There are exciting duplex development changes coming which signal increasing opportunities for homeowners or investors looking at duplexes. Over the past decade in NSW, there has been a significant decrease in housing availability. The NSW Government has begun to look at avenues to alleviate this shortage and one of the first initiatives is to allow the development of dual occupancy across the state. For homeowners in Sydney, this is a great time to consider the value of potentially developing a dual occupancy for investment (or family) purposes.

What are Dual Occupancies?

Dual occupancies are a development where two dwellings are built on one block of land (either attached or detached). In these cases, each dwelling can be separately owned and titled unlike a secondary dwelling (granny flat, studio, etc). They also generally sit on separate subdivisions of the same lot. Subdivision applications won’t be changed by these laws and must still meet relevant council regulations.

What changes are happening?

There are two phases of changes that are happening to encourage the development of Dual Occupancies. The first stage will be allowing these builds in all R2 zoned areas (low density residential) via Development Application (DA). This stage is already in place across the state as of July 1^st, 2024.

The second stage will see dual occupancies allowed under Complying Development (CDC) via Private Certification. This stage will be implemented at different times by each council (some already have) and notified when they happen.

As an example, here is the announcement from Hornsby Council (the council where our Head Office is located) which details the changes as well as a timeline for Phase 2.

What if I already own my home?

If you are already a homeowner, this is an opportunity to consider whether your land has more value as it is or as a dual occupancy which allows you to sell or rent out the second dwelling.

In Sydney’s more affluent northern suburbs where lots are often very big, two houses could exceed double the value of a single lot. This is the first time this is a possibility in these suburbs, so it is worth considering. Knowing that CDC approvals are coming means you can begin considering and planning for when those changes come into operation rather than delay.

If you don’t want to deal with building (or can’t afford to build two houses) but want to benefit, you can always make the application to subdivide and then sell the property with the approval in place for someone who does want to develop the home. The value of an already subdivided property is significantly higher in most cases.

Do these changes affect me building Granny Flats?

These rules have no impact at all on secondary dwellings at all. If you are interested in building a granny flat, studio, or similar then make sure to reach out to our sister company Granny Flat Solutions.

Hopefully this has helped provide some introductory information about dual occupancy and the upcoming changes for you. If you are interested in having your property assessed both practically and feasibly for the upcoming duplex development changes, make sure to head to our contact page and our experts will get in you with you to discuss.