The home building approvals process is, how can I best put it… LONG WINDED.

Its fair to say it’s not something I get overly excited about. There are different systems used by different local government bodies all of which fall short of what we need in Perth – that being a higher standard and faster response time. Recently there were reforms proposed for planning approvals, but it would seem that providing a guaranteed approval time frame is easy to promise and even easier to under deliver.

I wouldn’t be the only skeptic in Perth. It’s probably fair to say that when Dale Alcock stands up and announces ‘if the mad house is being run by the patients’ (or words to similar effect) during the announcement of the proposed planning changes that there’s not a great deal of confidence going forward that we’re going to be better off both as consumers and as industry professionals.

So what can you, as a purchaser of a new home building in Perth expect when it comes to approval times? Variance. Yep, expect variance.

In some councils I may say you should expect planning approval completed in 6 weeks and a building license in 4. I only wish that were true in every case. In fact, I wish that it was better than that in every case. The worst case scenarios still seem to be 12 weeks planning and 12 weeks building. That’s a whopping 6 months waiting for approval. Is there any wonder the cost of building is rising? All builders have to build in erosion to cover ridiculous delays that are out of their control, during which prices from suppliers and subcontractors may, and almost certainly will, rise.

Over recent years I’ve personally seen the following;

• Requests made for more information regarding the application paperwork – even though the information is already included with the original paperwork. Some of these requests border on the ridiculous such as;
  • Requesting information on the star rating of tapware
  • Requesting confirmation that the builder will comply to the BCA – often several items requested
  • Requesting copies of the proposed method of termite treatment
• Delays due to the council policy to go to advertising, when the proposed building fully complies to the BCA, the R Codes and all local policies
• Unwarranted and ridiculous screening requests for privacy due to poor interpretation of the R Codes
• Requests from one Local Government stating they required the owners inked signature, not a faxed copy of the signature on its application.

If a local government is going to ask builders to send through details of how they are going to comply to the BCA for termite treatment, what is to stop them asking for proof that the builder will comply to every section of the BCA (Bulding Code of Australia) and all AS (Australian Standards) when it is already a requirement for builders to do so? Isn’t it just stating the obvious? Perhaps we should send a cover letter with all of our applications stating “We will build this house if you give us approval”. Does that need to be spelt out? No. Do we need to show how we are complying to the BCA to the local government? No. Should we nominate every Australian Standard we are employing to build a new home? No.

Why should a home that complies to policy and regulations go to advertising for neighbours comments? It would seem to me that this is the councils way of removing any responsibility from neighbours who object to workmen on their street, or a nice new home that is going to make their old residence look tired. Excuse my French, but it’s time our councils had some ****s and simply tell whinging neighbours that the home complies. Done… Some may say this is inconsiderate, but what about the owner who has done everything right and is currently holding a block of land, paying interest on the block and suffering delays causing financial loss?

In the case of the inked signature – why? Does the council have a database of signatures to check the authenticity and origin of the penmanship on the page? While this isn’t going to be a common issue, it is however an example of the ridiculous. Another stupid policy that won’t achieve anything other than unnecessary delays. When this happened earlier this year the council were informed that the owners were travelling overseas on a 2 month holiday in numerous locations and the inked signatures were difficult to get. The response? “Bad luck.”

I’d encourage all councils to employ some common sense. It’s time senior planners took out their red pen and cross out all the unneccessary checks performed on applications. I also absolutely encourage all builders to do the right thing and comply with their applications but the simple fact remains that councils do not inspect every facet of the building work, so requesting standards or details that are beyond their scope of expertise or responsibility is wasteful and costly, to all involved.