267suburbs mapped for this jobWe read the planning data for each one, so the match is against the block rather than a postcode.

Service

Knockdown rebuild builders

Most knockdown rebuild quotes do not include the knockdown. Demolition, asbestos removal and service disconnection sit outside the contract sum — and twelve months of rent alongside a mortgage is, for most households, the single biggest cost of the whole project.

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2,361Construction companies entered external administration in 2024–25 — more than any other industry in Australia (ASIC)

267Suburbs where we have read the planning data and this kind of job is what the area is mapped for

65Councils covered across those suburbs, each with its own lodgement process and its own timeline

When this is the right path, and when it is not

Suits you if

You own land in a location you want to stay in, and the house on it no longer suits.

Think again if

It is usually the wrong path where a demolition control applies, where the existing house is sound and the layout works, or where you need to stay living there throughout.

How the job actually runs

01
Check what the overlays allow
Before anything else. Heritage, character and vegetation controls decide whether a demolition is even permissible, and they are the reason a knockdown rebuild takes longer than a greenfield slab.
02
Get a demolition quote separately
Demolition, asbestos removal, service disconnection and site clearing are their own contract. Builders quote them very differently and some exclude them entirely.
03
Confirm what is behind the walls
Pre-1990 houses commonly contain asbestos. It changes the demolition price and the timeline, and it is not something to discover at knockdown.
04
Design to the controls, not around them
A facade drawn for a flat estate lot usually needs reworking. Builders experienced in the council design to its requirements from the start.
05
Plan where you will live
Twelve months of rent plus a mortgage is the cost most people underestimate on a knockdown rebuild.

Where these jobs go wrong

What most often costs people money on a knockdown rebuild specifically.

Assuming demolition is included
It usually is not. Demolition, asbestos removal, service disconnection and site clearing are commonly excluded from a headline build price, and they are not small. Get them quoted as their own line before you compare builders.
Designing before checking the overlays
People fall in love with a design, then discover a heritage or character control will not permit it. The overlay check costs nothing and takes an afternoon. Do it first.
Underestimating where you will live
Twelve months of rent alongside a mortgage is, for most households, the largest single cost of a knockdown rebuild — and it is the one least often written into the budget.
Forgetting the neighbours
On an established street, machinery access, scaffolding, dust and noise are all negotiated with people who will still be there when you move in. Builders who work in the area routinely handle this; ones who do not, do not.

What moves the price

No figures — a number without your site and your specification is a guess. For a knockdown rebuild job, these are what actually move it.

Demolition and site clearing
Asbestos, if present
Service disconnection and reconnection
Site access for machinery on an established street
Planning permit timeframes
Existing levels and retaining

Where we cover this, and what the planning data says

Heritage mapped is the control that most often decides how a knockdown rebuild job runs. Read from state planning data.

