Build or change something
Sheds, granny flats, extensions, fences or trees. Start with the project, then the applicable rules.
INDEPENDENT PROPERTY GUIDANCE · VICTORIA
Understand the rules.
Know your next step.
Before you build, buy or change your property, find out what matters—and prepare the questions or documents that help move it forward.
Practical guides for the Mornington Peninsula and Victoria. Planning, building, trees, title and Council requirements, considered together where relevant.
Choose your situation ↓START WITH YOUR SITUATION
What are you trying to do?
Buy or check a property
Understand what a title, previous works, an easement or an overlay may mean before you commit.
Respond to Council
Make sense of a request for information, assign items and prepare a response or condition handover.
MORE THAN AN EXPLANATION
Something useful to take away.
Collect the facts you know, keep the gaps visible, and produce an editable enquiry, specialist scope or Council response. The tool doesn't decide what is permitted.
Prepare your brief ↗No account. Your entered project details stay in the browser unless you choose to copy or download them.
PROJECT BRIEF EXAMPLE ONLY
Proposed backyard shed
- What we know
- A shed is proposed. Location and dimensions need confirming.
- What to check
- Building permit rules, mapped overlays, title restrictions and service assets.
- Who to ask
- The relevant authority or a building surveyor about remaining requirements.
- What to send
- A site sketch, dimensions and the relevant property records.
GUIDES FOR REAL QUESTIONS
Start with a common problem.
Building & renovating
Shed, deck, pergola or carport: which permits do you need?
Start with the building-permit size and siting rules, then check the planning controls and site constraints before buying a kit or accepting a quote.
Building & renovating
Can I build an 80 m² granny flat in Victoria?
Check the planning and building rules, title restrictions and wastewater before paying for a small second home.
Trees & vegetation
VPO1 or VPO2 on your property: what changes for tree removal?
Compare the VPO1 and VPO2 exceptions, check other tree controls and prepare useful information for Council and an arborist.
Building & renovating
DDO2 on the Mornington Peninsula: what it means for your extension
Understand DDO2 height, setback and excavation requirements before deciding whether to change your extension or seek a planning permit.
Buying & property restrictions
Easements, covenants & Section 173 agreements
Find the restriction behind your title entry, check the separate consent pathways and send one clear proposal to the right person.
Council applications & responses
Council RFI or permit conditions: what to do next
Identify the notice, protect the response date and prepare one clear response with the right reports and drawings.
When several rules interact
Some sites involve overlapping design, vegetation or landslide controls. These guides show how they connect without claiming a property-specific approval.
ALREADY HAVE A COUNCIL LETTER?
Turn the request into a response plan.
Keep the original requirements, assign responsibilities and record evidence. Export a response table or draft an extension enquiry when the notice permits that pathway.
HOW WE WORK
Independent. Source-backed. Practical.
We use official Victorian planning and building sources, record review dates and distinguish general requirements from what still needs checking for an individual property. We don't decide applications or replace qualified advice.
Our sources and review dates → How the tool handles your information →