The latest provisions, which apply to all residential buildings submitted for approval after May 1, 2019, include a range of requirements to mitigate the effects of condensation.

Singleton Council's manager development and environment Mary-Anne Crawford said the new conditions have implications to the design and construction of residential buildings, as well as applications for construction and complying development certificates.

"Council wants to ensure all tradespeople are aware that while these residential construction requirements don't apply to our neighbours in Cessnock or Maitland, they do apply to Singleton as our local government area (LGA) sits in a separate climate zone (6)," she explained.

"The new condensation management provisions aim to limit the amount of condensation that can accumulate within a building, by requiring water vapour to be extracted to a point external to the building.

"What that means is vapour control barriers, exhaust systems and ventilation of roof spaces have to be considered during applications for Construction Certificates and Complying Development Certificates.

"And, it's crucial that the correct pliable building membrane be chosen and properly installed, as well as the ventilation requirements properly addressed.

"Our Building Certifiers will be looking for this during inspections - we need to ensure the installed product complies with Australian Standards.

"At this stage, our certifiers will review the installation of vapour and condensation barriers during the framing inspection - this avoids the need of a separate inspection that would attract an additional fee."

To prepare builders and designers, council has prepared a document to outline the new requirements as well as the relevant parts of Volume 2 of BCA 2019 and extracts from Australian Standards (AS4200.1 and AS4200.2).

For more information and to view the document, visit http://www.singleton.nsw.gov.au/condensationandvapourcontrol