Do You Need a Dilapidation Report in Adelaide?

Not every construction project next door requires a dilapidation report. But when one is warranted, failing to get it can leave you with no recourse if your property is damaged. This page focuses on helping you decide whether you need one, based on the specific circumstances of your situation in Adelaide.

For a quick answer, try our interactive quiz, which takes about two minutes and gives you a personalised recommendation.

Mandatory: When a Dilapidation Report Is Required

In the following situations, a dilapidation report is effectively mandatory — either because a council has required it as a condition of the development approval, or because the risk is so significant that proceeding without one would be professionally negligent:

1. Council Condition on the Development Approval

This is the most clear-cut trigger. When the relevant planning authority (your local council or the State Commission Assessment Panel) approves a development application and includes a condition requiring a dilapidation report on adjoining properties, compliance is mandatory. The developer cannot lawfully commence work until the condition is satisfied.

Common language in these conditions includes: “Prior to commencement of any site works, a dilapidation survey shall be undertaken on all adjoining properties” or “A condition report documenting the existing state of neighbouring buildings shall be prepared by a qualified professional.”

2. Excavation Within the Zone of Influence

When a neighbouring project involves excavation to a depth that falls within a 45-degree angle drawn from the base of your footings, the risk of ground movement affecting your property is real. This commonly occurs with basement excavations for apartment developments, swimming pool installations near boundaries, and underground car parks. In Adelaide's inner suburbs where multi-storey infill development is increasingly common, this trigger applies frequently.

3. Demolition of an Adjacent Structure

The demolition of any building within approximately 10 metres of your property boundary generates significant vibration and debris risk. If the building being demolished shares a party wall with your property (common in Adelaide's older inner suburbs such as Norwood, Unley, Prospect, and Mile End), a dilapidation report is essential.

4. Heritage-Listed Properties

If your property is listed on the South Australian Heritage Register, the State Heritage Register, or a local heritage overlay, it has heightened vulnerability to vibration and ground movement. Heritage buildings are typically constructed with materials and techniques (stone, lime mortar, unreinforced masonry) that are less tolerant of disturbance than modern construction. A dilapidation report provides critical protection.

Recommended but Not Mandatory

In these scenarios, a dilapidation report is not formally required but is strongly recommended as a precautionary measure:

• Neighbouring single-storey extension with footings near the boundary: Even modest construction can cause localised ground disturbance. If the new footings are within three metres of your boundary, a report is prudent.
• Road or infrastructure works within 30 metres: Council roadworks, sewer upgrades, water main replacements, and stormwater drainage projects can generate vibration and alter ground conditions.
• Your property is built on reactive clay: Large parts of Adelaide, particularly the eastern suburbs and foothills, sit on reactive clay soils that expand and contract with moisture changes. Construction on adjacent land can alter drainage patterns and moisture levels, triggering soil movement.
• You have an older property (pre-1960): Older homes with shallow footings, lime mortar, or timber stumps are more susceptible to disturbance from adjacent construction than modern houses built to current engineering standards.
• Strata or community title with shared elements: If your property shares walls, driveways, car parks, or other common elements with an adjoining development site, recording the condition of those shared elements protects all lot owners.

When You Probably Do Not Need a Dilapidation Report

There are situations where the risk of damage from adjacent construction is genuinely low and the cost of a dilapidation report may not be justified:

• Minor interior renovations next door: If your neighbour is renovating a kitchen or bathroom without any structural changes, excavation, or demolition, the risk to your property is negligible.
• Landscaping or garden works: Standard landscaping, garden bed installation, or paving that does not involve significant excavation near the boundary is unlikely to affect your property.
• Single-storey shed or carport more than five metres from the boundary: A lightweight structure with shallow footings located well away from the boundary poses minimal risk.
• Your property is modern, well-maintained, and on stable soil: A property built within the last 20 years to current engineering standards on non-reactive soil is inherently more resistant to minor disturbance from adjacent works.

Even in low-risk situations, taking your own dated photographs of the boundary-facing elements of your property before the adjacent work starts is a sensible, zero-cost precaution.

Decision Table: Do You Need a Dilapidation Report?

Not Sure? Use Our Interactive Tool

If the decision table above does not clearly answer your question, our Do I Need a Dilapidation Report? interactive quiz asks you a series of questions about the adjacent construction, your property type, and the distance involved, then provides a personalised recommendation.

Next Steps

• Pre-Construction Dilapidation Reports— timing and process if you decide you need one.
• Who Pays for a Dilapidation Report?— understanding who bears the cost in different scenarios.
• Dilapidation Report Costs in Adelaide— what to expect price-wise.
• Who Does Dilapidation Reports in Adelaide?— choosing the right professional.