Should you renovate or knock down a post-war Melbourne home?

Answering: Should you renovate or knock down a post-war Melbourne home?

Estimated reading time: 9 min read

Renovate and extend a post-war Melbourne home with no heritage overlay when its structure is sound and its plan can be reworked around the next 20 years of your life. Knock it down and rebuild when the structure, the footings or the layout would have you replacing most of the house anyway.

You know the house. A 1960s triple-fronted brick veneer, three bedrooms, one bathroom, a back door onto a concrete patio. Two quotes sit on the kitchen bench: one says knock it down and start again, the other says keep it and push the back out. Each comes from someone who builds that answer, and neither has drawn the other.

Both mistakes are expensive. Rebuild when a renovation would have done, and you pay for demolition, somewhere else to live and a whole new house. Renovate shallowly over a tired structure, and you lock the family into a plan that still fails. At Altona, BY Projects Architecture took a triple-fronted brick veneer untouched for 60 years from 3-bed/1-bath to 4-bed/2-bath without a full demolition.

If your planning report shows a Heritage Overlay, our Heritage Overlay answer covers that case. This guide is for the house without one: five tests, taken in order, because each can settle the question before the next costs you money.

Key Insights

• No heritage overlay is a fact about today. Demolishing more than half a house within three years, or any part of its street facade, needs council report and consent (section 29A), and councils can seek interim heritage protection.
• On a residential lot under 300 square metres, building or extending a single house needs a planning permit (Clause 54); over 300 square metres it is in most cases assessed at building permit stage.
• A knock-down-rebuild is a new home, so since 1 May 2024, under NatHERS, it needs 7 stars and a whole-of-home rating of at least 60. An extension may need to comply too, as your building surveyor decides.
• Condition decides, not the decade. One in three Australian homes contains asbestos, so have it identified before either path starts.

Table of Contents

• Test one: what your block and the rules actually allow
• Test two: judge the house on its condition, not its decade
• Test three: the rooms you need may already be standing
• Test four: count what each path pays for
• Test five: draw both futures before you sign either quote

Test one: what your block and the rules actually allow

Start with the planning property report from VicPlan. It maps your zone and every planning overlay, shows whether the property is on the Victorian Heritage Register, and flags bushfire-prone status and Aboriginal cultural heritage sensitivity. No Heritage Overlay does not mean no other controls, so read every line.

Then measure the lot. Planning Victoria’s single home code requires a planning permit to build, alter or extend a single house on a residential lot under 300 square metres (Clause 54). Over 300 square metres, the same work is in most cases assessed as part of the building permit, which moves the real decision onto the house itself.

Demolition has its own gate. Report and consent is council’s sign-off on a proposed demolition under section 29A of the Building Act 1993, and where it applies you need it before a demolition permit can be issued. The City of Port Phillip spells out the trigger: demolitions over three years adding up to more than half the building, or any part of the facade visible from the street. A knock-down always crosses that line, and a deep renovation can.

Today’s map can also change. A council can ask the Minister for an interim Heritage Overlay on an unprotected place and hold up demolition of an important building while it assesses, and Planning Victoria gives post-war modernism as an example theme for heritage studies. Ask council about your street before you budget a demolition.

Test two: judge the house on its condition, not its decade

A post-war brick veneer is typically a timber frame behind a single outer skin of brick, and 60 years of age decides nothing on its own. The house passes or fails on four checks:

• Structure and roof: is the frame sound, and can the roof carry the change you want?
• Footings and ground: if you see cracking, sticking doors or a sloping floor, get a structural engineer’s view before any design fee.
• Services: which wiring, plumbing and drainage need renewing whichever path you choose?
• Asbestos: it cannot be confirmed by eye, so a qualified consultant or accredited laboratory identifies it before work starts.

The Victorian Government’s asbestos guidance covers both paths: if a renovation or a demolition will disturb large amounts of asbestos cement, or any friable asbestos, engage a licensed removalist. A rebuild disturbs the whole house, so budget for removal before demolition starts.

Condition is what keeps the renovation path open: at Altona, the practice retained the original brick veneer shell and primary structural elements, then built the new plan around them.

Test three: the rooms you need may already be standing

Post-war brick veneers can hide a good family home inside an ordinary shell. The test is whether the rooms you need fit inside or behind what stands, so write the brief as rooms and routines for the next 20 years before anyone draws.

Our Altona project shows the move. The brief was a growing young family, a modest budget and a cramped plan that needed more bedrooms and bathrooms. The practice went footprint first: it enclosed an under-used rear patio as the new lounge and dining area, lifted it with clerestory windows for northern light, and turned the original living room into a fourth bedroom with an ensuite. The house went from three bedrooms and one bathroom to four and two, within a tight suburban budget, without what the project record calls “the cost-prohibitive nature of a full demolition”.

The plan test fails when nearly every room would have to move, when the living areas face south with no way to reach the north, or when the brief will not fit without replacing most of what stands; then the drawing leans towards a new house. Our renovation architects page shows how we approach each Melbourne era.

Test four: count what each path pays for

A renovation quote and a rebuild quote are two different shopping lists. A rebuild pays for demolition and its council consent, any asbestos removal first, disconnecting and reconnecting services, a whole house to the new-home energy standard (since 1 May 2024, under NatHERS, 7 stars and a whole-of-home rating of at least 60), and somewhere else to live for the whole build.

