A dilapidation report is a dated record of the existing condition of a property, prepared before nearby works begin, so that if damage is alleged later there is an agreed starting point to argue from. In Melbourne it is most often commissioned before excavation, demolition, piling or underpinning on a neighbouring site — sometimes voluntarily, often because a council permit or a building surveyor’s condition requires it.
If you are looking for a dilapidation report in Melbourne and want to know what you are actually buying, this is the honest version: what the document contains, who is qualified to sign it, what makes one hold up when it is challenged, and where the underlying condition data comes from.
We will be direct about our own part in this. We are a CASA-licensed aerial imaging operator based in Melbourne’s south-east. We do not write dilapidation reports — we capture the condition record a good one is built on. That distinction runs through the whole article.
What a dilapidation report is — and is not
A dilapidation report is a factual condition survey at a point in time. It describes what a building and its surrounds looked like on a particular date: cracking, movement, surface finishes, paving, fencing, retaining walls, driveways, roofs, and anything else that could plausibly be affected by nearby works.
It is not a defect report, a pre-purchase building inspection, or a valuation, and it does not apportion blame. Its whole job is to fix a baseline. The value appears later — when someone says “your excavation cracked my rear wall” and there is a dated, photographed record showing whether that crack existed beforehand, and how wide it was.
Most are done in pairs: one before works start, one after they finish. The comparison between the two is where the answer lives.
When you need one
The common triggers in Victoria and elsewhere:
- Adjoining-owner protection works. Where works may affect a neighbouring property, protection work notices and the associated processes typically bring a condition survey with them. This is the most common reason a report gets ordered.
- Excavation and basement construction. Anything that removes lateral support or changes groundwater near a boundary.
- Demolition. Vibration, dust, and the proximity of plant to a shared boundary.
- Piling, underpinning and ground improvement. Vibration and ground movement travel further than people expect.
- Heavy vehicle movements. Repeated truck traffic over kerbs, crossovers and older residential streets does measurable damage, and councils increasingly ask for a before-and-after record of the route.
- Council or permit conditions. If your permit requires one, read the wording closely — it usually specifies the scope, the qualification of the person preparing it, and who receives a copy.
- Infrastructure and civil works. Rail, road, drainage and utility projects near existing buildings.
The pattern: if your works could reasonably be blamed for damage next door, a dilapidation report is cheap insurance against a claim you cannot disprove.
What a good report contains
A dilapidation report worth the paper it is printed on has these parts. If you are reviewing a dilapidation report example before engaging someone, check for them.
1. Identification. The subject property’s full address, the lot and plan from the Certificate of Title where relevant, the works site it relates to, the party who commissioned the report, and the purpose.
2. Date and conditions. The inspection date, time and weather. This matters more than it sounds — a photograph of a damp wall in July reads differently from the same wall in a dry February.
3. Scope and limitations. What was inspected and what was not. Areas that were locked, obscured, unsafe to access or outside the brief must be stated. A report that quietly omits the roof is far weaker than one saying the roof was not accessible from ground level and was therefore not assessed.
4. Methodology. How the condition was recorded — ground-level inspection, ladders, internal access, aerial capture, crack gauges, measurement. Name the operator and authorisation for any aerial component.
5. Element-by-element condition schedule. The core of the document. Room by room and elevation by elevation: walls, ceilings, floors, windows, roof, gutters, driveways, paths, fences, retaining walls, outbuildings. Each defect described neutrally, located precisely, measured where possible. “Diagonal crack to external brickwork, north elevation, above window head, approx. 1.5 mm at widest” is evidence. “Some cracking noted” is not.
6. Photographic record with positional reference. Every observation tied to an image, and every image tied to a location. An unlabelled close-up of a crack proves a crack existed somewhere. That is not the same as proving where.
7. Site plan and elevation references. So a reader who has never visited can orient every photo.
8. Author details, qualification and signature. Name, company, registration or licence number, and a statement of independence.
9. Appendices and raw data. The complete image set — not just the photos that made the body — plus a file manifest and a note on file integrity, metadata intact.
What changes for a commercial dilapidation report
Scale and structure. A commercial dilapidation report usually covers multiple buildings, large roof areas of differing age and membrane type, extensive hardstand and pavement, service infrastructure, and sometimes tenanted premises with access constraints.
Three things get harder. Coverage — walking a large industrial roof to photograph it properly is slow, expensive and a working-at-heights exposure. Location referencing — “rear of Warehouse B” is not a location on a site that size. And access — you often get one window with the tenant, and no second pass before works start. The record has to be systematic rather than opportunistic.
Who is qualified to prepare one
This is the part people get wrong, and it is worth being blunt about.
A dilapidation report should be prepared and signed by someone professionally qualified to form an opinion on building condition — typically a registered building inspector, a building consultant, or a structural or civil engineer, depending on the works and what is at stake. A registered building inspector in Melbourne carries the registration and professional indemnity that makes their assessment worth something in a dispute. On larger or contested matters, an engineer’s involvement is usually expected.
Independence matters as much as qualification. A report prepared by the builder doing the works, or anyone with a stake in the outcome, invites exactly the challenge it was meant to prevent.
