Selling or buying
Unapproved structure assessment in Canberra
The seller's building and compliance report checks every structure on the block against approved plans. If a deck, pergola, carport or extension was built without approval, we assess it and tell you what it needs.
- From $690 + GST ($759 inc GST), fixed before we start
- Fixed quote in under 20 minutes on average, during business hours
- 1 m deck floor height above ground where the building approval exemption ends
Prefer to talk? Call 02 6189 9876
Or email info@canberrastructuralengineers.com.au
Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 5:00pm
- Engineering onlyWe never sell the repair or the build.
- From $690 + GST($759 inc GST), confirmed before we start.
- Fixed quote in under 20 minutes on averageDuring business hours, Monday to Friday.
- Canberra and the Queanbeyan sideEvery district, plus Queanbeyan, Jerrabomberra and Googong.
In short
An unapproved structure assessment in Canberra costs from $690 + GST ($759 inc GST). An engineer inspects the deck, pergola, carport, garage conversion or extension and gives you a written assessment of how it's built and what it needs. If it needs upgrading, we design the work and give your certifier the documents they ask for. Same prices across Canberra, Queanbeyan, Jerrabomberra and Googong.
- Fee
- From $690 + GST ($759 inc GST)
- You receive
- A written assessment of how it's built and what it needs
- If it needs work
- Upgrade design and the documents your certifier asks for
- Send us
- Photos and the page of the seller's report that flags it
- Quote
- Fixed, in under 20 minutes on average, during business hours
- Area
- Every Canberra district, plus Queanbeyan, Jerrabomberra and Googong
How do unapproved structures get flagged?
Usually in the seller's building and compliance report, which has to deal with approvals for every structure on the block.
When an established house is sold in the ACT, the seller's report covers each structure on the block. For each one it includes copies of the approved plans, building approval and certificate of occupancy, where they exist, and the writer's view on three questions:
- Does the structure "substantially comply" with the approved plans?
- Did it need building approval?
- If not, did it need development approval?
A pergola that isn't on any approved plan, or a carport that has since been closed in, shows up here. Every buyer who reads the report sees it. Our guide to the seller's building and compliance report explains the report in full.
Buying a house with one?
Our pre-purchase structural inspection looks at the whole structure, including the additions the seller's report flags, before you sign.
Was it ever exempt from building approval?
Possibly, if it fits every limit below. Break any one of them and it falls outside the exemption.
| Structure | No building approval needed if |
|---|---|
| Deck, carport, pergola, porch, verandah or shade structure (a "small open building") | No walls; no more than 3 m high; roof no more than 25 m²; floor no more than 1 m above ground; no unsupported span or cantilever over 4 m |
| Unroofed deck | No walls; floor no more than 1 m above ground; structure no more than 3 m high; span no more than 4 m |
| Enclosed shed, garage or gazebo | No more than 3 m high; floor no more than 1 m above ground; span no more than 4 m; roof no more than 25 m² |
Building (General) Regulation 2008, Schedule 1, as summarised on the ACT Government's check if you need a building approval page. Exempt work must also not affect the structural integrity of any part of a building and must not involve asbestos. Development approval has separate limits.
What usually takes a structure out of the exemption
- Walls on a carport. It's no longer a small open building, so it has to fit the enclosed shed and garage limits instead.
- A deck floor more than 1 m above the ground.
- A span or cantilever over 4 m.
- A roof over 25 m². At best that leaves it partly exempt under stricter limits; your certifier confirms which applies.
- Anything that affects the structural integrity of the house. Where a structure is fixed to the house, that connection is one of the things we check.
The full approval tables for carports, pergolas, decks and sheds, including development approval, are in our guide to carport, pergola and deck approval in the ACT.
Your certifier confirms how the rules apply to a structure that's already built.
What kinds of structures do we assess?
Anything built without approval that the seller's report, a buyer or a certifier has asked about. These are typical.
Enclosed carports
Walls added to an open carport. We check the posts, beams and footings, and how the new walls are fixed.
Garage conversions
A garage turned into a room usually changes the building's class, which takes it outside the internal alteration exemptions. Your certifier confirms.
High decks
Floors more than 1 m above the ground. We check the bearers, joists, posts, bracing and footings.
Pergolas fixed to the house
The connection to the house, and what it's fixed into, matters as much as the posts.
