It’s important to have all your certifications before taking occupancy of your building. For most buildings, these are certificates of occupancy or use. Some buildings may require a certificate of compliance and certificate of regularisation.
Certificates of occupancy or use
For most new building work you need a certificate of occupancy or use before you can occupy or use the building. This includes new buildings or additions to existing buildings. A certificate will specify the Building Code of Australia class of building, which indicates the type of occupancy and use that has been approved.
In general, certificates of occupancy and use are issued if the building work is complete and is either fully or substantially built in accordance with approved plans and building laws. This includes any associated electrical, gasfitting and plumbing.
A certificate of occupancy or use can be refused if the work does not comply with relevant laws and standards. This means the building is not considered suitable.
It is against the law to occupy or use a building until a certificate of occupancy or use for the purpose it will be used is issued. This includes using an existing building for a different purpose, such as changing a single house to a boarding house.
How to apply
The owner of the building, or the land the building is located on, can apply for a certificate of occupancy or use after the relevant building work is complete. For work that requires a building certifier, your building certifier will need to have issued a certificate of completion before the certificate can be issued.
Once issued, certificates of occupancy or use are emailed back to the applicant.
Fees apply.
Certificate of compliance
A certificate of compliance is issued under the Planning Act 2023 (the Act). It means you have complied with any building and development provision of your Crown lease.
Typically, construction must start within 12 months and be completed within 24 months of the commencement of the Crown lease.
Holding a certificate of compliance allows you to sell your property without having to apply to the Territory Planning Authority for consent to transfer your lease. It does not prevent future action in relation to the development if it is later discovered the work did not comply.
A certificate of compliance is only issued once for the original development.
How to apply
You must complete an application for certificate of compliance form containing all lessees' details. This must be signed and dated by all lessees for that property.
You should only submit your application for certificate of compliance when you have complied with the development provisions in the Crown lease and, if a certificate of occupancy or use is required for any related building work, you have obtained a certificate of occupancy or certificate of regularisation for the building.
Once issued, certificates of compliance are emailed back to the applicant.
Fees apply.
Single residential: If compliant with the development provisions a certificate can be issued, generally within two working days of application.
Unit developments (residential and non-residential): Depending on the development provisions and if the unit development is staged or unstaged, the certificate/s of compliance generally take up to five working days of a complete application to issue.
Other non-residential: Depending on the development, various inspections will need to be carried out (such as car parking, driveway, landscaping) and it can take approximately 30 working days to issue the certificate of compliance.
Your Crown lease contains building and development provisions that require development to be completed within a set amount of time, beginning from the commencement/granted date of the lease.
As a guide:
For single residential Crown leases, completion of development is required within 24 months.
For most multi-unit or commercial use leases, completion of development is required within 48 months.
It is best to read your Crown lease thoroughly to confirm the specific development provisions in your Crown lease.
If you have not complied with the building and development provisions in your lease, you will be in breach of the provisions and will need to apply for an extension of time to extend this development timeframe.
Fees apply.
Note: No application fee is required for pre-1993 applications as extension of time fees did not come into effect until 1 February 1993. You will need to complete an 'extension of time to develop' application form and submit it along with evidence that the certificate of occupancy and use has been issued. Please email feecompliance@act.gov.au to request a copy of the application form.
If you are uncertain of any aspects of your lease provisions, please get in touch with the Lease Compliance team on 02 6205 5295 before making your application.
Extension of time fees are calculated based on the land rates issued by the ACT Revenue Office for the block.
- For breaches between 1 February 1993 and 30 March 2008, fees are calculated quarterly.
- For breaches between 31 March 2008 and 21 June 2012, fees are calculated against the land rates for the block using a multiplier of 1 x the rates for the first year up to 5 x the rates for the fifth year.
- For breaches between 22 June 2012 and 31 March 2014, fees are calculated at 0.01 in the first four years and then at 5 times the rates in the fifth year.
- For Crown leases issued after 1 April 2014, fees are calculated at 0 in the first four years and at 1 x the rates in the fifth year.
Fees are calculated from the previous multipliers used – for example, if the previous extension were calculated into the third year, any new extension calculation will begin in the third year until the fifth year is reached.
The Planning Act 2023 include provisions for individuals to lodge an application for a fee reduction or waiver on the grounds of hardship.
You will need to submit your hardship application in writing, along with sufficient evidence of hardship.
A breach that occurred between 1 February 1993 and 30 March 2008 cannot be assessed under hardship. This is because no hardship criteria existed in legislation prior to 31 March 2008.
For a Crown lease in a company name, hardship can only be applied for in certain circumstances.
These circumstances include if key infrastructure or services that were required to be completed by, and have not been completed by, the Territory.
An application for consent to transfer is required to sell a vacant block of land in the ACT. For a consent to transfer to be approved, at minimum of six months to commence construction must be available to enable the buyer time to commence construction.
For more information about consent to transfer process, please get in touch with General Leasing on 02 6207 1923.
Operational acceptance certificates must be issued to advise that the works have been completed on the block. The controlling entities who issue these certificates include Transport Canberra and City Services, ActewAGL and Icon Water.
Certificate of regularisation
Under building law, some buildings do not or did not require a certificate of occupancy or equivalent final certification. These include buildings built by or for the Commonwealth.
A certificate of regularisation certifies that the building is fit for occupation for uses, for example, as a single residence.
Applications for a certificate of regularisation may be made by the government concerned or the tenant before a building is sold or by a lessee, after a lease has been issued for the land.
You must employ a licensed principal building surveyor for a certificate to be issued.
How to apply
You can apply online for a certificate of regularisation.
The application must include:
- a completed application for certificate of regularisation
- the current use of the building (or the intended use if that is different)
- plans of the building in its current state (they need not be the plans used to construct the building if these are not available) and specifications
- a statement from a licensed building surveyor
- evidence that ACT Fire & Rescue has been consulted on the fire safety of the building
- the regulatory fee
Building surveyor statement
The building surveyor must provide a statement certifying whether the building:
- is structurally sound
- can withstand the loadings likely to arise from its expected use
- contains reasonable provision for the safety of persons likely to be in the building if there is a fire, including the provision of adequate facilities for leaving the building, the prevention and suppression of fire, and the prevention of the spread of fire.
Complaints and disputes
If there is a dispute between you and your builder or other professional, there are options for you to resolve your dispute or make a complaint.
