Thinking of Building a House

If you're thinking of building, it’s a good idea to employ professionals to oversee the complete design, planning and construction process. Investing in technical expertise can save both time and money over the course of the building process. Before you start planning and designing your new home, you can do some preliminary research to make sure that you’re aware of any restrictions that apply to the use and development of your land.

Property Information

A Property Information Certificate will tell you whether your land is subject to flooding, bushfire or if there are any designated land or works, for example, water utility assets such as concrete drains or man-made channels, that restrict development. For more information, see Property Information.

Do I need a Building Permit?

The answer is most probably YES. A building permit is required before any building work begins to ensure that work is safe and complies with the Building Regulations 2018. For more information, see Building Permits .

Do I need a Planning Permit?

The Planning Services unit can provide advice on whether a planning permit is required for your building. They also provide a dedicated pre-lodgement meeting service to discuss your proposal in detail and advise of any changes you may need to make to your application to meet Council requirements. For more information, see Do I need a planning permit?

Additional permits you might need during construction

There are a number of permits issued by Council that can be required during the construction process, for example: excavating a road, occupying a nature strip or creating access for a driveway.

  • To identify the stormwater point of discharge for your Building Permit, see Stormwater Legal Point of Discharge.
  • If you're doing building work that requires a Building Permit, including demolition, see Asset and Amenity Protection Permit.
  • If you’re building a new driveway and need to install a new vehicle crossing, see Vehicle Crossing Permit.
  • If you need to do minor work in a road reserve, such as drainage or domestic service connections, see Road Opening Permit.
  • If your building work is in a commercial area or in an area where there are large numbers of people, you will need to take measures to protect the public. For more information, see Hoardings and Overhead Protection.
  • If you need to occupy a road or footpath, for example, to manoeuvre plant and equipment or to store building materials, see Occupation of a Road or Footpath.
  • If you want to landscape your nature strip, see Nature Strip Landscaping Permit.
  • If mains sewer if not available, you will need to get a permit to install an Onsite Wastewater Management System (commonly called a septic tank). See our Septic Tank Permits page for more information. If you are unsure whether mains sewer is available to your property, it is recommended you contact South East Water on 131 694.

Title Search

A Certificate of Title is a personal record of interests and rights affecting your land, including mortgages, covenants, caveats and easements. You should check your Title for any restrictions that might affect how the land can be developed. For more information, see Certificate of Title Search.

Flood Prone Maps

For an overview of flood prone areas within the Mornington Peninsula Shire, see Flood Prone Maps. You will need to open the ‘Key Map’ first to identify which particular map you need to open to view flood prone information relevant to your property.

Service Authorities

We recommend that you contact the relevant service authorities to confirm what services are available to your property and to check if there are any easements that may restrict the use of your property. For example, there are still rural, residential and commercial areas within the Mornington Peninsula Shire that are not connected to mains sewerage.

South East Water provides a range of property information and services, see Property Information and Services.

Free Property Reports and Interactive Maps

To view or download property information, such as utility providers and planning overlays, visit the state government's maps and spatial data website and type your address in the search bar.

To view planning information on an interactive map, visit VicPlan. Type your address in the Search bar and use the layers tab to filter information e.g. Planning, Heritage, Bushfire.

Building Responsibilities

Keeping your neighbours informed about your building and renovations can help avoid problems before, during and after building. To learn more about your building site responsibilities to protect others from risk and to minimise nuisance. For more information, see Building Responsibilities.

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