Before you buy: the planning checklist
Most buyers check the building and the contract. The planning position (what the land actually allows, and whether the "potential" is real) is the part that's easiest to miss and hardest to fix afterwards.
Before you commit, confirm four things: the zone and whether your intended use is permitted; the controls that cap scale (height, FSR, minimum lot size); the constraints that could limit it (heritage, flood, bushfire, easements); and whether any advertised "potential" stacks up against the actual controls. Do it before you exchange; your options narrow once contracts are signed.
Why planning comes before contracts
The agent acts for the vendor. The building inspector checks the structure. Your conveyancer checks the title and the contract. None of them tells you what the land allows you to do with it, and that's often the whole reason you're buying. Once you've exchanged, you own that answer, whatever it turns out to be.
The window to check is before you bid, or at the latest before exchange, while the question can still change your price, or your decision.
The checklist
Seven planning questions worth answering before you commit:
- Zone & permitted useIs what you want to do (live, extend, add a dwelling, develop) actually permitted in the zone?
- Height, FSR & minimum lot sizeHow much can the site carry, and is it large enough to be subdivided or developed the way you have in mind?
- HeritageIs the property a heritage item, or inside a conservation area? Common in the eastern suburbs, and a significant constraint on change.
- HazardsFlood, bushfire and coastal controls; each can limit or complicate what's buildable.
- Easements & covenantsWhat's registered on the title that restricts where, or whether, you can build?
- Advertised potential, confirmedDoes any development claim in the listing actually hold up against the current controls?
- The section 10.7 certificateThe council's formal record of most of the above. Get it, and have it read properly.
Your single most useful document: the section 10.7 certificate
A section 10.7 planning certificate is issued by the council and records the planning controls and constraints that apply to a property: zoning, relevant planning instruments, and matters like heritage, flood, bushfire and contamination.
Advertised potential is worth confirming, not assuming
When a listing advertises development potential, treat it as a claim to verify rather than a fact to rely on. It may well be genuine, but it is not an approval, and it reflects the site as the vendor sees it. Confirming it independently against the current controls tells you whether it holds, before it is priced into your offer.
Where this sits with your solicitor or conveyancer
They're essential, and they're doing a different job. Your legal adviser handles title, contract and conveyancing; planning advice tells you what the land permits and whether your intended use or development is realistic. The two complement each other; together they're the basis for a confident decision.
Doing it inside an offer window
Pre purchase timelines are tight, sometimes a single inspection before auction. A Planning Check is built for exactly that: a fast, independent read on permissibility, constraints and whether the advertised potential is real, delivered typically within 48 hours for a fixed fee, fast enough to work inside an offer window, and something a buyer's agent can put in front of a client.
Common questions
Should I do this before or after I make an offer?
Ideally before you bid, or at the latest before you exchange. The planning position can change what a property is worth to you, and your leverage to walk away disappears once contracts are signed.
Isn't this my conveyancer's job?
Your conveyancer covers title and contract, essential work, but a different lens. Whether your intended use or development is permissible, and whether advertised potential is real, is a planning question their review isn't designed to answer.
What is a section 10.7 certificate?
A certificate issued by the council recording the planning controls and constraints on a property: zoning, applicable instruments, and matters like heritage, flood and bushfire. It's the official starting point, but it lists the controls rather than interpreting them for your proposal.
The agent says it has development potential. Is that enough to rely on?
Not on its own. It is a claim about the site, not an approval or a guarantee. Confirm it independently against the current controls before you factor it into your offer.
- What a section 10.7 planning certificate is, and its legal basis, Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, section 10.7 (note the s 10.7(7) "conclusively presumed to be true" protection attaching to the certificate).
Check the planning before you commit.
Send the property address and what you're weighing up. We'll confirm which service fits, the fixed fee and the turnaround before any work begins. There's no charge to enquire.
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