Before the old house comes down, a knockdown rebuild in Melbourne needs five things lined up: a planning property report, council’s consent to demolish, asbestos identified and removed by a licensed removalist, the services properly disconnected, and a building permit for the new home. Get them in that order and the demolition itself is the quick part. Skip one and the excavator waits.

A knockdown rebuild appeals for an obvious reason. You keep the street, the school zone and the neighbours, and you end up with a new home. What catches people out is the paperwork that sits before demolition day. None of it is unusual, but it runs in a sequence, and some steps can’t start until the one before is finished. This guide walks through that sequence for a knockdown rebuild in Melbourne, so you know what to ask your builder and what to have ready.

The knockdown rebuild approvals sequence, at a glance

Work through these steps in order. Each one is explained below.

Planning property report

  • Who issues or does it: Victorian Government (VicPlan)
  • What it decides: The zone and overlays that apply to your block

Report and consent to demolish

  • Who issues or does it: Your local council
  • What it decides: Whether demolition is allowed, and whether it needs a planning permit

Demolition building permit

  • Who issues or does it: A registered building surveyor
  • What it decides: That the demolition can proceed safely

Asbestos identification and removal

  • Who issues or does it: A licensed asbestos removalist
  • What it decides: That asbestos is removed before the house comes down

Service disconnections

  • Who issues or does it: Energy, gas and water providers
  • What it decides: That the site is safe to demolish

Building permit for the new home

  • Who issues or does it: A registered building surveyor
  • What it decides: That the new design complies, with inspection stages listed

Start with the planning property report, because overlays change everything

Get the report for your address

Every knockdown rebuild should start with a free planning property report from Planning Victoria. It shows the zone your land sits in and any overlays that apply. It takes a few minutes and costs nothing, and it tells you more about your knockdown rebuild than any brochure.

What to look for

Look for a heritage overlay, a neighbourhood character overlay, a bushfire management overlay, or any special building or flooding overlay. A heritage overlay can mean you need a planning permit just to demolish, and that permit isn’t guaranteed. Other overlays don’t stop a knockdown rebuild, but they can change what the new home has to look like or how it’s built.

Why this comes first

If an overlay affects demolition, you want to know before you pay for designs. A knockdown rebuild in Melbourne that hits a heritage overlay late can lose months, and sometimes the whole plan.

Surveys and soil tests come before the final design

A feature and level survey

An established block isn’t a blank estate lot. There may be trees, a fall across the site, neighbouring walls on the boundary and existing drainage. A feature and level survey records all of it, and the new design for your knockdown rebuild should be drawn to that survey, not to a standard block.

A soil test for the new slab

Before the slab is designed, a geotechnical consultant classifies the site under AS 2870, the Australian Standard for residential slabs and footings. The result sets the footing system. Older suburbs with reactive clay or old filled ground can need a stiffer slab than a new estate, and that belongs in the price before you sign.

A title search for easements and covenants

Your title may carry an easement for drainage or sewer, or a restrictive covenant that limits the number of storeys or the materials. Neither is visible from the street. Check both before you choose a design, because a knockdown rebuild design that ignores the title gets redrawn later.

Demolition needs a building permit, and council gets a say first

Report and consent

Demolishing a house needs a building permit, issued by a registered building surveyor. Before the surveyor can issue it, your council has to give its report and consent, often called section 29A consent. The Building and Plumbing Commission’s practice note on demolition sets out how this works. Council uses this step to decide whether the demolition also needs a planning permit, for example because of a heritage overlay.

Inspections apply to demolition too

Demolition work has its own mandatory notification stages under the Building Regulations. The building surveyor lists them on the permit, and the demolisher has to notify the surveyor as each stage is reached.

Other permits around demolition

Many councils also require an asset protection permit, to protect footpaths, kerbs and nature strips during the works. Some require a permit to remove certain trees. Your builder or demolisher should confirm both for your address early in the knockdown rebuild process.

Asbestos has to be found and removed before the house comes down

Why older Melbourne homes often contain it

Asbestos was used in Australian homes for decades before it was banned nationally at the end of 2003. Many of the homes now chosen for a knockdown rebuild in Melbourne were built well before then. Fibro sheeting, eaves linings, wet-area walls, vinyl floor tiles and some roofing can all contain it.

