Before you start your project home

Understand your land and property

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Before you start your project home journey, it’s important to understand how your land and building regulations will impact your project home options. Find out what you need to consider to pick the home that’s right for you.

Understand your land

It’s a good idea to understand how the constraints of your block of land may affect the kind of house you can build on it.

The myHome Planner property summary provides a high-level overview that will help you understand your land. Use it as a helpful guide before you consider building or hiring a builder. 

To learn more about the development potential of your land, you can apply for a Section 10.7 Planning Certificate from the NSW Planning Portal or your local council. The certificate will show planning controls and other property constraints such as land contamination, level of flooding and bushfire prone land. See End-to-end project home costs.

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You may choose to engage with an architect to advise on design considerations for your block of land, location and environment. 

Building an environmentally sustainable home

All new builds in NSW must comply with the Building Sustainability Index (BASIX) to help reach state-wide sustainability targets. 



BASIX is a sustainable planning measure with requirements for water, energy usage and thermal comfort performance.  

These requirements must be included in your project home plans. You or your builder will need to complete an online assessment to work out if your proposed property meets sustainability requirements. 

For more information and advice on sustainable home design, visit the independent guide on the Your Home website.  

You can find out more about applying and paying for your BASIX certificate in Building reports and certificates. See also End-to-end project home costs.

Maximising your land

Once you understand the zoning and environmental regulations, it’s time to start thinking about how your location and surrounding environment will impact your project home.

Consider your block’s unique features and the design choices that will create the most suitable home for your block.

You may want to consider:

  • the slope of your block 
  • the proposed orientation of your house on the block 
  • the climate of your location 
  • the way the sun faces your proposed home 
  • the placement of windows and electricity installations on your proposed home in relation to your property boundary (which can have additional obligations) and your neighbours 
  • sewer access 
  • if your land is bushfire prone 
  • if your land is at risk from flooding
  • if you’ll have direct property access during the build or will need access from a neighbouring property. 

You may identify some design features you would like to add into your project home, though you should be aware most home builders will provide a package home design with set inclusions. 

It’s important to understand what is included in your package up front as certain finishes, furnishings and extra inclusions may be an additional cost.

You can find out more in Understanding your building contract.

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To understand your options, visit display home villages to see home designs from different builders or talk to friends and family that have been through the process. 

Completing a knockdown rebuild?

If you’re planning to build on land with an existing building, there are important steps to take before you can begin the rebuild process.    

Find out more
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Have you checked?

  • You understand the limitations of your block of land and have reviewed your property summary 
  • You understand your build plans will need to comply with BASIX requirements 
  • You’ve considered the long-term impacts of your design choices 
  • You’ve confirmed build package inclusions and exclusions with your builder