Brisbane Dual Occ

Looking for a little help with this. Over the last few years I have been doing a few granny flats in NSW which have worked out well. Now looking at other markets to do similar developments. I have my eye on Brisbane at the moment.

I know renting out granny flats is not allowed in Brissy so im investigating buying a good sized block (600m2+) close as possible to the city and plonking another house on the same lot. What is the minimum lot size to do something like this? It would be good to be able to subdivide later but from what I understand you need a block over 800m2 to make this possible in Brissy no?

 

First thing you need to know is there are two councils there (well there are more, but two main ones).

BCC (the one that is close to the CBD) - nope, forget it. Kill the dream. Move on.
Logan CC - much easier, there are plenty of threads on Somersoft about this that you can look up.

 

Yeah I know of the different councils, obviously yes I'm looking at Brisbane CC as I like to be as close to the action as possible. No Dual Occ in BCC then?

 

BCC, REDLAND, MORETON BAY council won't let you do granny flat equivalent to nsw... 800m2 with 20m frontage for splitter subdivision in those councils.

Otherwise further out in IPSWICH, LCC council allows granny flat

 

hi RR, not trying to do a granny flat. Just a Dual Occ. 2x houses on 1x title with potential to subdivide down the track.

 

Maybe a 600m2 lot that is 200m from a town centre. It's rare as hens teeth, even if you found one unlikely there is access to rear that you can retain and build though.

Good luck

 

Don't you need to obtain subdivision approval prior to building a second dwelling on the block?

 

@Biz min 600 or 900 is requirement.

be mind of full of subdivision cost in Brisbane....could cost 70 to 90k... not cheap...

Also, your plan may not work... as @beachgurl said.. you need to apply for subdivision prior to building.

unless you create sort of attached dwellings with view of subdividing later.

 

Hey Biz
I disagree with the above. You can definitely do dual occupancy in Brisbane without subdividing. In fact by definition "dual occupancy" is 2 dwellings on 1 lot. If you subdivided before construction they wouldn't be considered "dual occupancy" but "dwelling houses".

You will need to look at the following areas:
Character residential (Infill housing) - Minimum lot size 800sqm (min frontage 20m);
Low–medium density residential - Minimum lot size 600sqm (min frontage 15m);

 

Just wondering, anybody know much about dual key options in the Brisbane region for each of the council areas?
Ie. Two homes in 1 building

 

@RPI - could you apply your guruness to this thread, please?

 

Thanks for the kudos Perp

My law firm is running a large action against the BCC on this sort of issue. It has been through various iterations of multiple court cases over 3 years or so now and is not going away yet. Both planning practice and law firm have been dealing with quite a lot of show cause notices, entry warrants and investigations into dual living type arrangements. BCC hates them and seems very happy to spend significant sums on investigation and enforcement so would not be going down this route without following the rules.

Renting out 2 separate dwellings, eg granny flats to separate households is not permitted under the House Code in BCC. You may be able to structure something like this under the Rooming Accommodation Code although this will also trigger a requirement to have the building classification changed from 1(a) to 1(b). Note that 1(b) buildings are not exempt from disability access requirements and will usually require some modifications to meet them. Under rooming accom you can rent up to 5 different people on different leases without having to get a DA, 6 or more will require a DA and need to be near an area of need (eg train station, hospital, education facility).

LMR sites under 600m2 anywhere or LDR sites of 600m2 within 200 m of 2000m2 of Centre Zoned Land would be my pick for dual occupancy. Note that there is a dual occupancy code in BCC for LDR areas but it requires a min of 3000m2 of land and you could build more units or townhouses on the same site so not economically viable.

Titling is separate to use, so you can have dual occ on 1 title most people just do it all at one time.

 

So is it true to say that you could put two dwellings on an LDR, you're just limited to having both dwellings used by one household?