What WorkSafe Victoria requires

WorkSafe Victoria’s asbestos guidance says asbestos fixed or installed in a building must be identified, and that removal must be done by a licensed removalist. Where there’s any doubt, the material is to be treated as asbestos or sampled and analysed. WorkSafe also says asbestos should be removed, where possible, before a building is demolished, so fibres aren’t released during the demolition.

What to expect in practice

On a typical knockdown rebuild, expect an asbestos inspection before demolition, then removal by a licensed contractor, then clearance before the main demolition starts. Make sure your knockdown rebuild quote shows whether asbestos inspection and removal are included or priced separately. It’s one of the most common gaps between quotes.

Services must be disconnected properly, not just switched off

Electricity and gas

Turning the power off at the meter isn’t enough for demolition. The electricity supply needs to be disconnected and the gas meter removed, which you arrange through your retailer and distributor. These requests can take several weeks, so lodge them early in your knockdown rebuild.

Water, sewer and telecommunications

Water and sewer connections usually need to be capped by a licensed plumber, and some water corporations need notice before demolition. If the NBN or other telecommunications run to the house, arrange disconnection too.

Who arranges what

Some builders manage all of this as part of a knockdown rebuild. Others leave it to the owner. Ask early, and get the answer in writing.

The new home needs its own permit and mandatory inspections

A separate building permit

On a knockdown rebuild, demolition and the new build are separate building work. The new home needs its own building permit. Your building surveyor assesses the design against the building regulations and the National Construction Code, including energy efficiency and livable housing requirements.

Inspection stages are written into the permit

The Building and Plumbing Commission’s practice note on mandatory inspections explains that the building surveyor determines the mandatory notification stages and lists them on the building permit. The builder must notify the surveyor as each stage is completed, so the work can be inspected before it’s covered up.

Plan where you’ll live while the work happens

Budget for the whole period, not just the build

The house is gone from demolition until handover, so you need somewhere to live for the whole knockdown rebuild, not just the construction stage. Allow for the weeks of approvals and disconnections before demolition if you plan to move out early, and for a buffer at the end.

Line up the move with the sequence

Many owners stay in the house until the demolition permit is issued and the disconnection dates are confirmed, then move out. Ask your builder for a realistic date for each step, so a rental lease and a removalist booking line up with the actual start of your knockdown rebuild in Melbourne.

What slows a knockdown rebuild down

The usual causes of delay

Delays rarely come from the demolition itself. They come from:

  • an overlay discovered after designs are drawn
  • council report and consent taking longer than expected
  • asbestos found that wasn’t in the original quote
  • service disconnections lodged too late
  • a design that needs changing to meet estate rules, covenants or siting requirements.

How to keep it moving

Most of these are avoidable with the right order. Get the planning property report first, lodge disconnections early, and get a site-specific quote that names what’s included before you sign a knockdown rebuild contract.

Questions to ask a knockdown rebuild builder

Put these to every builder you’re considering:

  • Who applies for council report and consent and the demolition permit?
  • Is asbestos inspection and removal included, and what happens if more is found?
  • Who arranges the electricity, gas, water and telecommunications disconnections?
  • Will the price be fixed for the design and its listed inclusions before I sign?
  • What could change the price once the soil test and survey are back?
  • How long do you expect from demolition to handover on a block like mine?

A builder who specialises in knockdown rebuild in Melbourne should be able to answer every one of these without hesitating. Then compare their single and double storey home designs against your block’s width, orientation and overlays.

The demolition is the quick part

Plan the paperwork, not just the house

A knockdown rebuild succeeds or stalls before the excavator arrives. The house comes down in days. The checks and consents that come before it take far longer, and they’re the part you can control.

Ready to check your block?

Download your planning property report, gather your title and any covenants, and talk to a builder who will walk you through the knockdown rebuild sequence for your address. Truland Homes handles knockdown rebuild projects across Melbourne with fixed-price designs, and can tell you early whether your block raises any of the issues above.