Approvals

There are a number of trade-secrets when it comes to ensuring seamless granny flat approvals for our clients. Unlike new home construction, new granny flats must be approved with careful consideration of all existing infrastructure and assets on the lot. Expert knowledge of the following is critical in granny flat approvals:

    • Intimate knowledge of the NSW Secondary Dwelling (SEPP) Legislation
    • The Building Code of Australia and all relevant Australian Standards & Codes
    • All Local Council Policies for Drainage, Sewer connection and the local infrastructure

Careful reconnaissance of a property’s unique layout plays a major role in any new granny flat project. Failing to do this can affect the time it takes to complete the project and this lack of knowledge can result in very annoying and expensive changes to the approved plans. It is therefore vitally important that a granny flat company be intimately familiar with your property. Our staff are highly trained to know the legislation verbatim, to ensure that you maximise your profits whilst minimising any delays and costs.
Where others might demolish an ancillary structure (such as a garage) to make room for a new granny flat, our approvals team will carefully consider ways to preserve and even enhance existing assets in your back yard.
Serge Panayi is the industry-recognised granny flat approval expert. His experience and knowledge has helped our client’s minimise unnecessary costs which can be applied to quality inclusions instead of wasteful compliance costs. This places our clients at a distinct advantage.

BLOCK SIZE MINIMUM BLOCK WIDTH
450sqm – 900sqm 12 Meters
900sqm – 1500sqm 15 Meters
1500sqm+ 18 Meters

Additional Information

  • Block width is measured at the building line, this excludes battle-axe lots.
  • Battle-axe lots must have a laneway at least 3 meters in width and lot dimensions at least 12 meters x 12 meters excluding the access laneway.
  • Granny Flats must have lawful access to a public road.

BLOCK SIZE MIN FRONT SETBACK MIN REAR SETBACK MIN SIDE SETBACK
450sqm - 900sqm 4.5 Meters 3 Meters 0.9 Meters
900sqm - 1500sqm 6.5 Meters 5 Meters 1.5 Meters
1500sqm + 10 Meters 10 Meters 2.5 Meters

Additional Information

  • Secondary Dwellings exceeding 3.8 meters in height above natural ground levels incur one quarter the additional building height above 3.8 meters to the applicable side setback for the block size.
  • As above, exceeding 3.8 meters above natural ground level also incurs three times the additional building height above 3.8 meters, added to the rear setback. with a maximum setback of 8, 12 and 15 meters in order of the tables block size to the left.
  • Front Setback to be average of nearest 2x houses (within 40 mtrs); otherwise: see table.

BLOCK SIZE SITE COVERAGE TOTAL FLOOR AREA
Incl Granny Flat
MINIMUM LANDSCAPING
450M2 - 600M2 50% 330M2 20% ( 50% Behind Primary Dwelling Building Line )
600M2 - 900M2 40% 380M2 25% ( 50% Behind Primary Dwelling Building Line )
900M2 - 1500M2 30% 430M2 35% ( 50% Behind Primary Dwelling Building Line )
1500M2 + 30% 430M2 45% ( 50% Behind Primary Dwelling Building Line )