NSW property research

Property checks in Sydney.

Thinking about a property in Sydney? iSpy Property runs 30-plus official government checks on the exact address and pulls together Council of the City of Sydney’s building and development activity — all in one plain-English report, with every finding cited to its source.

Research a Sydney address

Sydney is one of 128 NSW council areas we cover. See every check we run.

What is being built around Sydney

We watch the official NSW planning records for Council of the City of Sydney and keep them current each day, so your report shows what is happening on and near the block.

Development applications
New building and change-of-use proposals lodged with the council.
Complying development certificates
Faster-track approvals for work that meets set state-wide standards.
Construction certificates
Sign-off that approved plans meet the building rules before work starts.
Occupation certificates
Confirmation a finished building is approved to be used or lived in.

The risks we check first in Sydney

The hazard layers a buyer most needs to know about before committing. We check each one and flag it clearly when it lands on the property.

Flood planning
Whether the land is flagged for flood risk under the planning controls.
Bushfire prone land
Whether the property is mapped as bushfire prone, which adds building rules.
Acid sulfate soils
Whether disturbing the soil could release acid — relevant to digging and building.
Contaminated land register
Whether the EPA's contaminated-land records touch the property.
Coastal management areas
Whether the land falls inside a mapped coastal management area.
Mine subsidence districts
Whether the property sits in a proclaimed mine subsidence area, which affects approvals.

These layers are mapped across NSW. We confirm which ones actually touch your address and flag them at the top of the report — never buried in a list.

Property identity

Pinning down exactly which lot and boundaries we are looking at.

NSW address register
Confirms the exact property behind the address you typed.
Lot and plan boundaries
The property's legal lot, plan number and parcel outline on the map.

Planning controls

What you can and cannot build here, plus the heritage and rezoning rules that apply.

Land zoning
What the land is zoned for and what you are generally allowed to build.
Floor space ratio
How much floor area you can build relative to the size of the block.
Building height limit
The maximum building height the council allows on the block.
Minimum lot size
The smallest lot allowed here — it governs whether the land can be subdivided.
Heritage controls
Whether the property is a heritage item or sits inside a conservation area.
Transport-oriented rezoning
Whether the block sits in an area being upzoned for housing near transport.

Neighbourhood & access

How the surrounding area is tracking, and the everyday access around the property.

Public transport stops
The nearest train, bus and ferry stops to the property.
School catchments
The public-school enrolment catchments the property falls into.
Local crime statistics
Recorded crime for the suburb so you can compare it with the wider area.
Recent sales
Recent Valuer General sale records for market context on the address.

Start here

Check a Sydney address now.

Type the address and we do the rest. Your first report is free, and every finding is written in plain English and cited back to its official source.

Research this address

Nearby areas

Researching elsewhere in NSW?

We cover all 128 NSW council areas. Here are a few more, or browse the full list of council areas.

Cowra Cumberland Dubbo Dungog

Where this comes from

Official sources, credited.

Every check draws on NSW and Australian government data, most of it open data reused under a Creative Commons Attribution licence. See the publisher and credit for each one on our data licensing & attribution page.