Aerial imaging operators, photographers and drone pilots are not qualified to write these reports, and you should be sceptical of anyone who suggests otherwise. Nothing we produce replaces a building inspector’s judgement.
The data layer underneath the report
Here is the honest gap. A ground-level inspection physically cannot see a large part of most properties.
Roof sheeting and tiles, ridge capping, flashings, gutters and valleys, upper facades and parapets, chimneys, the parts of a neighbouring roof that face away from the street — all of it sits outside the reach of someone standing on the ground with a camera. On a two-storey townhouse the omission is inconvenient. On a commercial site it can be most of the asset. And that gap shows up at the worst moment: damage claimed after works are complete is most often claimed on exactly the elements nobody photographed beforehand.
What we supply is the record, not the report. CASA-licensed aerial capture of the subject and adjoining properties before works begin: comprehensive high-resolution imagery of roofs, upper facades and hard-to-access areas, an orthomosaic that turns the site into a measurable base map, and elevation data where drainage or ground levels are part of the picture. Delivered as a Site Record Pack — cover sheet, manifest, methodology statement, file integrity ledger, metadata intact — so the capture date, time and position travel with every file rather than living in someone’s memory.
The reason for that discipline is simple. A dilapidation record is only useful when it is contested, and a contested record gets tested on provenance: when was this taken, by whom, has it been altered, can it be repeated. Metadata-intact delivery and a documented method answer those questions before they are asked — and because the capture is repeatable, the post-works flight can be flown from the same positions and compared directly against the first.
The building inspector or consultant then does what only they can do: assess, classify, and sign.
Where we work. We are based in Melbourne and that is where most of this work happens — the south-east, the inner suburbs, and across greater Melbourne. We are also available for NSW site visits by arrangement, and we say that deliberately: a dilapidation report in NSW is often ordered when a matter is already heading somewhere contentious, and those jobs frequently justify the travel. Interstate visits elsewhere are considered case by case for matters that warrant it. If you are unsure whether your site is worth the trip, ask — we will tell you straight.
What it costs you when it is done badly, or not at all
Without a pre-works report you are arguing about the past with no record of it. The neighbour has photographs of damage today; you have nothing showing the condition yesterday. The party without the baseline usually wears the cost, because they cannot demonstrate the crack was already there.
Done badly, the failure modes are predictable: no roof coverage, photographs with no location reference, a scope section that hides what was skipped, no author registration, images stripped of metadata by being emailed and re-saved, and no raw file set — only the compressed pictures that made the PDF. Each of those is a place where a report stops being evidence and becomes an opinion.
The fix is not a longer document. It is complete coverage, located imagery, stated limits, and a clean chain from capture to delivery.
What drives the cost of a dilapidation report in Melbourne
Nobody can quote a figure sight unseen, and be wary of anyone who does. What moves the price: the number of properties, the size and storeys of each, internal access or external only, how much hard surface and infrastructure is in scope, whether roofs and upper levels need aerial capture, turnaround, and whether a post-works comparison report is included. Get a written scope with the quote so you know which of those you are paying for.
This article is general information about the dilapidation report process, not legal advice. Requirements vary by state and by council, and protection work and adjoining-owner obligations differ between jurisdictions. For advice on your obligations or a specific dispute, speak to a solicitor, your relevant building surveyor, or a registered building inspector.
Frequently asked questions
What is a dilapidation report?
A dilapidation report is a dated record of a property’s existing condition, prepared before nearby construction works begin. It documents cracking, movement, finishes, paving, fencing and roof condition in words and photographs, so that if damage is alleged afterwards, both parties can compare the post-works state against an agreed baseline.
When do I need a dilapidation report in Melbourne?
Usually before excavation, demolition, piling, underpinning or heavy vehicle movements near neighbouring properties, and whenever protection work or a council permit condition requires one. Many Melbourne permits specify it directly. If your works could reasonably be blamed for damage next door, get one before you start — it cannot be done retrospectively.
Who can prepare a dilapidation report?
Someone qualified to form a professional opinion on building condition: typically a registered building inspector, a building consultant, or a structural or civil engineer, depending on the works. They should be independent of the builder. Aerial imaging operators and photographers supply condition data and imagery — they are not qualified to prepare or sign the report.
What should a dilapidation report example include?
Property identification, inspection date and weather, a scope and limitations statement, methodology, an element-by-element condition schedule with located and measured defects, photographs referenced to a site plan, the author’s registration and signature, and appendices containing the complete image set and file manifest. Reports missing scope limits or photo locations are the ones that get challenged.
Does a dilapidation report cover the roof?
It should, but a ground-level inspection often cannot see it. Roof sheeting, ridge capping, flashings, gutters and upper facades sit outside the reach of a camera at ground level. Aerial capture closes that gap with dated, high-resolution imagery of roofs and upper levels, which the inspector then assesses as part of their report.
Is a dilapidation report the same in NSW as in Victoria?
The purpose is identical, but the legislation, terminology and council requirements differ between states. Adjoining-owner and protection work obligations in Victoria are not the same as the equivalent NSW provisions. Check the requirement in your jurisdiction and, where a matter may become contested, take advice specific to that state.