A renovation pays for the rooms you add, whatever opening the walls reveals, and the energy requirements your building surveyor applies; the Building and Plumbing Commission notes that an extension or substantial renovation may need to meet current standards. You either live through the build or move out for part of it.

Stamp duty does not belong in this comparison. The State Revenue Office charges land transfer duty when property is bought or acquired, and neither path buys land, so duty belongs to the question of renovating or moving.

Over-capitalising is a resale worry; if you plan to stay 20 years, the sharper test is whether the house works for that stretch. No square-metre rate settles your house either: scope and site move both numbers.

Test five: draw both futures before you sign either quote

The last test is the one both quotes skipped: both options drawn on the same block and budget, in this order:

1. Download the planning property report and measure the lot.
2. Gather the condition facts: structure, footings, services and asbestos.
3. Get foundation data early. Consumer Affairs Victoria says your builder must obtain it before you sign, and you can get it through your architect, so every builder prices on the same soil.
4. Draw the renovation that meets your brief and the new house that would replace it.
5. Price both on the same scope and site information, then choose.

Start with a Feasibility Session with Barbara Yerondais, FRAIA: one hour, in person or on Zoom, talking through your block, budget and planning timelines, with no obligation. Design work starts once you engage us, on a staged fixed fee: two sketches, one of what your budget achieves and one of what the full wish list would cost, plus a shopping list so you choose the scope.

The fee is agreed for a defined scope before drawing starts, so it does not climb when the build cost climbs, whichever path you choose. Where the block deserves a new house, we design that too, and fixed-fee architecture explains what that certainty buys.

Closing

Renovate a post-war Melbourne home when the block allows the work, the structure is sound and the rooms you need fit inside or behind what stands. Rebuild when the structure, footings or plan would have you replacing most of the house anyway. Check the property report, the lot size and demolition consent first, then put both futures in front of an honest pencil before you sign either quote.

Frequently asked questions on renovate or rebuild

Q: Is it cheaper to renovate or knock down and rebuild in Melbourne?

A: No reliable ratio settles it, because each path pays for different things. A knock-down and rebuild pays for demolition and consent, any asbestos removal, reconnected services, a whole new house and somewhere to live meanwhile. A renovation pays for what you add and what opening the walls reveals. At Altona, BY Projects Architecture took a 3-bed/1-bath brick veneer to 4-bed/2-bath without a full demolition.

Q: Can council stop a knock-down if my house has no heritage overlay?

A: It can pause one. Demolishing more than half a house within three years, or any part of its street facade, needs council report and consent under section 29A of the Building Act 1993. If council believes the building is important, it can seek an interim Heritage Overlay and hold up demolition while it assesses, so ask council early.

Q: Does a knock-down-rebuild have to meet the 7-star energy standard?

A: Yes. A knock-down-rebuild is a new home, and since 1 May 2024 a new home assessed under NatHERS needs 7 stars and a whole-of-home rating of at least 60. An extension or substantial renovation may also need to comply, depending on its extent, and a registered building surveyor decides how far. We decide orientation, glazing and insulation at sketch stage either way.

Q: What should we bring to a Feasibility Session to test renovate against rebuild?

A: Bring the planning property report, any survey or plans, photos of problem areas, and the rooms and routines the house must hold for 20 years. In one hour, in person or on Zoom, you talk both futures through with Barbara Yerondais, FRAIA, against your block, budget and planning timelines, with no obligation.

Want a straight answer for your house?

In one hour with Barbara Yerondais, FRAIA, in person or on Zoom, you’ll talk through your site, budget and planning timelines, and leave knowing what’s realistic and what your next step is. There’s no obligation to go further. Barbara brings 35+ years in practice, and BY Projects Architecture’s record runs to 400+ projects across Victoria, renovations and new homes alike. We will tell you which future your house deserves, even when the answer is a new one.

Citations

• Planning property report, Planning Victoria: zone, overlays and Heritage Register status for any address.
• Single home code, Planning Victoria: Clause 54 and the 300 square metre permit line.
• Demolition, City of Port Phillip: when section 29A report and consent applies, and that it comes before a demolition permit.
• Local heritage protection, Planning Victoria: interim Heritage Overlays and delayed demolition.
• Energy efficiency requirements, Building and Plumbing Commission: new-home 7-star and whole-of-home rules, and extensions.
• In the home, Victorian Government asbestos website: asbestos in Australian homes and licensed removal.
• Foundations, Consumer Affairs Victoria: foundation data before you sign a building contract.
• Land transfer (stamp) duty, State Revenue Office Victoria: when land transfer duty is paid.

Related reading: renovating, rebuilding and what it costs

• Renovate or knock down and rebuild? The Heritage Overlay answer
• Should we renovate this house or move? A Melbourne architect’s framework
• What does a home extension cost to build in Melbourne in 2026?
• How much does an architect cost in Melbourne in 2026?
• Fixed-fee architecture: what cost certainty really buys you

About the Author

Barbara Yerondais, FRAIA, is the founder of BY Projects Architecture. With 35+ years of experience, she specializes in sustainable, community-focused design and heritage restoration. A dedicated mentor and rower, Barbara balances her high-impact Melbourne practice with a passion for social inclusion and passive, energy-saving design.