Lindfield · Ku-ring-gai
Home renovations in Lindfield.
1,699 apartments against 1,997 houses, and 28.5% of homes rented — the highest in Ku-ring-gai. A lot of the whole-home work here is a complete apartment renovation, and a lot of it is done to let.
NSW contractor licence 397801C · Ku-ring-gai Council area · About 18 minutes from our Hornsby showroom
Apartments — 44.3% of Lindfield
Complete apartment renovations.
Lindfield's unit population sits mostly around the station and the highway. A full renovation of one is a procedural project as much as a building one — and the approval is usually the longest single item in the programme.
Newer buildings, stricter by-laws
Much of Lindfield's apartment stock is recent. Modern schemes usually have more detailed renovation conditions, not fewer.
Single scope, single application
Kitchen, bathroom, laundry, flooring and joinery submitted together so the committee assesses it once.
Suspended slab, fixed services
Waste positions generally stay put. The design works around them rather than pretending otherwise.
Lift, loading dock, work hours
Everything in and out goes through one booked route. That is a scheduling problem and we plan it as one.
Budget
Are you renovating to live in it, or to let it?
With 28.5% of Lindfield dwellings rented — the highest share in Ku-ring-gai — a meaningful proportion of the work here is on investment property. The two briefs look similar and specify very differently.
Renovating to let is a different scope
Durability outranks luxury. Hard-wearing surfaces, serviceable fittings and finishes that survive turnover.
Renovating to live is not
If you are staying, spend on the things you touch daily and the comfort items nobody sees.
Ask which one this is
We ask at the first meeting because the honest answer changes the specification substantially.
Depreciation on investment work
Capital works and new plant may be depreciable if the property is let. Worth raising with your accountant early.
Lindfield by the numbers
3,824
occupied private dwellings in Lindfield
28.5%
rented — the highest in Ku-ring-gai
44.3%
flats or apartments
Median age 40
the youngest profile in Ku-ring-gai
Approvals
Which system you are dealing with.
In a suburb split this evenly, the first thing worth establishing is not the design. It is whether your approval sits with an owners corporation, with a certifier, with Ku-ring-gai Council, or with none of them.
Strata consent is not planning consent
They are separate systems with separate timelines. You can satisfy one and still be blocked by the other.
Interwar houses, heritage possible
A good share of Lindfield's freestanding stock is old enough to be listed or in a conservation area, which rules out complying development.
Trees apply across the LGA
Ku-ring-gai's canopy protection governs where an extension footprint can sit, on any block.
Interiors are exempt development
House or unit, work that leaves structure alone generally needs no application. Beyond that it is a complying development certificate if the standards are met, or a development application if they are not.
Living through it
Vacancy is the expensive part.
On an investment property every week of programme is a week of lost rent. The sequencing below is built around that.
01
An empty unit is worth the vacancy
If it is tenanted, the between-lease window is the right time. Trades overlap and the programme shortens.
02
Approval before the tenant leaves
Get consent in hand first so demolition starts the week they move out, not two months later.
03
Order everything in advance
Joinery and appliances on site before demolition. Nothing wastes a vacancy like waiting on a benchtop.
04
Wet areas set the minimum
Waterproofing cure times are fixed. They are the floor under any programme, however hard you push.
05
Handover ready to list
Certificates, warranties and a clean property, timed so it can go straight back on the market.
Why do it
What the work returns.
We can tell you what a renovation costs and how long it takes. What it returns in rent or value is a question for a local agent — get both views before committing, particularly on an investment.
A renovated unit lets faster
Shorter vacancy and better tenants. On a rental that is a return you collect from the first week.
And holds them longer
Turnover costs advertising, letting fees and vacancy. A property people want to stay in avoids all three.
Fewer maintenance calls
New plumbing, new appliances and new wiring stop the drip of small repairs that eat a rental yield.
Or simply a better home
If you are living in it, none of the above matters much. Say so and we will specify differently.
Credentials
Licensed for owner-occupied and investment work.
NSW contractor licence
397801C
Renova Holdings Pty Ltd
Builder
99764S
Alireza Kamalzadeh
Contractor
395823C
Arshia Kamalzadeh
HBCF eligibility
To 15 Oct 2028
icare NSW
Dwelling and tenure figures from the ABS 2021 Census QuickStats for Lindfield (SAL12348). We are builders, not accountants or agents — nothing here is tax or investment advice. Verify licences on the NSW Government public register.
Lindfield questions
Owner-occupied and investment.
Can you renovate a unit between tenancies?
Yes, and it is the sensible window. The key is getting owners corporation approval in hand and all long-lead items on site before the tenant moves out, so demolition starts immediately rather than after two months of waiting. Every week of programme on a rental is a week of lost income.
Should I specify differently for a rental?
Yes. Durability and serviceability matter more than premium finishes on a property that turns over. Hard-wearing floors, robust tapware and appliances that are easy to replace part-for-part. Spending on a marble benchtop in a rental rarely returns anything in rent.
Do newer apartment buildings have easier approval?
Usually the opposite. Newer Lindfield schemes tend to have detailed renovation by-laws covering approved hours, lift protection, acoustic requirements, insurance and documentation. Older blocks are sometimes more relaxed. Either way, get the by-law from your strata manager before designing anything.
Our house is from the 1930s. What will you find?
Typically original wiring, corroded galvanised supply and cast iron waste, and little or no insulation. None of it is unusual and none of it is a reason to walk away, but it should be in the budget from the start. We hold a named contingency rather than quoting low and issuing variations.
Is renovation work tax deductible?
We cannot advise on that and would not try. Broadly, capital works on an investment property may be depreciable over time while repairs may be treated differently, but the distinction is technical and depends on your circumstances. Raise it with your accountant before the work starts rather than at the end of the financial year.
Living in it, or letting it?
Tell us honestly. It changes the specification more than the floor plan does.
