Lockdown renovation rules?

My understanding of the current regulations is that residential building work can restart where there is no chance of contact between builders and residents.

Inan apartment block that’s not going to be possible as the builders will share lifts, stairs and corridors with other residents.

If your neighbour restarts the Reno’s and you are concerned,make a report to Crimestoppers.

I just heard from NSW Health that renovations can go ahead provided workers wear masks in common areas, there are no more than two tradies per apartment, and owners are not in the same room as workers when they are working.  It’s all HERE.

What a grown-up attitude to it all!  Can I suggest you contact the owners and ask if they can impose time restrictions on noisy work?  Not before 8am and all drilling in concentrated periods, rather than stop and start all day.

These are reasonable requests and if they get shirty, remind them of the two-worker rule and let their imaginations run riot.

You may be spared after all.  This is on the Customer Service NSW website – the question is, who wins – Health or Fair Trading?

Not allowed in your home

Renovations, repairs, maintenance, and cleaning

Restrictions apply to the following activities.

Renovations including kitchens and bathrooms

• Home renovations (such as kitchen renovations), other than to make the site safe and secure.
• Bathroom renovations unless the work commenced prior to Saturday 17 July 2021 and there is no other functioning bathroom in the home.

Cleaning, maintenance and repairs

• General cleaning or gardening services for the household.
• Maintenance or repair work that is not urgent.

Heating and cooling

• Installation of air conditioning and ventilation (unless it is urgently required for the health and safety of a person in the home).

More confusion.  NSW government has just gone Oopsie! and Service NSW is being told to bring their advice into line with Health NSW.  So I’m afraid it’s “as you were!”

Here (below) are the latest rulings from NSW Health which supersede the previous erroneous advice on the Service NSW website.  By the way, the website seems to suggest there are special rules for “small construction sites” (10 workers or fewer in any 24-hour period) but I’m unable to find what they might be.

However, Melanie’s neighbouring flat, being unoccupied,  could be considered a construction site under these regulations and may (or may not) require the builder to have registered a Covid Safety plan and QR codes for workers.

It depends how NSW Health defines “unoccupied homes”.  But since they say “residence” means an apartment rather than an apartment building, the empty flat next door could be deemed a construction site with its own regulations (whatever they might be).

Capacity limits for prescribed work

Greater Sydney (excluding the local government areas of concern)

If you are doing prescribed work at a home, you must ensure that

• no more than 2 people are working in an indoor area at the same time;
• a resident must stay in a separate indoor area to where the work is being carried out
• no more than 5 people are working in an outdoor area at the same time.

And “prescribed work”, allowed outside of the eight hot spot LGAs means …

Prescribed work

Prescribed work is renovation (alterations or additions), repair, maintenance or cleaning work.

You do not need an exemption or confirmation from the NSW Government to do prescribed work or other work that is allowed.

Prescribed work does not include renovations at unoccupied homes. The rules for construction applies to renovations at unoccupied homes.

All work – including prescribed work – does not need to be necessary to be undertaken in Regional NSW or in Greater Sydney outside local government areas of concern.

Jimmy-T wrote:

I believe the current public health order is that work can continue provided there is not more than two workers in the residence at any given time.

What does “in residence” mean? Pretty obvious in a house but an apartment block?

I have written again to NSW Health, asking for some clarity, but don’t hold your breath.

And if you need to bring a piano in, try to bring it in together 🙂
That’s a strange restriction. It’s enough to vaccinate these workers and give them vitamins for immunity.