One of the first questions people ask when they get a restumping quote is whether the council needs to be involved. The short answer for Werribee, Hoppers Crossing, Tarneit, Point Cook and everywhere else in Victoria is that restumping and reblocking are building work, and building work generally needs a building permit. The longer answer is worth knowing, because the permit is also your protection.
Restumping is building work
Under Victoria's building rules, replacing the stumps that hold a house up is structural work. It changes the support of the building, it can change floor levels, and if it is done badly the consequences are serious. So, apart from very minor repairs, restumping and reblocking need a building permit issued by a registered building surveyor before the work starts. This is not a council planning permit; it is a building permit, and it is issued by a private or municipal building surveyor rather than the planning department at Wyndham City Council.
Because the rules and exemptions change from time to time, and because the line between a minor repair and a full restump is not always obvious, the right move is to ask the building surveyor. We do that as part of every job.
What the permit actually does
The permit is not just paperwork. It puts a registered building surveyor across the job, and that brings three things:
- Checked design. The stump type, size, spacing and footing depth are assessed against the soil and the building, which matters on the reactive clay soils across Wyndham where a stump footing that is too shallow will move with the seasons.
- Inspections. The surveyor inspects at the required stages, typically the footings before the stumps are set and the finished work, so someone independent of the contractor confirms it was done properly.
- A record. A permit and a final inspection go on the property's building history. When you sell, a buyer's conveyancer will ask for it, and a restump with no permit is a red flag that can hold up a sale or knock money off the price.
Who does the work
Restumping must be carried out by a practitioner registered for that class of work with the Victorian Building Authority, and for jobs above the threshold value the contract must be a major domestic building contract with the required insurance. Ask any restumper for their registration number and check it. A quote that is a lot cheaper than the others is often cheaper because none of this is happening.
Who arranges the permit
Usually the restumping contractor. We engage the building surveyor, provide the drawings or specifications the surveyor needs, lodge the application and coordinate the inspections. The permit fee and the surveyor's inspection fees are part of the job cost, and they should be shown on the quote so you can see them. Our house restumping and house reblocking and releveling pages both describe what is included.
Some owners prefer to engage their own building surveyor, particularly on a larger renovation where the restump is one part of a bigger permit. That is fine and we will work with whoever you appoint.
How long it takes
Getting a permit for a straightforward restump is usually quick once the surveyor has what they need, often a matter of days rather than weeks, and it is arranged in the lead-up to the start date rather than holding the job up. Where a soil report or engineering is required, for example on a house with significant settlement or on a site with known problem soils, allow longer.
What it costs
The permit and inspection fees for a residential restump are a modest part of the overall cost. They vary with the surveyor and the size of the job, and we show them on the quote. What you should be wary of is a quote that leaves them out, because it means either they are coming later as an extra or the job is being done without a permit.
Restumping as part of a bigger job
If the restump is part of a renovation, an extension or a knockdown-rebuild of part of the house, it is typically covered under the same building permit as the rest of the work and the builder's surveyor inspects it. Tell us if that is the situation so the paperwork is done once, not twice. The same applies to underpinning, which is a different technique with its own engineering and inspection requirements.
What happens if it was done without a permit
Houses across Werribee and the older parts of Wyndham were sometimes restumped decades ago without any permit, and it turns up when a building inspection or a pre-sale check flags stumps that look newer than the house. That is not the end of the world. A building surveyor can assess existing work, and where it was done properly it can be certified after the fact, though the process is slower and more expensive than doing it right the first time. Where it was done badly, which is usually why the question came up, the answer is a proper restump with a permit.
The short version
Restumping in Victoria generally needs a building permit, a registered practitioner and inspections by a building surveyor, and all three should be part of the quote. If you are looking at restumping or reblocking in Werribee, Hoppers Crossing, Tarneit, Point Cook or Altona Meadows and want to understand what the permit involves for your house, send us a few photos and a description of the problem. We will inspect, quote with the permit and inspections included, and explain exactly what is being done and why.