NSW home types: manor house (small two-storey apartment building)
What is a manor house? In NSW planning, it's a residential flat building with three or four dwellings, no more than two storeys, and at least one dwelling above another (Codes SEPP cl 1.5).
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Video transcript
What is a manor house? In NSW planning, it's a small apartment building with strict limits.
A manor house is a residential flat building with three or four dwellings, and no more than two storeys, not counting a basement. Each dwelling is attached to another by a common wall or floor, and at least one sits partly or wholly above another.
NSW Planning notes manor houses have historically had two dwellings downstairs and two directly above, at the scale of an oversized two-storey house.
The Codes SEPP permits manor houses with consent in RU5, R1, R2 and R3, wherever multi dwelling housing or residential flat buildings are permitted in that zone. And in LMR areas, the Housing SEPP permits residential flat buildings, including manor houses, in R2 and R3.
Under the Low Rise Housing Diversity Code, a manor house may be carried out as complying development: a lot of 600 m², or the LEP minimum if larger, 15 metres wide, and up to 8.5 metres high. The Pattern Book also has a manor house design.
For a DA in an LMR area in R1 or R2, the non-refusal standards are 500 m², 12 metres wide, 0.8 to 1, and 9.5 metres. So in an LMR area, a manor house may be a real option for an R2 site, and may 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 NSW Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy (LMR) areas, residential flat buildings, including manor houses, are permitted with consent in R2 and R3, except on excluded land (Housing SEPP s 164) (s 174).
A manor house may be carried out as complying development, except on excluded land (Housing SEPP s 164), on a lot of at least 600 m² (or the LEP minimum where higher) and 15 m wide (Codes SEPP cl 3B.21), 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.
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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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