Demolishing a Villa Unit or Old Unit Block in Monash

Drive through Glen Waverley, Mount Waverley, Oakleigh or Clayton and you will pass plenty of small unit developments from the 1970s and 1980s: two to six single-storey brick villa units down a common driveway, each with its own little courtyard and carport. Many are now at the age where owners or buyers are looking at replacing them. Demolishing one of these is a different job from knocking down a detached house, because the land, the driveway and often the services are shared. Here is what we look at before quoting.

Two quite different situations

The first is the whole block. A developer or a family buys every unit on the title, the owners corporation is wound up or the plan of subdivision is changed, and the site is cleared for a new townhouse or apartment project. That is close to our dual occupancy and multi-unit site clearing work, with a few extra steps.

The second is a single unit. One owner wants to knock down and rebuild their own villa unit while the neighbouring units stay occupied. That is possible in some circumstances, but it is far more constrained, and the approvals and legal questions need answering long before a demolition date is set.

Check the plan of subdivision first

Most older Monash villa units sit on a plan of subdivision with an owners corporation managing the common property, usually the driveway, visitor parking, letterboxes, shared fencing and sometimes gardens. What each owner actually owns, and what they can do to their own lot, depends on the plan and the owners corporation rules. Some lots include the building and the land under it; on some older plans the boundaries follow the walls.

Before anything else, a single-unit owner should have a conveyancer or property lawyer explain what the plan allows and whether owners corporation approval is needed for the works, including for using the common driveway for machinery and trucks. A planning permit is also likely to be required for the new dwelling, and the Section 29A consent and building permit apply as they would for any demolition. Our Permits and Section 29A Consent service covers the demolition paperwork, but the subdivision and owners corporation questions sit with your lawyer and the City of Monash.

Attached units and shared walls

Some villa units are fully detached with a gap between them. Many are not: pairs or rows share a party wall, a roof line or a carport structure. Removing one unit from an attached pair means cutting the structure at the shared wall, keeping the remaining unit weathertight and structurally sound, and making the exposed wall good. That is partial demolition rather than a full knockdown, and it usually needs engineering input. Your building surveyor will also decide whether protection work notices are required for the neighbours. Our Partial Demolition and Strip-Outs service is the closest match for this kind of work.

Services are often shared

On older unit developments the water supply, sewer and stormwater frequently run through common property and sometimes under other units, with a single connection serving several lots. Gas and electricity are more often individual, but not always. Abolishing the services to one unit has to be done without cutting off the others, which means locating the lines, working out which parts are shared and coordinating with the water corporation and the other owners. On a whole-block clearance every service is abolished at the street, as on any development site, and that is usually the longest lead item in the program.

Access down a common driveway

The common driveway is how machines and trucks get in, and on many Monash unit sites it is long, narrow and lined with carports, letterboxes and the neighbours' cars. When the other units are occupied, we plan around keeping the driveway usable, protect the surface and edges, agree working hours and truck times with the owners corporation, and use smaller machinery where the turning space is tight. Damage to common property becomes everyone's problem, so it is recorded before we start, much as a dilapidation report records a neighbour's house.

Asbestos in 1970s and 1980s units

Units from this era sit squarely in the asbestos period. Eaves linings, wet areas, vinyl flooring and particularly the shared carports and garden sheds often contain bonded asbestos cement sheeting. Where a carport or fence is common property, removing the asbestos in it is a matter for the owners corporation as well as the owner doing the work. Our Asbestos-Aware Demolition and Disposal service handles the inspection and licensed removal before any general demolition.

Planning the rest of the project

Whether it is one unit or the whole block, the sequence is the same as on any Monash knockdown-rebuild once the legal questions are settled: inspection and fixed quote, approvals, service abolishment, asbestos removal, demolition and a clean handover to the builder. Our guide to how long house demolition takes in Monash covers the timing, and our article on demolition for dual occupancy in Monash covers whole-site clearance in more detail.

If you own a villa unit, or are buying a small block of units in Glen Waverley, Mount Waverley, Oakleigh, Clayton or anywhere across the City of Monash, send us the address and a copy of the plan of subdivision if you have one. We will inspect the site, identify what is shared, and give you a clear fixed price and a realistic list of who else needs to be involved.