We should all take pride in the appearance of our houses and yards. This page offers advice on maintaining your property and home. Should you have any questions or enquiries about topics discussed on this page please contact the Community Education and Compliance team on 1300 ISAACS (1300 472 227)
Maintaining your yard is one of the many ways people can show you are proud of your home. Mowing your lawn can also reduce hazards for your neighbours as long grass can harbor rodents such as rats and mice. When mowing your lawn, do so between 7am and 7pm (8am to 7pm on Sunday or Public Holiday) to avoid causing a noise nuisance and disturbing your neighbours.
It’s important to avoid keeping piles of cut vegetation as piles of grass clippings, branches and leaves can quickly become a fire hazard. Residents can dispose of their green waste for free at any of Isaac Regional Waste Management Facilities. To find a waste management facility near you visit Waste - Isaac Regional Council.
Before using fertilizers or pesticides check with your neighbour to see if anyone is sensitive to the type of fertilizer or pesticide you are using. In addition to being mindful of your neighbours also consider the weather before fertilizing. The best time to use fertilisers and pesticides is in low wind conditions to prevent it from blowing over your fence and effecting your neighbours.
Under the Isaac Regional Council Local Law No.3 (Community and Environmental Management) 2011(PDF, 3MB), Council can issue a compliance notice for overgrown allotments to be mowed.
Having pride in the appearance for your home is an important part of maintaining a pleasant property.
Storing your tools, building equipment, pool maintenance items and other objects in your garage or shed will help ensure that your yard does not become unsightly.
Isaac Regional Council does not have a kerbside collection service for car parts, used white goods, old furniture and other unwanted items. These items should be disposed of at one of Council’s Waste Management facilities or if suitable, donated to a nearby charity shop.
Kerbside collections of your red and yellow bins are a weekly and bi-weekly occurrence in the Isaac region, keep note of your bin days and remember to do the following;
- Keep meat in the freezer until bin day to reduce bad odours coming from your bin
- Be mindful of your neighbour's driveway when placing your bins by the kerb
- Bring your bins in following collection
Visit Kerbside collection - Isaac Regional Council for your red and yellow bin calendar.
Structures on our property should be maintained to ensure they don’t become a community safety hazard and pose a risk to the safety of yourself or your neighbours.
A community safety hazard is a fence or structure that poeses a significant risk of injuring a person or damaging property. Examples of community safety hazards are dilapidated buildings, lose sheets of iron hanging form a roof, damaged pool fencing, barbed wire or electric fencing adjoining public land and other structures that appear unsafe.
Council commonly sees community safety hazards appear on residential properties following a natural disaster event such as a storm. To minimise the potential of property damage during a natural disinter here’s three things you can do;
- Perform regular maintenance on your business, home and property as materials deteriorate over time
- Clear your property of dead trees or bushes, ensuring they are away from the house and power lines
- Secure loose outdoor items and garage vehicles
For more information about getting storm ready visit Get Ready Queensland.
Isaac regional council at time receives reports of neighbourhood nuisances.
The following example highlights how using your home in some ways can impact your neighbours.
A resident has decided to undertake wood working at home as a hobby. Neighbours have noticed the loud noises from the power tools early in the morning and late at night, with some days as late as 10:30pm. Council had received noise nuisance complaints for the property, Council met with the occupant to make them aware of their obligations and permitted hours for power tool usage.
Despite the work being a hobby, hobby enthusiasts still need be mindful of the impacts on their neighbourhood. Its best to speak with your neighbour as they may not be aware that their hobbies are impacting you as a neighbour.
Note: If you are being impacted by noise from your neighbours Council may be able to help, visit the Environmental Noise page for a list of common noise nuisance types and who to contact for help.
Parking politely and being considerate of your neighbours is one way you can foster a good sense of community in your neighbourhood.
When parking your car, bins or other items be mindful of the following:
- Consider not parking in front of someone’s bins it may be bin day for that home and your parked car may mean their bins can’t be emptied by the garbage truck
- Consider not parking in front of someone’s driveway or park in a way that restricts access to someone’s property
- Consider not placing your bins in front of someone’s driveway, this could restricts someone’s access to their property
- Consider not leaving shopping trollies in front of someone’s driveway or in a parking space, return trollies to a trolly collection bay
- Consider the position of your vehicle when parking near a footpath so that you aren’t blocking access for pedestrians including leaving sufficient room for wheelchair access to these areas
A non-maintained pool can pose several health and safety risks to the occupier and to neighbouring properties.
An unkept pool can be the subject of odour nuisance complaints or result in an environmental hazard that could lead to Council action.
An unkept pool may become a habitat to breeding mosquitos and other unwanted critters, posing a health hazard to neighbouring properties and to the occupier.
A leaky pool structure may lead to excessive soil moisture that can be smell musty and have an undesirable effect on the foundations of adjacent buildings.
If you are being impacted by a leaky or unkept pool you can inform Council by contacting 1300 ISAACS (1300 472 227).
Sitting around a small backyard firepit with family and friends is something we look forward to during the cooler months. However, backyard fires can quickly become an uncontrolled smoke nuisance if not controlled appropriately.
On private property in the Isaac Region, fires are only permitted outdoors in a fireplace which has been constructed to prevent the fire or any burning material from escaping, or if permitted by Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES).
Permitted fires can still cause problems, such as a smoke nuisance, for surrounding neighbours so steps should be taken to reduce the likelihood of a disturbance.
Avoiding smoke nuisance
To reduce the likelihood of creating a smoke nuisance it is recommended that:
- Clean firewood and kindling are used rather than using green waste to fuel a fire
- The burning of paints, hazardous chemicals, wet paper or cloth and sanitary napkins, is avoided as they release hazardous chemicals into the environment
- Burning wet or green vegetation is avoided as it smoulders and causes excessive smoke.
BBQ use is permitted in your backyard, however before using your BBQ consider the direction of any breeze that may be blowing and the impact of smoke on your neighbours’ health.
Tips to consider before lighting a fire
Council Local Law stipulates permitted fire lighting conditions see Isaac Regional Council Local Law No.3 (Community and Environmental Management) 2011(PDF, 3MB) and its subordinate. In accordance with the local law fires must:
- Not exceed 2m in height, width or length of material to be burned
- Be contained in a fireplace to prevent escape
- Comply with directives from QFES and Rural Fire Services on fire restrictions, bans and Permit conditions
- Not be in a public place, e.g. park, beach, roadside etc
If you are lighting a fire in your backyard, the following should be considered
- Obtain a QFES or Rural Fire Service (RFS) permit before a lighting a large fire
- Comply with all conditions of the permit
- Observe fire restrictions and fire bans on the QFES website
- Fires are less than 2 metres by 2 meters in size
- Recycle or reuse waste where possible
- Regular composting reduces the need for burning in the open air
- Take large branches or trees to Council Waste Management Facilities
- Make sure the fire is out before you leave
To learn more about having a fire in the Isaac region see Council’s Backyard Burning and Campfires factsheet(PDF, 780KB).
For more information on fire safety or to apply for a fire permit please visit the Queensland Government or the Rural Fire Service QLD in regards to all restrictions and policies placed in Queensland to improve fire safety.