Relocated houses & BASIX

I’m not familiar with “Basix” however I do have some experience in doing a removal house. You can read my story by visiting our website.
Here’s an extract of our “Removal House” document:

Removal Houses
Do you love to renovate and enjoy a challenge? If the answer is yes then a “Removal House” may suit your needs.

INITIAL STEPS
Visit your local Council
We suggest that you make your first step a visit to your local Council to find out about local requirements and restrictions.

Each Council around Australia has different procedures and varying fees, so it is imperative that you have the right information from Day 1. For example, it is vital that you know whether you are required to supply a “bond” to the Council, and if so, how much – it can be a substantial amount which you will need to add into your budget.

Later, when you have found your removal house, you will need to check with the Council that your proposals fit in with the overall town planning scheme. (See also Town Planners).

Find your House and Contractor
Next, you will need to find your removal house and a suitable block of land. Removal houses can be found in your local paper, the “Trading Post”, “Yellow Pages” as well as online. Prices vary widely so consider your budget before you embark on your search. Some vendors are businesses that also provide the removal service, whereas others will be private individuals who will require you to arrange for a removal contractor to take the house away and so you will also need to find someone qualified to do this.

Removal contractors will ask you to sign a contract. This should set out the terms and responsibilities of the removalist and state all inclusions, such as bonds, fees, delivery details and services provided. For example, some firms will deliver the house on blocks, whereas others will carry out stumping and some even renovate the house for you. We ALWAYS recommend that you seek legal advice in relation to any legal contract – especially as there is no “standard” contract for the industry – Buyer Beware!!

Choose your land
You’ll also need a sufficiently sized block of vacant land for your house, with no easements or covenants that restrict a removal house from being placed on the block.

Get your Finance in place
Talk with your financier, as many lenders will not take security over a removal house until it is in position and has been stumped.

THE PROCESS IN DETAIL
Inspections and plans
When the Council considers your application for a removal house they will visit both the site and the proposed house to ascertain if it will suit the situation. Consideration will be given to existing neighbouring homes and to the style, materials used, roof pitch and height of your proposed house. Neighbours may be granted permission to view your proposal and lodge objections if they wish, so this is why it is imperative that you research your area first.

As with all building works you’ll need to obtain a soil test so that an Architect/Engineer can consider structural details and design plans for submission to the Council.

The plans will contain details including:

Existing floor plan and details of any alterations
Sub floor, beams, bracing and tie down details
Architectural elevations, location and orientation
Any other relevant information

Lodgement of preliminary plans with the Council will attract fees that vary between States. An Officer from the Council will then prepare a report of recommendations of building work required, such as:

Level of renovation work required – usually no “patching” is permitted and rotten materials must be replaced
Maximum building height
If roof replacement is necessary, including insulation
Generally rewiring all electrical work
Replace/upgrading of plumbing
Installation of smoke alarms
Tie down, bracing and depth of footings
Determine the bond (Amount held by Council until all works are complete)
You may lodge a Building Application simultaneously with the Preliminary Application and again, fees vary depending on the size of the dwelling and number of plumbing fittings.

Payment of Council Bond and other fees
Most Councils charge a bond. This is a sum of cash to be held by the Council until all works are completed to its satisfaction – usually within 12 months. The bond provides the Council with a “safety net” in the event that it needs to step in and take over an abandoned or unfinished job, or one which is not completed to its satisfaction. The bond is often a significant amount and this can put a huge drain on your cash flow. However, it is usually possible to ask for a partial refund as work progresses.

Before the house can be moved, all bonds and fees must have been paid to Council and the appropriate authorities notified. The contractor will need to provide the Council with proof of current insurance and a building services insurance policy may also be required. Bonds also apply for escort fees and security bonds for roads.

Once the house is in place
Make sure your contract specifies who will be responsible in the event that damage occurs when the house is moved. After the house is moved, as with all renovations, you’ll need to have a team of tradespeople ready to start work. The sooner the house is finished, the sooner you can receive your bond back.

A final word…
A removal house requires lots of careful research and planning, but the rewards are enormous. The satisfaction that you will gain from turning a dump into a shining diamond will give you immense pride, and co-ordinated correctly, a very healthy profit too.

SUMMARY OF THE PROCESS
Visit council or town planner
Purchase vacant land
Find suitable house for removal
Engineer report and architect plans
Lodge Preliminary plans with council
Council assessor visits house and site
Pay bonds and fees to move house
Renovate and certified
Certificate of Occupancy
Bond refunded

I hope this helps a bit.

AmandaBS
http://www.propertydivas.com.au
FREE online Property Resources

“It is better to be inconspicuously wealthy, than to be ostentatiously poor…”

I am sure that a relocated house is considered a ‘new’ house and has to comply with all current legislation, including Basix. You do your own Basix report using a hypothetical of the house and land, providing you have already bought them both, and know the details. I did one last year when we had to work out (for a quote) what requirements were needed to rebuild a fire damaged home. I just completed everything up until the point I knew it was OK (but didn’t have to issue the certificate). You will then be able to change some of the factors to see make it work if needed. This info isn’t ‘instead of’ AmandaBS advice above either.

Julie Fisher
Daryl Fisher Homes

Thought I'd add my experience to this to update the info. I am relocating a house in southern NSW, and tried to find out about this. Both the local Council and BASIX people said that I'd need to submit a BASIX certificate for the relocated dwelling as if it was a new house. This would be difficult to get insulation into walls, remove some windows and replace with double glazing, put in water tank, etc. I wanted to do some of these things to make the house more comfortable and consume less energy and water, but I didn't really understand the logic as the house is being recycled so cutting a large amount of embodied energy compared to building a new house.

After submitting plans to Council, I found out that BASIX does NOT apply to a relocated house. If you are adding to the house, and the alteration/addition will cost $50,000 or more then, you need to submit a BASIX alteration/addition Certificate. This is a lot less onerous than a BASIX Certificate for a new house.

For anyone needing the legislation to show Council, google Planning Circular 06-018. Also you need the definition of a "BASIX-affected building" in the Planning Act, which means "any building that contains one or more dwellings, but does not include a hotel or motel"

It's a cheap way to get a livable dwelling on a site. Will cost us $55,000 to move and re-stump the house, plus connection costs and renos.