Suburbs covered for Knockdown rebuild and their mapped planning controls
Suburb	Council	Heritage mapped
Ainslie	ACT Government	6
Aranda	ACT Government	2
Banks	ACT Government	1
Belconnen	ACT Government	2
Braddon	ACT Government	11
Calwell	ACT Government	1
Campbell	ACT Government	7
Chapman	ACT Government	0
Chifley	ACT Government	0
Conder	ACT Government	0
Cook	ACT Government	1
Curtin	ACT Government	1
Deakin	ACT Government	8
Dickson	ACT Government	2
Downer	ACT Government	2
Duffy	ACT Government	0
Dunlop	ACT Government	0
Florey	ACT Government	0
Forrest	ACT Government	12
Fraser	ACT Government	0
Garran	ACT Government	2
Gordon	ACT Government	0
Kingston	ACT Government	10
Lyneham	ACT Government	2
Watson	ACT Government	2
Yarralumla	ACT Government	14
Alfords Point	Sutherland Shire Council	3
Asquith	Hornsby Shire Council	15
Balgowlah Heights	Northern Beaches Council	14
Balgowlah	Northern Beaches Council	59
Bangor	Sutherland Shire Council	1
Barden Ridge	Sutherland Shire Council	4
Baulkham Hills	The Hills Shire Council	37
Bayview	Northern Beaches Council	14
Beaumont Hills	The Hills Shire Council	3
Beecroft	Hornsby Shire Council	129
Belrose	Northern Beaches Council	1
Berowra Heights	Hornsby Shire Council	8
Berowra	Hornsby Shire Council	17
Beverly Hills	Georges River Council	5
Bexley	Bayside Council	73
Bilgola Plateau	Northern Beaches Council	5
Bondi Beach	Waverley Council	77
Bonnet Bay	Sutherland Shire Council	1
Burraneer	Sutherland Shire Council	30
Carlingford	City of Parramatta Council	35
Carlton	Georges River Council	42
Castle Hill	The Hills Shire Council	33
Chatswood	Willoughby Council	98
Cherrybrook	Hornsby Shire Council	17
Cremorne	North Sydney Council	70
Cronulla	Sutherland Shire Council	71
Dee Why	Northern Beaches Council	20
Double Bay	Woollahra Council	56
Dover Heights	Waverley Council	14
Engadine	Sutherland Shire Council	11
Epping	City of Parramatta Council	98
Figtree	Wollongong City Council	6
Gordon	Ku-ring-gai Council	103
Grays Point	Sutherland Shire Council	4
Heathcote	Sutherland Shire Council	11
Hunters Hill	Hunters Hill Council	505
Hurstville	Georges River Council	100
Illawong	Sutherland Shire Council	25
Jerrabomberra	Queanbeyan-palerang Regional Council	2
Killara	Ku-ring-gai Council	182
Kirrawee	Sutherland Shire Council	6
Kogarah	Georges River Council	63
Lindfield	Ku-ring-gai Council	108
Little Bay	Randwick Council	24
Loftus	Sutherland Shire Council	5
Manly	Northern Beaches Council	354
Marsfield	Ryde Council	2
Menai	Sutherland Shire Council	5
Merewether	City of Newcastle	41
Miranda	Sutherland Shire Council	15
Mona Vale	Northern Beaches Council	24
Monterey	Bayside Council	5
Mosman	Mosman Council	543
Neutral Bay	North Sydney Council	185
Newcastle	City of Newcastle	145
North Bondi	Waverley Council	46
Pennant Hills	Hornsby Shire Council	88
Penshurst	Georges River Council	28
Pymble	Ku-ring-gai Council	315
Randwick	Randwick Council	258
Roseville	Ku-ring-gai Council	107
Sans Souci	Bayside Council	28
Seaforth	Northern Beaches Council	28
St Ives Chase	Ku-ring-gai Council	0
St Ives	Ku-ring-gai Council	136
Sutherland	Sutherland Shire Council	51
Sylvania Waters	Sutherland Shire Council	2
Taren Point	Sutherland Shire Council	5
Turramurra	Ku-ring-gai Council	316
Vaucluse	Woollahra Council	109
Wahroonga	Ku-ring-gai Council	439
West Pennant Hills	The Hills Shire Council	19
Wollongong	Wollongong City Council	131
Woollahra	Woollahra Council	218
Woolwich	Hunters Hill Council	119
Woronora Heights	Sutherland Shire Council	1
Woronora	Sutherland Shire Council	12
Yarrawarrah	Sutherland Shire Council	0
Acacia Ridge	Brisbane City Council	—
Advancetown	City of Gold Coast	—
Albany Creek	City of Moreton Bay	—
Alderley	Brisbane City Council	—
Annerley	Brisbane City Council	—
Anstead	Brisbane City Council	—
Ascot	Brisbane City Council	—
Ashgrove	Brisbane City Council	—
Ashmore	City of Gold Coast	—
Aspley	Brisbane City Council	—
Auchenflower	Brisbane City Council	—
Bald Hills	Brisbane City Council	—
Balmoral	Brisbane City Council	—
Bardon	Brisbane City Council	—
Bellbowrie	Brisbane City Council	—
Belmont	Brisbane City Council	—
Benowa	City of Gold Coast	—
Bethania	Logan City Council	—
Bilinga	City of Gold Coast	—
Bonogin	City of Gold Coast	—
Boronia Heights	Logan City Council	—
Bracken Ridge	Brisbane City Council	—
Bridgeman Downs	Brisbane City Council	—
Broadbeach Waters	City of Gold Coast	—
Broadbeach	City of Gold Coast	—
Brookfield	Brisbane City Council	—
Bulimba	Brisbane City Council	—
Carindale	Brisbane City Council	—
Clayfield	Brisbane City Council	—
Hamilton	Brisbane City Council	—
Hendra	Brisbane City Council	—
Indooroopilly	Brisbane City Council	—
Kenmore	Brisbane City Council	—
Mount Gravatt	Brisbane City Council	—
Nerang	City of Gold Coast	—
Paddington	Brisbane City Council	—
Rangeville	Toowoomba Regional Council	—
Sunnybank	Brisbane City Council	—
The Gap	Brisbane City Council	—
Athelstone	Campbelltown City Council	12
Beaumont	City of Burnside	15
Black Forest	City of Unley	8
Brighton	City of Holdfast Bay	30
Burnside	City of Burnside	27
Clarence Park	City of Unley	6
Colonel Light Gardens	City of Mitcham	2
Dulwich	City of Burnside	8
