Back in March of this year we posted an article about major changes in BASIX in relation Large Boarding Houses. The big change was that BASIX was no longer required for this class of building.
However, since then clients contacted us to say they had been on the BASIX web site where it stated that BASIX was still required. This created a lot of confusion for both DA applicants and council planners.
We wanted to make sure we were giving our clients the most accurate advice, so in early June we wrote to the BASIX office to seek clarification.
Just when we had given up hope of getting a reply, a reply did arrive 2 months later.
The reply did confirm that BASIX is NOT required for Large Boarding Houses.
The full reply is shown below:
Our apologies for the long wait. Please find our standard response which will very soon be added to the website.
The erection of a large boarding house is no longer BASIX development, and therefore it is no longer mandatory to obtain a BASIX certificate for such development. Specifically, the definition of a BASIX building in the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021 excludes a boarding house, hostel or co-living housing that accommodates more than 12 residents, or has a gross floor area exceeding 300 square metres.
The requirements of the National Construction Code, including Section J – Energy Efficiency, which are administered by your consent authority, continue to apply.
If you are making revisions to a large boarding house for which you generated a BASIX certificate and received development consent, you should check the conditions of consent for your development. If the consent conditions do not state that a BASIX certificate is required, you do not need to obtain a revised BASIX certificate. If the consent conditions state that a BASIX certificate is required, you should seek legal advice and/or discuss with the consent authority.
I hope this helps anyone preparing to lodge a DA for a large boarding house. As always if you have further queries, please contact us at info@applicationsolutions.com.au.
