEPP, potential issues with the land, relevant state / regional / local planning controls and other matters that are considered relevant to the land.
When applying for a certificate you can request a part certificate s10.7(2) or a full certificate ie.(s10.7(2) & (5)). I would suggest that you always look at both as you don’t want to miss something that can be crucial for your land.
The Who?
Who issues it?
- Your Local Council
Who obtains it if you are building a new home?
- Generally anyone can but I strongly recommend that you have your builder obtain it for you as part of their investigation stages
Cost
There is a cost and varies from council to council but is generally (at this point) less than $150 in most councils.
Time
How long it take to obtain?
- Generally it takes a week to obtain it but with councils, it always depends :).
How long does it last?
- It generally expires within 3 months (at the time of writing this block).
Content
Below are some general points of what a Section 10.7 Planning Certificate typically includes (this is not an exhaustive list):
Relevant Planning Instruments (DCPs / SEPPs)
S10.7 will generally contain information around the relevant rules that you can potentially look at and use.
Zoning Information
It identifies your zoning (R1, R2, R3, etc…). Below is an example:
Restrictions
Your Section 10.7 will also outline a range of different restrictions that may or may not apply to your land. Below is a snippet example for your reference:
The above is not an exhaustive list of course. Other items that a Section 10.7 Planning Certificate may include is information around whether the following affects your block of land:
- Bushfire
- Flood
- Mine Subsidence
- Road Widening
- Contamination
- Critical Habitat
- Heritage
- Native Vegetation
- Biodiversity
- Acid Sulphate Soils
- Land Slip
- etc…
Finally
There are usually a lot more sections that the above mentioned and they are generally self explanatory.
It’s important that you review your Section 10.7 Planning Instrument when:
- buying a block of land or
- buying an existing dwelling or
- building a brand new home.
Your builder will obtain this certificate as part of the very very first step to ensure that their compliance checks are thorough. If they don’t, it’s a red flag and you should seriously reconsider building with them regardless of whether you are in love with the designs / inclusions / block of land that they have on offer.
The risk far outweighs the benefits. Selecting the right builder who does the right thing is the best decision you can possible make when building a home.
You can visit this link to find out more about the Section 10.7 Certificate if you like.
