Alerts

Building Report and Consent

What is 'report and consent' and when do you need it?

Your building project must meet the Building Regulations 2018. If it doesn’t, you must get 'report and consent' for the part of your project that doesn't meet the regulations. This is sometimes called a dispensation, and it means that you have gotten the approval of the relevant authorities to continue with your project. You need this report and consent before you can get a building permit.

More information on how much it costs to get our report and consent is in the Building related fees section on this page. If you are not sure if a report and consent is required, please ask your appointed building surveyor or contact us using the details on our Contact us page. You can apply for our report and consent online. The fee is payable by Visa or MasterCard.

Apply for report and consent

Building over an easement

What is an easement?

An easement is a section of land registered on your property title that gives another entity, often Council or another service authority, rights to use and access the land even though they are not the owner.

Easements may be registered for the purpose of providing stormwater drainage, sewerage drains, gas mains, or for power lines in or over a section of land.

The relevant service authority managing those services has authority by way of the easement to use the land or access the land for the delivery or maintenance of those services, for example, to install or fix pipe works.

  • Your Certificate of Title and Plan of Subdivision indicate whether there is an easement affecting your property and what the easement is designated for.

    The report and consent of a service authority must be obtained when applying for a building permit to construct a building over an easement vested in that service authority.

    In many cases, more than one service authority will have authority over the same easement, for example, in the case of an easement designated for drainage and sewerage.

    Council is the relevant service authority for easements defined for drainage and any other easement where Council is specified on title as the relevant authority with rights over the easement.

  • See our Building Fees page for the consent to build over an easement vested in Council application fee.

    If the easement is not vested in Council but in another service authority, you must obtain the Report and Consent to build over the easement from that service authority.

    Fees paid for the report and consent of council to build over easements not vested in council will not be refunded.

  • What you need:

    • A copy of the Certificate of Title and Plan of Subdivision
    • A copy of the site plan, floor plan, elevations and sections as relevant (indicating the location and depth of any proposed footings), and
    • The location of the easement and the extent of works over the easement must be clearly demonstarted.

  • Online

    Apply for consent to build over an easement through Council Online Services.

    • As part of the online application process, the fee is paid online by Visa or MasterCard.

    You can register as a user and sign in to Council Online Services before you apply. As a registered user, you don't need to re-enter your personal information and can keep track of requests and applications on any device.

    Apply by post or in person

    1. Download and complete the Report and Consent Application form (PDF 327Kb), and select Regulation 130, Building over an easement.
    2. Atttach any relevant information, such as the description of the proposal and site plan copies, to your application with the consent to build over an easement fee.
    3. Post the application and fee to Building Services, Merri-bek City Council, Locked Bag 10, Merri-bek 3058, or deliver in person to the Merri-bek Civic Centre, 90 Bell Street, Coburg.

 

What is an easement and can you build over one?

If there is a bit of land on your property that gets used by either Council or another service, even though you are the owner, this is called an easement. There are different reasons your land may be used, including providing stormwater drainage, sewerage drains, gas mains, or power lines in or over a section of land.

The authority that manages the service can use and access this bit of land to deliver and maintain the service. For example, to fix or install pipes.

If you are building on your property, you should check your Certificate of Title and Plan of Subdivision to find out if there is an easement and what it is used for. If there is an easement that you want to build over, you will need to tell the authority that operates on your easement and get its permission to build over it.

You need to contact us if the easement is used for drainage, as well as any other easement for which Council is listed on the Certificate of Title.

The costs of getting permission to build over a Council owned easement are in the Building related fees section on this page.

  • To apply for consent to build over an easement, you will need:

    • a copy of the Certificate of Title and Plan of Subdivision
    • a copy of the site plan, floor plan, elevations and sections as relevant (indicating the location and depth of any proposed footings), and
    • the location of the easement and the what kind of work you wish to do over the easement, You can apply online by clicking the button below.

    Apply for consent to build over an easement

    To apply in person, complete the Report and Consent Application form (PDF 327Kb), and select Regulation 130, Building over an easement. You should then submit the forms in person along with any supporting documents and the fee to the Merri-bek Civic Centre, 90 Bell Street, Coburg.

Consent to demolish

You must get our permission to do demolition work when:

  • the building will be completely demolished
  • more than half of the floor area of the building will be demolished
  • part or all of the front of the building will be demolished

Some demolition work also needs a planning permit from Council as well as a building permit. You can find out more about planning permits on our When you need a planning permit page. You can find out more about building permits on our Building permits page.

If you do not have a planning permit yet, we will not approve your application for consent to demolish. You must get this permit before you apply. After you apply for consent to demolish, you will need to get a building permit.

There is a fee for applying for consent to demolish. You can see the costs of this fee in the Building related fees section on this page.

  • To apply for a consent to demolish, you will need the following:

    • a clear written description of the proposal, which explains what is going to be demolished. If only part of the building is being demolished, explain which part
    • a site plan showing the proposed demolition work, site dimensions and explaining if any demolition work has been done on the site in the past 3 years
    • a full copy of your planning permit and plans, if one is needed for your demolition.
    • a recent photo of the front of your building if available

    Apply online by clicking the button below.

    Apply for consent to demolish

    To apply in person complete the Consent to Demolish application form (PDF 450Kb). You should then deliver the form in person to the Merri-bek Civic Centre, 90 Bell Street, Coburg.

Bin removal at sites to be demolished or redeveloped

If you are demolishing a building or redeveloping a property, you must also contact us by calling 9240 1111 so we can remove all bins from the property. Once you request the bin removal, it will be collected the day after your next weekly collection.

Make sure your bin is empty and leave it on the kerb for us to change over. If you are able to, please tip the bin over and place it upside down with the lid open.

Bins must not contain building waste and regular bin inspections are conducted to make sure building waste is not polluting our waste collections.