NSW home types: dual occupancy (duplex)
Two homes on one R2 lot? The Housing SEPP permits dual occupancies with consent in R2 across NSW, except on excluded land (Housing SEPP ss 164, 166). In NSW planning, a dual occupancy is two dwellings on one lot of land, attached or detached; a granny flat doesn't count (Standard Instrument Dictionary).
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Video transcript
What is a dual occupancy, or duplex? In NSW planning, the term has a precise meaning.
A dual occupancy is two dwellings on one lot of land. They can be attached to each other, or detached. A granny flat doesn't count: that's a secondary dwelling.
Where are they allowed? Mostly, the council's local environmental plan, or LEP, decides. But the Housing SEPP also permits them with consent in the R2 Low Density Residential zone across NSW, except on excluded land, such as bushfire-prone land and heritage items.
Under the Low Rise Housing Diversity Code, a one or two storey dual occupancy may be carried out as complying development, with a complying development certificate, or CDC. Key standards: a parent lot of 400 m², or the LEP minimum if larger, 15 metres wide in most cases, and 8.5 metres high.
In areas covered by the NSW Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy, or LMR, a development application, or DA, has non-refusal standards: a 450 m² lot, 12 metres wide, a floor space ratio of 0.65 to 1, and 9.5 metres high. For Torrens subdivision: 225 m² and 6 metres per lot, and no battle-axe lots.
So on an R2 site, a dual occupancy may be a real option, and in an LMR area a DA gets those non-refusal standards. It may also be carried out as complying development, subject to a s 10.7 planning certificate and registered certifier sign-off. Some NSW Planning guidance pages still say the council's LEP must permit it, so raise this with your registered certifier early.
Check your site with SN Architects, at snarchitects.com.au.
Key points
In Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy (LMR) areas, a development application gets non-refusal standards of a 450 m² lot, 12 m width, 0.65:1 and 9.5 m (s 168).
As complying development, the lot needs at least 400 m² (or the LEP's dual occupancy minimum where higher) and 15 m wide at the building line, or 12 m if parking is from a lane or secondary road (Codes SEPP cl 3B.8).
A dual occupancy may be carried out as complying development under the Low Rise Housing Diversity Code, except on excluded land (Housing SEPP s 164), subject to a s 10.7 planning certificate and registered certifier sign-off.
Some NSW Planning guidance pages still say the council's LEP must permit it, so raise this with your registered certifier early.
Check your site
Check your site with SN Architects
www.snarchitects.com.au | info@snarchitects.com.au
As at and sources
General information only, not planning advice. Current as at October 2026 (Housing SEPP 2021 and Codes SEPP 2008 as in force from 11 September 2026).
Sources: NSW Legislation, https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au
Based on content from the New South Wales Legislation website at 8 October 2026. For the latest information on New South Wales Government legislation please go to https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au.
Narration: AI-generated voice
Disclaimer
This is general information only, not planning, legal or financial advice, and it is not an assessment of any particular property. Planning rules change and every site is different. Before relying on it, obtain a section 10.7 planning certificate for your property and advice from a qualified town planner or registered certifier. To the extent permitted by law, SN Architects accepts no liability for any loss arising from reliance on this information. Information current as at October 2026. © SN Architects 2026.
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