Section 10.7 Planning Certificates: Reading the Fine Print

A Section 10.7 Planning Certificate (formerly a Section 149 certificate) is issued by your local council and sets out how planning law applies to a specific parcel of land. It is the closest thing NSW has to a property's official planning record.

Part 2 of the certificate discloses the zoning, permitted and prohibited uses, minimum lot sizes, heritage status, and whether land is affected by things like bushfire-prone mapping, flood-related controls, coastal protection or contamination policies.

Part 5 contains additional matters the council chooses to advise on — draft policies, road widening proposals, and site-specific constraints. Never skip Part 5; some of the most consequential information lives there.

When you're buying, the contract of sale will usually include a 10.7 certificate — but check its date. Controls change. If the certificate is more than a few months old, ordering a fresh one directly from council is cheap insurance.

A 10.7 tells you what the rules are, not what they mean for your plans. Translating 'R2 Low Density Residential with a 0.5:1 FSR' into 'yes, you can add that second storey' is exactly the skill our Due Diligence Kit teaches.