With the need for housing dominating Queensland’s South East cities and the relaxation of Queensland Government policy in 2022 surrounding the use of secondary dwellings, many Queensland residents are looking to build small and relatively inexpensive secondary dwellings on their properties, giving rise to more prefabrication built dwelling options appearing on the market than ever before.
Important points to note when looking at prefab house purchases that could be the deciding factor between receiving your residential building approvals or ending up with an expensive home that is not fit to be lived in and has subsequent delays or problems are as follows:
Meeting Australian Standards, the Building Code of Australia, National Construction Code and other relevant legislations is essential in the building approval and certification process. Prefab homes designed and partially built overseas will likely not have the same compliance requirements both with their products and their build, potentially leaving a lot of problems in their wake, even rendering them unusable in some cases.
No matter whether they constructed a part of the prefabrication in conjunction with other licensed contractors, or the whole of house build and install is done by the one builder, they MUST be a properly qualified, Queensland licensed builder.
Throughout the building approval process the importance of competent, qualified individuals being involved for every necessary stage of the build,- as a certifier will need their certificates for collation and assessment despite the prefab structure being built off- site to your property,- cannot be stressed enough. From the design plans to electricals, to the glazing of windows, to external cladding, to waterproofing and beyond. All national and Queensland Codes, Laws, Lesiglations and requirements still have to be met.
Ensure your prefab company can provide all these certificates, as it will be essential in obtaining your residential building approval and eventually your final, once your prefab dwelling is “installed” to your property.
Also important to note too, when considering a secondary dwelling, is to remember to do your research into your desired location prior to purchase! Different zoning overlays on a site can mean your secondary dwelling might need to be constructed to more specific parameters than the average prefab house. For example, if you wish to place your prefab home in a high bushfire zone, it may need to be made with more stringent design specs and materials.
Council websites will have many articles, pamphlets or links covering their planning requirements for secondary dwellings as well, so be sure to check those out and ensure you engage a highly qualified, professional certification team, Thomas Sear Certification, who can help with building approval solutions.
Check out some of the more popular council search links on our website forms page at https://tscgroup.com.au/certification/building-approval-forms-queensland/
Remember, prefab homes, despite the ease of purchase and how simple it can all appear, can be a bit of a minefield to navigate to ensure they are finalized correctly, so best to have one of the professional, private building certifiers at TSC Group engaged and ready to help!
Partner with experienced residential building surveyors and private certifiers to ensure your
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