Notice templates · NSW builders and home owners

CDC neighbour notice (NSW): free template

Complying development in NSW skips council, but not the neighbours. Everyone within 20 metres gets a letter before work starts.

A house frame going up with a dashed 20 metre circle reaching the letterboxes of the houses either side

Quick answer: Before complying development work starts in NSW, the person with the benefit of the CDC must give written notice to every neighbour within 20 m of the lot boundary. Do it at least 7 days before work in Sydney and other metropolitan areas, or 2 days in rural, regional and residential release areas. Each dwelling in a dual occupancy or apartment building gets its own copy. Neighbours cannot object; the notice is for information.

When to send it

Send it once the CDC is issued and you have a start date. Count back 7 days in metro areas (2 in the regions) from the first day of work, and do not count the day you deliver.

Hand delivery into the letterbox or in person is fine. Post works too, but allow for delivery time. The notice period calculator will give you the last safe day to deliver.

The rules behind it

This notice is separate from the one the certifier or council sends neighbours before the CDC is approved in metropolitan areas. The full NSW rules, including the statewide plan that started on 1 September 2026, are on the NSW notification rules page.

A proposal from April 2026 would change the pre-approval notice and the 7 day rule. Check with your certifier before relying on the dates above.

The template

Change everything in [square brackets], delete anything that does not apply and check it against your own conditions before you print.

[Your business name or your name]
[Licence number if a builder] · [Phone] · [Email]

[Date]

To the owner or occupier,

Notice of complying development at [site address]

This is to let you know that building work will start at [site address] on or after [start date].

The work
[Short description, eg demolition of the existing house and construction of a new two storey dwelling with a swimming pool].

The approval

  • Complying development certificate number: [CDC number]
  • Issued on: [date]
  • Certifier: [name], [registration number], [phone or email]

What to expect

  • Work hours: [7 am to 5 pm Monday to Friday, 8 am to 1 pm Saturday, no work on Sundays or public holidays].
  • Expected finish: [month and year].
  • [Noisier stages: demolition in the first [two] weeks, excavation in [month].]

You are welcome to look at the approved plans. Please call or email me and I will arrange it.

If anything about the work worries you, please contact [name] on [mobile]. We would much rather hear from you early.

Kind regards,
[Name]
[Business name, or owner of [site address]]

Tips that save complaints later

  • Measure 20 m from the lot boundary, not the front door. It usually catches the houses behind and across the road too.
  • One notice per dwelling. A block of units across the street can mean 30 letters, not one.
  • Write down the date and every address you delivered to. If a neighbour says they were never told, that list is your answer.

More templates

All notice templates

Get the address list for this letter

Pin the site, set the distance and get every letterbox inside the circle as a walk list. With a job pass or yearly plan, print this notice for every address with your logo, in walk order.

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