Pool roof and glass enclosure not approved

This property changed 2 owners before I bought it. Not sure about who completed the work as this was done by the 1st owner in 1999 and the 2nd owner similar to me thought this was approved. So, its not sure who completed the work.

Can I ask the council to give me the copy of the previous DA and complete the final inspection? Will the DA be still valid?

 

So, I bought this in 2015 when there is no requirement that you need to have complaint pool certificate before renting or selling

I thought an A1 certifier can certify buildings and pools tool? I can go to an E1 certifier but as there is construction involved, I thought an A1 certifier can do both the jobs of

1. Certify the glass and roof ecnlousres
2. Certify that the Pool is complaint

Am I in the right direction?

 

Yes mate, lesson learnt now. I didn't have prior knowledge about this

 

Yes if anyone can guide us on this will be great

 

Also, are the private certifiers friendly or they will make life harder

 

So I called council and checked about this. They said the application was approved in 1999 but the final inspection was not done.

I'm paying a fee and ordering the plans for house and my plan is to get the final inspection done by the private certifier? or the final inspection needs to be done by council?

 

By posting again, I wasn't having a go at you (in case you thought I was).

I was replying to @sydprop's question and expanding on my initial post.

 

It doesn't matter if they are friendly or not.
It is their job to certify that the construction meets council specifications.
Usually no wriggle room, wriggle room, and most, if not all, won't risk their licence by allowing you to cut corners.
Marg

 

Many pools have a final inspection and then have "mods" made after final inspect. The most common sadly is removing a pool fence or making the fence no longer AS compliant eg building a BBQ and seating adjacent to fence so it can be climbed. Many councils have rules about the area inside the enclosure not being capable of entertaining eg a BBQ. So owners get approval then move or remove fencing and build either compliant or non-compliant structures. Loads of landscaping and rock falls etc dont comply as they are done after the pool is certified.

Its not always "illegal" works but non-approved works that wouldnt get approval. And some are just 100% non-compliant. Regrettably the inspection now must comply with now where a old compliance doesnt need to re-comply with new rules except some issues (eg pool fence, gates etc). We encountered this and had inspection, then made the area around pool larger. Not illegal but Council wouldnt approve it. Certifier guided us on how to do this so it technically complied. Its still compliant however provided we dont add any structure inside the fence other than a pump cover that is 1.2m+ from a fence.

Caveat emptor. When buying a property its important to check ALL mods are compliant as the costs of compliance may be a negotiation point or reason to not buy (eg unapproved extentions or GFs) and tradies homes can be the worst of the lot. And a legal search of council online development application history will show if its missing !! Some are picked up in the P&B ie incorrect electricals, lighting and power, plumbing , drainage. This can include a pergola, pool, fencing, large scale retaining walls, gates and windows. If not as owner you can be forced to rectify the defect or remove the structure. These days with Google it doesnt take a scholar to identify who has a pool. And some unapproved works stand out like dogs proverbials. eg wrong height, setbacks etc. New a'hole neighbour complaints can mean trouble.

 

Thanks mate!

I have nothing inside the enclosed area except the pool. The covered pool pump is adjacent to the enclosed area. Not sure if thats a problem. Are you able to suggest any good certifier in the blacktown council area who can guide me to get this approved?

Also, any idea how much a certifier will cost roughly to get this done?

 

Check with BCC first. The fact its a old DA may mean a certifier cannot be used. Often a certifier can only do a end to end approval and some work is not acceptable. Council may even be more tolerant of complying to the original approval v's current rules. Council will have a list of approved certifiers. I had a house in BCC years back and they helped me avoid a complex engineered retaining wall. They are the experts and will help if asked.

 

Thanks Paul.

BCC mean Blacktown council right?

 

Blacktown City Council

 

Hi Paul and other folks,

I contacted council and I requested all plans for the property. They suggested they have a approved plan for this screen enclosure. Does that mean, I dont need to get the structure approved and am I good?

 

Some links for the Swimming Pools Amendments 2012.

The Swimming Pools Amendment Act 2012 (NSW) | Speirs Ryan Property Law Sydney

When can your swimming pool be inspected? — NSW Swimming Pool Register


One thing was that you had to register your pool and then this would lead to the council contacting you and enforcing inspections every 3 years. Counicl proactively inspecting pools went by the wayside very quickly as they lacked man power. I now note that you can have private certifiers also doing the inspection for the Act. I registered my pool as per the act and it still hasn't come up under the councils inspection program.

Irrespective of the ongoing certification program under the Act 2012 you have a different situation if the case is that a final inspection of a DA was never done.

The DA is the approval to build based on criteria but the occupation certificate is conditional on the final inspection.

From your last post it sounds like the council is saying it was approved but as my statement this is still seperate to the occupation cert.

If the final inspection is still outstanding then I agree with Paul re the certifier for the original DA. It will then mean that the same certifier has have inspected all stages.

 

Thanks Andy!

I registered my pool with council but didn't get the compliance certificate yet. I wanted to sort this enclosure stuff first.

So, for the enclosure, ya I think OC might be required. Whats your recommendation? Approach council to get the final inspection done or get a private certifier?

 

Wanted to update here about my progress.

Ordered all my plans for the house. The council folks were pretty helpful.

The Pool enclosure was approved as an awning with glass enclosure in 1998. There was an approved DA and Construction certificate but the staff advised that the final inspection was not done. Not sure if they missed or it was not done.

I doubt they missed it as I see that in 2003 there was an occupation certificate issued for a different DA which had a diagram/plan saying that there was already an existing pool enclosure.

The council staff advised me to arrange for a final inspection. I said yes. Have to wait and see but looking at the DA plans for the awning and enclosure, looks like they have built accordingly but fingers crossed