Dilapidation Report Sydney

Councils and consent authorities routinely require developers to commission dilapidation reports on adjoining properties before excavation, demolition or piling begins. But neighbours don't have to wait — you can (and should) commission your own dilapidation report the moment you know construction is planned next door.

Buildings within the ‘zone of influence’ of excavation — typically a 45-degree cone below the neighbouring footing line — are the most exposed. If you're inside that zone, a pre-construction record is the difference between a paid claim and a he-said-she-said dispute.

Every accessible internal and external surface is photographed and referenced against a floor plan and elevation sketch. We record existing cracking (with crack-gauge measurements), rendered wall condition, tile grout lines, driveway joints, boundary fences, retaining walls and pool coping.

Where existing cracks are present, we install crack monitors to track any movement over the course of the neighbouring works — providing objective evidence if litigation follows.

Once construction next door completes, we return and re-photograph every reference point. The comparison report highlights any new or worsened defects, cross-referenced to the pre-construction images and the crack-monitor readings.

That comparison is the document you and your solicitor use to pursue rectification from the developer or their public liability insurer. Without it, the burden of proving causation falls entirely on you.