Do I Need Council Approval for a Patio in Perth?

Class 10a is the National Construction Code classification for a non-habitable building appurtenant to a house. Carports, sheds, garages, verandahs and patios all sit in it.

The classification matters because it sets what has to be proven. A Class 10a structure has to be structurally adequate and correctly drained, but it does not need energy efficiency, fire separation or habitable-room provisions.

It also means you do not need an occupancy permit at the end. A notice of completion goes to the local government instead, which is a much lighter piece of paperwork.

One consequence catches people out. Because the class is non-habitable, enclosing a patio later with walls and glazing can push it into a different classification, and that is a new approval rather than a variation.

Attached or detached does not change the class. A freestanding flat patio in the middle of the yard and one bolted to the back wall are both Class 10a, and both need the same permit.

They are two separate systems and people mix them up constantly. A building permit is about whether the structure is safe and compliant. Development approval is about whether the land use and the siting are acceptable under the planning scheme.

Every patio needs the building permit. Only some need development approval as well.

You are pushed into a planning application when the design does not meet the deemed-to-comply standards of the Residential Design Codes, or when the property carries a heritage listing, a character area control or a special control area in the local scheme.

If your patio sits comfortably within the setbacks and open space requirements on an ordinary residential lot, the building permit is usually the only approval you need.

The paperwork is fairly standard across Perth local governments, even though the forms and portals differ. What every council wants is a set of drawings that a surveyor and an engineer have both stood behind.

Owner consent is required. If the property is in joint names, or held by a company or a trust, every owner has to sign.

Strata and survey strata lots often need the strata company's consent as well. On a two-lot survey strata that can be a five minute conversation with your neighbour, and on a larger scheme it can take weeks.

A registered building surveyor, not the council and not the builder. Their job is to check the design against the Building Code and the applicable Australian Standards, then certify that it complies.

They are independent, and they will knock back a design that does not stack up. That is the point of the system, and it is why a certified application moves quickly through council.

The surveyor's certificate covers the design as drawn. Change the design after certification and it has to go back, which is one good reason to settle the drawing before lodgement.

State Planning Policy 7.3, the Residential Design Codes, sets the siting rules for residential development in WA. Your local planning scheme and local planning policies then apply on top of it.

Three things get checked most often on a patio. The setback from side and rear boundaries, the percentage of the lot left as open space, and how much the structure overshadows the property to its south.

A flat roof usually has an easier time here than a pitched one. Lower overall height means less overshadowing and a better chance of sitting inside a setback without a variation.

Where a patio does need to go closer to a boundary than the deemed-to-comply standard allows, there is normally a path. Some councils accept it with written neighbour comment, others require a formal application assessed against the design principles.

Older inner Perth suburbs carry more planning controls than the outer growth areas. A property can be on the State Register, on a local heritage list, inside a heritage protection area, or inside a character or special control area under the local scheme.

Any of those usually means development approval is needed before the building permit can be lodged. The assessment looks at whether the structure affects the significance of the place or the streetscape.

In practice a rear patio, not visible from the street, is rarely the problem. A front verandah on a character home is a much more involved conversation.

Check your certificate of title and the local government's heritage inventory before you finalise a design. It is a free search and it saves a lot of rework.

Local governments do act on unapproved structures, usually after a neighbour complaint or during an unrelated inspection. The options open to them range from a building order requiring compliance work to an order to demolish.

Retrospective approval is sometimes possible. It means engaging an engineer to assess what has already been built, often with parts of it opened up, and it is more expensive and less certain than doing it properly.

The other bite comes at sale time. An unapproved patio shows up in a settlement search, and buyers and their lenders treat it as a liability.

Insurance is the third risk. If an unapproved structure fails in a storm and damages the house, the claim is a much harder conversation.

We prepare the drawings, arrange the engineering, engage the building surveyor and lodge the application with your local government. You sign the owner consent and that is the extent of your involvement.

You are welcome to lodge it yourself if you would rather, and some owner-builders do. The requirements are identical either way.

What we will not do is start work before the permit is issued. There is no version of that which ends well for either of us.

If you are unsure what your council requires, call (08) 6186 7419 and we will tell you what applies at your address.