Erindale	City of Burnside	3
Felixstow	The City of Norwood Payneham and St Peters	5
Findon	City of Charles Sturt	4
Fulham	City of West Torrens	0
Gilberton	The Corporation of the Town of Walkerville	28
Glen Osmond	City of Burnside	21
Glenelg East	City of Holdfast Bay	4
Glenelg North	City of Holdfast Bay	28
Glenelg South	City of Holdfast Bay	25
Glenelg	City of Holdfast Bay	79
Grange	City of Charles Sturt	16
Hazelwood Park	City of Burnside	10
Henley Beach	City of Charles Sturt	22
Hove	City of Holdfast Bay	10
Hyde Park	City of Unley	27
Kensington Gardens	City of Burnside	21
Kensington	The City of Norwood Payneham and St Peters	77
Kingston Park	City of Holdfast Bay	5
Leabrook	City of Burnside	28
Magill	Campbelltown City Council	41
Malvern	City of Unley	36
Marino	City of Marion	4
Medindie	The Corporation of the Town of Walkerville	34
Mile End	City of West Torrens	15
North Adelaide	City of Adelaide	725
North Brighton	City of Holdfast Bay	8
Norwood	The City of Norwood Payneham and St Peters	296
Prospect	City of Prospect	116
Rose Park	City of Burnside	32
Rostrevor	Campbelltown City Council	5
Seacliff	City of Holdfast Bay	19
Semaphore	City of Port Adelaide Enfield	42
Somerton Park	City of Holdfast Bay	30
Tennyson	City of Charles Sturt	0
Toorak Gardens	City of Burnside	20
Unley Park	City of Unley	35
Unley	City of Unley	71
Walkerville	The Corporation of the Town of Walkerville	44
Wattle Park	City of Burnside	2
Invermay	Launceston	2
Lenah Valley	Hobart	2
New Town	Hobart	5
Sandy Bay	Hobart	3
Armadale	Stonnington	130
Ashburton	City of Boroondara	32
Ashwood	Monash	4
Aspendale	Kingston (Vic.)	9
Balwyn North	City of Boroondara	29
Balwyn	City of Boroondara	107
Beaumaris	Bayside City Council	58
Bentleigh East	Glen Eira	8
Bentleigh	Glen Eira	38
Black Rock	Bayside City Council	26
Blackburn North	Whitehorse	7
Blackburn South	Whitehorse	3
Blackburn	Whitehorse	47
Bonbeach	Kingston (Vic.)	4
Box Hill North	Whitehorse	18
Box Hill South	Whitehorse	13
Box Hill	Whitehorse	61
Brighton East	Bayside City Council	82
Brighton	Bayside City Council	453
Camberwell	City of Boroondara	97
Canterbury	City of Boroondara	86
Glen Iris	City of Boroondara	97
Hampton	Bayside City Council	63
Hawthorn	City of Boroondara	298
Kew East	City of Boroondara	41
Kew	City of Boroondara	218
Malvern East	Stonnington	97
Newtown	City of Greater Geelong	389
Sandringham	Bayside City Council	83
South Yarra	Stonnington	162
Surrey Hills	City of Boroondara	101
Alfred Cove	City of Melville	3
Applecross	City of Melville	12
Ardross	City of Melville	11
Attadale	City of Melville	5
Bayswater	City of Bayswater	85
Bentley	City of Canning	2
Bicton	City of Melville	3
Booragoon	City of Melville	5
Brentwood	City of Melville	3
Canning Vale	City of Gosnells	0
Carine	City of Stirling	2
Carlisle	Town of Victoria Park	0
Churchlands	City of Stirling	2
City Beach	Town of Cambridge	21
Claremont	Town of Claremont	558
Dalkeith	City of Nedlands	5
Dianella	City of Stirling	3
Doubleview	City of Stirling	1
East Fremantle	Town of East Fremantle	688
Floreat	Town of Cambridge	11
Fremantle	City of Fremantle	1231
Innaloo	City of Stirling	0
Jolimont	City of Subiaco	2
Leederville	City of Vincent	27
Manning	City of South Perth	0
Maylands	City of Bayswater	152
Mosman Park	Town of Mosman Park	44
Mount Hawthorn	City of Vincent	16
Mount Lawley	City of Stirling	84
Mount Tarcoola	City of Greater Geraldton	0
Nedlands	City of Nedlands	10
North Fremantle	City of Fremantle	337
Peppermint Grove	Shire of Peppermint Grove	149
Shenton Park	City of Subiaco	21
South Perth	City of South Perth	35
Subiaco	City of Subiaco	193
Thornlie	City of Gosnells	0
Tuart Hill	City of Stirling	2
Victoria Park	Town of Victoria Park	8
Watermans Bay	City of Stirling	3
Wembley	Town of Cambridge	22
West Leederville	Town of Cambridge	23

Suburb-level, read from state planning data. Not a report on any individual block.

What to ask a builder about a knockdown rebuild

Specific to this kind of job. The general list is in questions to ask a builder.

How many demolitions have you run in this council area, and what did the approval take?
Is demolition inside your contract or a separate one I arrange?
What happens if the site turns out to have asbestos, and who pays for it?
How do you handle the neighbours — protection works, notices, access?
What did you find under the last slab you took up on a street like this?

Questions people ask

Do I need a planning permit as well as a building permit?

Often yes, and that is the main difference from building on a new estate. Where heritage, character or vegetation controls apply, demolition and the replacement design are both assessed.

Can I stay in the house during the build?

No. Budget for twelve months or more of alternative accommodation, and treat any builder's timeline as the optimistic case.

Is a knockdown rebuild cheaper than renovating?

Sometimes, and it depends entirely on the house. We will not put a number on it — anyone who quotes you a rule of thumb without seeing the building is guessing.

The mechanism

One recommendation, not six quotes

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