Do You Need A Building Permit When Building A Veranda?

You do need a building permit to install a veranda.

Are there exemptions?

There are almost no exemptions to that. The only exemption would be something that is very small and not attached to the home.

What about a pergola?

Something people actually get confused about what is a pergola and what is a veranda. So when they call up the councils, council will generally say to them a pergola is something that doesn’t require a permit, because is not attached and has no roof. However, under current codes, even a pergola greater than 20 square metres will require a permit.

Don’t forget it is also going to be built to rule. You can’t build it over or anything like that.

Generally speaking, should I get a permit?

So many things affect the permit requirements, so it’s easiest to say all verandas need a permit. You can’t play ducks and trays with a permit. It’s always compulsory. I always ask a client, let us do the paperwork? We’ll get it, be safe, be sure.

Someone else said I don’t need a permit?

If a company is not willing to do a permit, you’d really question their integrity. Because we are talking about a permanent extension of your home. Often clients say to me, look I’ve seen someone else and they’ve said you don’t need a permit. That’s just not true.

I think as builders we’d love to all in an ideal world just build a veranda. But we actually take the next step and get the permit for you.

Don’t get caught out.

And the onus does come back on to the owner so it is important. In Langwarrin just recently 30 verandas were ordered pulled down. That is very upsetting for me. Not to mention fines to the builder.

Issues when selling your home

Where it can come back and bite you on the bum is when you want to sell your home. The purchaser of the home will want to see a permit. They do not want any risk involved with the sale.

Illegal structure

By not doing a building permit, more often than not, you are actually going to make it without building in line with the guidelines which then makes it an illegal structure.