The Terraces
An Archicentre Year of the Built Environment project in partnership with the Building Commission and the City of Melbourne

Building on the Boundary

18 August 2004

With the trend to maximise land space during renovations and new building, establishing the position of the boundary accurately has become a key issue for both renovators and neighbours.

According to the Building Commissioner, Tony Arnel, building work may sometimes adversely affect adjoining properties.

"An owner who is proposing building work has obligations under the Building Act 1993 to protect adjoining property from potential damage from their work."

"If building work is close to or adjacent to adjoining property boundaries, then an owner may be required to carry out protection work in respect of that adjoining property," he said.

Mr David Hallett, State Manager Victoria of Archicentre said, "Especially in areas where buildings were undertaken in earlier times there can be some discrepancies in boundary alignments and it is important to establish the legal boundary before proceeding to avoid dispute."

Mr Hallett said that a number of regulations impacted on a building being placed on the boundary including fire resistance being required on all walls built within a metre of the property boundary, which can add significant cost to the renovation.

"In many renovations a second storey is being added to single storey dwellings and neighbours need to be protected from the dangers arising from work on or above the property boundary such as falling bricks."

There are requirements that protection methods be clearly documented and approved by the building surveyor and the neighbour before any works on a boundary can take place.

Mr Hallett said that complications can arise if during the construction a neighbouring house has its foundations damaged or cracks appear.

Archicentre recommends a status report be carried out professionally on neighbouring houses to record all existing defects to allow the tracking of any new damage, which may occur during the construction period.

The status report is a protection for all parties concerned - the builder, the owner and the neighbour. Archicentre recommends ongoing communication with the neighbours over any issues which may arise over the building process.

Mr Arnel said that if a dispute occurs about any aspect of protection work legislation it can be referred to the Building Appeals Board for resolution.

"Any other matter not within the jurisdiction of the Building Appeals Board, can be pursued through the court system, but this is usually very costly and time consuming, he said.

The Building Appeals Board can be contacted on 9285 6407.

Media Enquiries:
David Hallett State Manager Victoria Archicentre (03) 9819 4577 Mobile: 0439 439 115
Ron Smith Corporate Media Communications (03) 9818 5700