wadalba duplex

Dual Occupancy Design on the Central Coast

The Central Coast Council has now merged the Development Control Plans (DCP) and Local Environmental Plans for Wyong and Gosford. Most of it remains the same as the former Wyong DCP, which is good news for the former Gosford Local Governement Area (LGA) residents. Dual Occupancies are now permitted in R2 Low Density Residential Areas. Go to Mecone Mosaic mapping and click on your property to see what zoning it has, the example below has the zoning shown highlighted in yellow.

The following land zonings permit Low Density Residential: R1, R2, R3, R5, RU2, RU6, C3 and C4. 

This means that subject to council approval you could be able to create a dual occupancy on your site. You'll then need to comply with the DCP requirements for dual occupancies which can be found here. These dual occupancies can then be subdivided into torrens title land that is smaller than the minimim lot size if it is in a residential zone.

In general here are the site constraints for dual occupancies:

Height: as per the details found in the LEP maps or Mecone mapping below (below Land Zoning highlighted in yellow) or if it is not on an LEP map 10m

Floor Space Ratio (FSR): 0.5:1. This means that the floor area cannot exceed half of the site.

Slope: Dual Occupancy is unlikely to be supported on a site with a slope of 25% or more. Note - a rough way to determine your slope is to go to your measure tool in your iphone and slide it over to slope, it will give you a rough idea of if the site meets the parameters, although a survey will be nessesary to check that it does.

Minimum Lot size: 

Minimum Width for Complying Duplexes:

12m where there is rear lane access, 15m where there is not.

Soft Landscaping: 25% must be soft landscaping, planted with grass or trees and not be paved or concreted

Private Open Space (POA): 45m² with a minimum dimension of 4.5m

Solar Access: POAs of the proposal and neighbouring POA must receive a minimum 3 hours solar access on June 21 between 9am and 3pm

Parking: 3 bed or less: 1 carpark, 4 bed or more: 2 carparks

Deep Soil: 12.5%

Setbacks:

Front: the average of the two nearest properties or if there are none within 40: 4.5m. Setbacks to classified roads are 7.5m and roads where the road reserve is less then 6m wide: 6m

Side: up to 4.5m high—0.9m, and for more than 4.5m—0.9m plus one-quarter of the height of the building above 4.5m

Rear setback: 4.5m to another property or 3m to a road or reserve.

Garage: 5.5m or 7.5m to a clasified road

Corner allotments: 2m + allow for traffic sightlines

Note: there are different requirements for dual occupancies in RU2, RU6, C3 and C4 zones, for access to the DCP for Dual Occupancies click here.

Bushfire and Flooding

Check if you are prone to flooding or bushfire. If you are prone to flooding you will need to get a flood information certificate. If you are bushfire prone, you will need to get a bushfire report. Here is a guide to finding out if your site is subject to flooding. Here is a guide to find out if your site is prone to bushfires.

Can I create two Torrens Title lots for my Dual Occupancy?

On the Central Coast, so long as there are enough services for each lot and they meet the requirements below you may be able to create two Torrens title lots, through and application to Central Coast Council. 

4.1C   Exceptions to minimum lot sizes for dual occupancies

(1)  The objectives of this clause are as follows—

(a)  to provide opportunities for affordable housing in appropriate locations,

(b)  to encourage housing diversity without adversely affecting residential amenity.

(2)  This clause applies to land in the following zones—

(a)  Zone R1 General Residential,

(b)  Zone R2 Low Density Residential.

(3)  A single development consent may be granted for development on land to which this clause applies if the development application is for both of the following—

(a)  the erection of a dual occupancy,

(b)  the subdivision of the land into 2 lots that are both smaller than the minimum size shown on the Lot Size Map.

(4)  Development consent may also be granted to the subdivision of land to which this clause applies if—

(a)  a dual occupancy has been lawfully erected on the land, and

(b)  the subdivision will result in 2 lots that are both smaller than the minimum size shown on the Lot Size Map.

Dual Occupancies - the Approval Process

Here are the steps you will need to take to get approval to build a dual occupancy. There are two stages for the approval process: Development Application and Construction Certificate. Both need to be completed before building can start.

Part A - Pre-DA

Before lodging the DA it is a good idea to talk to council to see if what you are thinking of is viable or has any issues that need to be resolved.

https://www.centralcoast.nsw.gov.au/plan-and-build/development-applications/pre-development-meetings

Part B - DA

After going to a pre-DA meeting with council and resolving any issues they bring up, its time to bring other consultants on board to create Development Application documents.


Part B - Apply for a CC


Alternative - Complying Development: CDC

If your site meets all the requirements it may be possible to do a Complying Development (CDC). These requirements are very similar to the Central Coast Council requirements for dual occupancies. The main reason you would submit a DA/ CC instead if a CDC is if there was something in the site that meant it did not comply, common causes of this are the site being flood prone or bushfire prone, these can be checked on Council's Central Coast Online Mapping. A CDC basically combines the steps of a DA and CC into one process that takes a lot less time to get approved.


The above is the minimum required to start building and is fine if you are only building an envelope and plan to do the interior fitout yourself. If you intend to get the builder to do everything, it is best to get a detailed design done as it means that the builder can price everything accurately and there are less items with a builders margin.


Detailed Design/ Interior Design/ Tender Set


The consultants mentioned above have been good to work with in the past, we can't guarantee how your experience with them will go in the future though, it often depends on the person you are working with and what is happening with them as well. We have mentioned them only because our past experience with them has been positive, we cannot guarantee anyone else's will be.