Older extensions
Rooms added years ago without approval. We look at how they're framed and what they sit on.
What's included, and what does the certifier do?
We assess the structure and design any upgrade. The approval path is your certifier's call.
| Step | Who | What it involves |
|---|---|---|
| Assess the structure | Us | An engineer inspects it and gives you a written assessment of how it's built and what it needs. |
| Design any upgrade | Us | Engineering calculations and drawings or specifications your certifier and builder can use, priced in a fixed quote. |
| Letter or certificate | Us | A letter about that one structure, if it's what your certifier or buyer asks for. See engineer's letters and certificates. |
| Decide the approval path | Your certifier | Whether and how the structure can be approved. We don't give building approval. |
| Carry out any work | Your builder | We don't build, and we don't recommend builders. |
We're engineers only. We don't sell or build the upgrade, so our assessment isn't tied to how much work the structure ends up needing.
Building something new rather than fixing what's there? See carport, pergola and deck engineering. For how approvals work in general, read building approval in the ACT.
Selling with an unapproved deck or pergola?
Start before the seller's report is written. Its inspection happens close to the listing date, which leaves little time to act on what it finds.
The inspection for the seller's report must be not earlier than 3 months before the home is first advertised. If you already know a structure was built without approval, an assessment before then tells you what it needs while you still have time to deal with it.
Start with photos and, if you have it, an earlier seller's report. The fixed quote tells you what the assessment covers before you book.
House built before 1985?
If upgrade work needs building approval and the house was built, or started, before 1985, the building approval application must include an asbestos removal control plan. Allow time for it.
What should you send us?
Enough for an engineer to see what was built and how. Add up to 5 photos or files with the form.
- Photos of the structure from two or three sides, plus close-ups of the posts, footings and where it meets the house
- The page of the seller's report that mentions it, if there is one
- Any plans or approvals you have for the house or the structure
- Roughly when it was built, if you know, and any deadline such as a listing date
What happens next?
Three steps, and you know the price before anything is booked. Same prices from Gungahlin to Tuggeranong.
Send photos
Use the form at the top of the page, or email info@canberrastructuralengineers.com.au.
Get a fixed quote
We reply with a fixed quote in under 20 minutes on average, during business hours.
Assessment and next steps
An engineer inspects the structure and sends your written assessment. If it needs upgrading, we quote the design.
From prices for a typical structure. See all our prices.
Often needed alongside an assessment
Every service is quoted at a fixed price before we start. Send photos or plans and we reply in under 20 minutes on average, during business hours.
Carports, pergolas & decks
Footings, beams, posts, tie-downs and the connection to the house, designed for your structure and your block.
$590 + GST($649 inc GST) See the service
Engineer's letters & certificates
Letters on one structure or element: existing decks and carports, roof framing for solar and heat pumps, tank stands.
$450 + GST($495 inc GST) See the service
Carport, pergola and deck approval in the ACT
The building approval and development approval limits for carports, pergolas, decks and sheds in the ACT, the 25 m² and 50 m² mismatch, what cancels an exemption, and what to do if it was built without approval.
Read the guideUnapproved structure questions
Something else on your mind? Call 02 6189 9876, email info@canberrastructuralengineers.com.au or send photos for a fixed quote.
What happens if the seller's report flags an unapproved structure?
It's on record for every buyer who reads the report. For each structure, the report says whether it substantially complies with approved plans and whether approval was needed. An engineer's assessment tells you what the structure itself needs.
Do you get the structure approved?
No. A certifier decides the approval path. We assess the structure, design any upgrade it needs and give the certifier the engineering documents they ask for.
Was my carport ever exempt from building approval?
Only if it fits every limit. A small open building must have no walls, be no more than 3 m high, have a roof of 25 m² or less, a floor no more than 1 m above ground and no unsupported span or cantilever over 4 m.
Can I get an engineer's letter for an existing pergola?
Yes, if it's adequate as built. An engineer's letter or certificate about one structure is from $450 + GST ($495 inc GST). Ask your certifier or buyer what they need before you order one.
Is selling with an unapproved pergola a problem?
It's a question buyers will ask. The seller's report flags it, so it helps to know what the structure needs before you list. Start early: the report's inspection happens close to the listing date.