Drafting in Sydney: Should I renovate or demolish Part 2 - Protected characteristic

In the last post, we've fully covered the first factor, Cost.

Now, today we'll be discussing the idea of "protected characteristics".

In Sydney, a lot of the older houses hold an distintive character to the building itself. Therefore you need to ensure whether your house has such characters.

2 critical questions to ask yourself:

1. Is the house "proteced" by a heritage listing? If so, is there a heritage item?

2. Is it under a heritage conservation area? If so, what are the limitations?

If it is a "Yes" to any of the two questions above, you’ll have to treat the house pretty carefully. Houses that appear on to have a heritage register are likely to be protected by law and hence some items must remain to keep its original look. In fact, you will not be able to comply it with a CDC. Therefore a full DA must be lodged.

Proposed changes will need to pass stringent examination, possibly by the heritage consultant (within your local council)  to ensure that the design don’t interfere in any significant way with the character of the house. Hence, a full demolishing and rebuild may not be the best solution.

Another thing to be aware of is ‘conservative area’. If your property is within these areas defined by local councils, there are particular rules that should apply regarding to changes that you can or cannot make existing buildings. Local councils define "conservative zones" to help preserve the charm and character of a given area and its streetscape.

If you’re planning any changes at all (even something as simple as repainting a metal roof or putting in a new front gate) it’s a good idea to find out first what the rules are. Councils can be very unforgiving when it comes to these things!