A Dwelling House is the term used to describe a standalone house. A Dwelling House is occupied by a single household and can include associated domestic outbuildings such as a carport or shed.

A Secondary Dwelling is part of a Dwelling House and usually only requires a building and plumbing approval, as long as it meets the requirements to show that it is a ‘genuine’ Secondary Dwelling.

A Secondary Dwelling can only be associated with a Dwelling House, not any other form of dwelling (for example, Dual Occupancy, Multiple Dwelling, Caretaker’s Accommodation).

A Secondary Dwelling is used in conjunction with and is subordinate to, a Dwelling House on the same lot – for example, a granny flat, teenager’s retreat or relative’s apartment. Previously, secondary dwellings needed to be occupied by people that are part of the same household that would normally reside in the primary dwelling. This requirement, however, was temporarily changed by the State Government on 29 September 2022 to allow Secondary Dwellings to be rented to a separate household*.

It is important to note that whilst a Secondary Dwelling can now be rented to a separate household; there are several other requirements that need to be met for it to be considered a Secondary Dwelling. If you are proposing any of the following, it’s likely that the development is not a Secondary Dwelling, and instead a Dual Occupancy -

• Separate utility connections
• Separate driveway, mailbox and/or wheelie bins
• Separate titling on a body corporate
• Separate street address and/or meter connections.

Please be aware that if the Secondary Dwelling is not genuine it could be defined as a Dual Occupancy and be subject to separate requirements, approvals and infrastructure charges.

Any Secondary Dwelling that does not satisfy the requirements for accepted development will typically require development approval from Council. You can refer to the ‘Dual Occupancy’ heading in this article for further clarification.

* NOTE: The amendment to the Planning Regulation came into effect on Monday 29th September 2022. This amendment removed the restriction of how members of a household live together. This recognised that the relationships of occupants in a dwelling and how they interact with one another should not be considered in a planning assessment of how land is used. This amendment will be reviewed in three years by the State Government.

A Dual Occupancy is a premises containing two dwellings on one lot (whether attached or detached) for two households. A Dual Occupancy may be a “duplex” (two dwellings with a common wall), two new freestanding dwellings or even a new dwelling built in the yard of an existing dwelling.

Dual Occupancies allow for each dwelling to be separately serviced or sub-metered.

Multiple Dwellings contains three or more dwellings for separate households. Examples of a Multiple Dwelling include apartments, flats, units, townhouses, row or terrace housing and triplexes.

A Multiple Dwelling does not include Rooming Accommodation, Dual Occupancy, Duplex, Secondary Dwelling, Residential Care Facility or Retirement Facility.