If you got here because you are researching the possibility of subdividing your property, you may also be interested in these articles:
- Subdividing land in Victoria: The 5 tests your property must pass
- Dual Occupancy Subdivision: A tale of two developments
Alternatively, if you are ready to start the subdivision/development process you may wish to consider our:
- Preliminary Development Assessment service.
Thanks for visiting and we hope you enjoy the following post!
In an earlier article, Subdividing land in Victoria: The 5 tests your property must pass, we described the “300 m2 per lot rule of thumb” that Town Planners generally like to use.
What if you wanted to fit more dwellings on your block than the “300 m2 per lot rule of thumb” would allow?
Is it possible to break this rule of thumb?
What is the minimum size of land to subdivide in Victoria?
In 2008, we were approached by a client who wished to subdivide and develop their 930 m2 block, located in Melbourne’s South East, into three double storey luxury townhouses.
With the project clearly within the “300 m2 per lot rule of thumb”, we immediately approached Council with a high level Land Use Plan, confident that the three townhouse proposal would gain Council support.
Not only did Council Town Planners like what we had proposed, they strongly suggested that we increase the development density to four dwellings on the site.
Why was the “300 m2 per lot rule of thumb” able to be broken?
The primary reason was that the site fell within the Local Council’s residential housing diversity policy that defined targeted areas for Council Town Planners to permit higher density developments.
The secondary reason was that the Land Use Plan was open ended enough that our Town Planner felt that they could significantly contribute to the direction of the development – and have their feedback incorporated.
As an aside: imagine for a moment that you’re the Town Planner involved. If someone, came to you after spending thousands of dollars and months of work on a beautiful, finished set of compliant plans for three townhouses and now requires a Planning Permit asap, would you have the heart to suggest to them that they could, in fact, repeat the entire process and fit four townhouses? Or would you simply grant their desire, approve the three and move on?
By using Land Use Plans, we were able to pass on the good news to the client at the start of the process before they had spent any money on a full set of Town Planning plans.
Conclusion
Generally speaking, Town Planners like to use the “300 m2 per lot rule of thumb” to determine the minimum size of land to subdivide in Victoria.
However depending on State & Local planning policy, a site’s acceptable development density can fall over or under this rule.
To find out, approach Council Town Planners as early as possible with your proposal.
Come well researched with high level Town Planning compliant plans but don’t wait until your plans are perfect and final.
Go in with an open mind and be prepared to collaborate with council on an outcome that is mutually beneficial.
You never know – you just might be surprised.
SUBDIVIDING LAND IN VICTORIA?
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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
thank you
You’re very welcome!
Hope this information helps.
What sort of development have you got in mind?
Adam
Hi Adam, im sorry for the very late reply(!)
I just found this thread via google only to find you replied to me!
I have a 1060sqm block which I have permits to be subdivided into 2 lots.
One lot is to be 501 sqm, the other 549 sqm
I would like to build a single dwelling on one and 2 small townhouses (divided by fire proof wall) on the other if this is possible.
Is there any way I could email you the subdivision and ask for your feed back?
Any light you could shed would be much appreciated
Keep up the great work
All good … until you deal with the Knox council in Boronia, where for some reason don’t allow any subdivision below 500m2 per block. Why does the rule of thumb of 300m2 not apply there?
Hi Kenneth,
You make a very good point.
If only planning law could be reduced down to one rule – that would save a lot of heartache!
The reality is that the 300m2 rule of thumb is the ‘bare minimum’ starting point to not be fighting an uphill battle in the planner’s mind for subdividing land (obviously different when talking about apartments).
From this starting point, then further state and local and even immediate neighbourhood considerations need to be taken into account.
No doubt Knox council has specific local planning policies for your property that they consider important and must be factored in.
If you haven’t read it already, this article might shed further light on why the 300m2 rule applies (or not) to your property:
Subdividing Land in Victoria: The 5 tests your property must pass
Thanks for your question,
Adam
Thank you for giving so much information.
3 friends and I want to build 3 units – how much land do we need per lot?
Thank you
Hi there,
Without knowing anything about your land, its always difficult to say.
The reason is that every single property is different and has its own unique constraints that apply (even 2 ‘identical’ side by side properties can have different constraints that must be addressed).
If you are considering a development, may we suggest our Property Development Assessment service? Here we summarise all the unique constraints that apply to your site and also let you know the likelihood of obtaining a planning permit that achieves your goal (in this case, 3 units).
Thanks again for your comment – let me know if I can help further.
Adam
Hi there,
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. My partner and I are wondering what the implications are for subdividing a block (which is under a relative’s name) are. ie. CGT or transfer of title?
We have actually seeked a property designer who had designed what he envisaged but did not mention anything about the title being under the relative’s name. Would have thought it to be an issue of selling/purchasing the block.
Thanks
Monica
Hi Monica,
If I understand your question right, you are subdividing a block on behalf of your relative who owns the block?
Although we can assist with the subdivision, we are not tax accountants and can’t give advice regarding your CGT situation.
However that said, subdivision won’t result in CGT until the time comes to sell. So if your relative subdivides their block yet still owns both subdivided blocks – there will be no CGT. CGT will apply once they sell the block (to yourself perhaps?)
This article (from the Australian Tax Office) might help but (as always) you should see your accountant to find out how this applies in your specific situation.
http://www.ato.gov.au/corporate/content.asp?doc=/content/86198.htm
Thanks for your question – hope this helps.
Adam
Hi, I understand that as a rule of thumb, we need to have 300sqm per townhouse. But can I be confident of securing approval for two townhouses on a 590sqm land if the land is a corner plot?
I heard that with corner plots, the council is usually more lenient as the two townshouses can be accessed from separate driveways. Can you shed any light on this?
Thanks,
Mandeep
Hi Mandeep,
That’s a great question!
As you can understand, the 300m2 per lot rule of thumb is just that – a rule of thumb that is a ‘first impression’ the minute you mention your proposal to a planner.
Corner lots do indeed have the advantage of the possibility of separate driveways – however you do need to factor in traffic issues with this benefit. Is one or both roads a main road? If so can a car enter/exit the main road safely?
The smallest corner lot dual occupancy we have developed was on 550m2 block, however our case was helped by the fact that one of the roads was a service lane (ie. no through traffic).
As always, we would suggest talking with your Council planner as early as possible, letting them know your intentions and then working with them to produce a design outcome that suits both parties.
On a related note…
Corner lots offer another advantage: The Side Setback.
Under Clause 55.03-1 Standard B6, Corner lots are allowed to have a Side Setback of the abutting neighbour’s front wall setback *OR* 2m – whichever is *lesser*. On a ‘regular’ (non-corner) block, the minimum front wall setback would normally be the abutting neighbour’s front wall setback OR at least 4 metres and possibly up to 9 metres!
In English, this means that Corner lots offer the possibility of a larger building envelope – giving you a few more design options than you might think you actually have!
Hope this answers your question – let us know how you go with your proposal! I would be interested in following your progress.
Thanks for your question and all the best with your development,
Adam