A council zoning or Planning Certificate (also referred to as a 10.7) is a certificate issued under Section 10.7 of the Environment Planning and Assessment Act 1979.
It is obtained from the local council and must be included in a Contract for Sale of Land, for it to be considered a legal contract. Before buying a property (or starting a construction project) a 10.7 is also one of the most important legal documents to review, as it contains all the details on the zoning, development and planning controls, and restrictions that apply to the parcel of land.
What is a 10.7 Planning Certificate?
A section 10.7 Planning Certificate was previously known as a Section 149 Certificate.
It provides information regarding the development potential and any restrictions on a parcel of land, current as at the date of the certificate.
There are two types of Section 10.7 Planning Certificates.
A Section 10.7(2) Certificate shows the zoning of the property, its relevant state, regional and local planning controls and other information pertaining to other property constraints such as:
- Permissible and prohibited land uses
- Land contamination
- Whether prone to flooding or bush fires
- Conservation or environmental heritage areas
- Development standards affecting the construction of a house
- Any orders or notices issued under the Trees Act 2006
A Section 10.7 (2&5) Planning Certificate provides all of the same information as a 10.7(2) but also includes additional information from other authorities that council holds on matters such as dwelling permissibility, various building/safety codes, environmental hazards and constraints, and fees or charges pertaining to owning the property.
When do you need a 10.7 Planning Certificate?
When you buy or sell a property Under the Conveyancing Act 1919 (the Act) and Conveyancing (Sale of Land) Regulation 2022, there are prescribed documents that must be included in all contracts for the sale of residential land in NSW.
Your conveyancer (or solicitor) will order this for you, from your local council.
As a buyer, your conveyancer will refer to the 10.7 Certificate provided by the vendor, to flag anything that may affect your future plans for the property.
When the 10.7 is more than 6 months old The Act also states that every Contract for Sale of Land be deemed to include certain terms, conditions and warranties. Among the many implied warranties, the vendor states (subject to disclosure in the contract) that the 10.7 Certificate attached to the contract, sets out the current status of the land. Therefore, if the 10.7 Certificate is more than 6 months old, there is the possibility that changes have occurred.
Does the Planning Certificate include all the information regarding a property?
The local council is only responsible for including information that is required under relevant legislation. As a buyer, you may wish to seek information from other professional bodies, such as a land surveyor, if you need specific or additional information.
What has recently changed and why?
Changes are being made to the form of 10.7(2) certificates which relate to the zoning particulars of a property and are mandatory for inclusion in contracts for sale of residential land in NSW.
The changes are aimed at streamlining the certificates and to “provide greater clarity, address gaps and remove information that is not useful to incoming purchasers or can be found elsewhere.”
Changes also introduce some new information requirements, such as whether there is a legislative variation in place affecting complying development on the property and whether there are any special or draft contribution plans applying to the land.
Some of the changes appear to relate to formatting only (e.g. reordering of the specific matters that are addressed in the certificates).
To obtain a contract for the sale of your property, speak to one of our team.
