NSW home types: residential flat building (apartments)
What is a residential flat building? In NSW planning, it's a building with three or more dwellings that isn't an attached dwelling, co-living housing or multi dwelling housing (Standard Instrument Dictionary). Manor houses are the smallest kind.
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Video transcript
What is a residential flat building? It's the planning term for an apartment building.
A residential flat building is a building with three or more dwellings. It doesn't include attached dwellings, co-living housing or multi dwelling housing. A manor house is a small residential flat building: three or four dwellings over no more than two storeys.
Every LEP must permit residential flat buildings with consent in R1 and R4. In LMR areas, the Housing SEPP also permits them with consent in R2 and R3. Buildings of three or more storeys with at least four dwellings also fall under the Housing SEPP's apartment design chapter.
In LMR areas in R1 and R2, the non-refusal standards are a 500 m² lot, 12 metres wide, 0.8 to 1, and 9.5 metres. In R3 and R4, within 400 metres' walk of a station or town centre, they're 2.2 to 1 and 22 metres, up to six storeys. From 400 to 800 metres, 1.5 to 1 and 17.5 metres, up to four.
Apart from manor houses, which may be carried out as complying development, apartment buildings go through a development application. There's also the NSW mid-rise Pattern Book: published designs; the small-lot and corner designs are for TOD and LMR areas. They're assessed as a DA with some standards switched off.
So in an LMR area, an apartment building may now be possible on R2 or R3 land where the council's plan didn't allow one, subject to a s 10.7 planning certificate and development consent.
Check your site with SN Architects, at snarchitects.com.au.
Key points
In NSW Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy (LMR) areas, apartment buildings are permitted with consent in R2 and R3, except on excluded land (Housing SEPP s 164) (s 174), with non-refusal standards that step up from 9.5 m in R1 and R2 to 22 m within 400 m walk of a station or town centre in R3 and R4 (ss 163, 179–180).
Apartments may now be possible on R2 or R3 land where the local plan didn't allow them, subject to a s 10.7 planning certificate and development consent.
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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