Council sizes up issue – Community input sought on minimum lot sizes

Published Date
08/03/2018
News Topic
Planning & Development, Council
Lot sizes community consultation

Residents and property owners are encouraged to have their say on lot sizes and dual occupancies as part of Council’s community consultation on minimum lot sizes and subdivision standards for residential development in the R2 Low Density Residential zone.

Randwick Mayor Lindsay Shurey said this is an important issue for the community and encouraged everyone to have their say.

“We have recently been approached by a number of people raising concerns about financial hardship caused by banks tightening their lending practices on company title dual occupancies. As a result, residents have been requesting consideration of reducing Council’s minimum lot sizes to permit greater subdivision of attached dual occupancies.

“This is an important issue for the whole community as any change to these standards would potentially have an impact on many properties and affect the future character and amenity of Randwick City.

Under the Randwick Local Environmental Plan 2012 (RLEP), the minimum lot size for properties in an R2 Low Density Residential zone is 400sqm.

This means that for a block of land to be subdivided into Torrens or Strata Title, it must be 800sqm or larger so the resulting lots following subdivision are a minimum 400sqm. There are other requirements that also apply such as the resulting lots having a minimum frontage of 12m or more.

Dual occupancies are permitted on blocks 450sqm or larger provided other conditions such as frontage sizes are met too. Dual occupancies provide for a greater range of housing choice, particularly for larger families, ageing parents or to allow families to live close together – however they cannot be subdivided unless they meet the minimum lot size.

Some owners of dual occupancies have converted properties to company title to sell the two homes separately. Company title is a form of housing title that does not require Council approval. However company title properties have historically been subject to tighter lending from banks and consequently are more affordable.

There are currently 688 dual occupancies in the Randwick City low density residential zone and of these 137 are company title. The majority of dual occupancies in Randwick City are located in Chifley, Matraville, Little Bay, Malabar and La Perouse.

Residents and properties are encouraged to find out more information about the issue on the consultation website and consider making a submission.

Community Forum

Council is hosting an open forum available to everyone to attend and to share your stories, experiences and opinions.

Register to speak: www.yoursay.randwick.nsw.gov.au/LotSizeReviewor phone Emese Wolf on 9093 6824 by 5pm, Friday 23 March.

The consultation is open for eight weeks from 9 March 2018 to 4 May 2018.

Have your say and more information: www.yoursay.randwick.nsw.gov.au/LotSizeReview

Last Updated: 1 March 2022
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