Dual occupancy and Torrens subdivision under Georges River LEP 2021

In the Georges River local government area a dual occupancy needs a lot of at least 650 square metres with a 15 metre width at the front building line under Clause 4.1B of Georges River Local Environmental Plan 2021, and it can be split into two Torrens lots of at least 300 square metres each under Clause 4.1A, rising to 430 square metres per lot inside the Foreshore Scenic Protection Area. Inside that foreshore area the parent lot must also be at least 1,000 square metres before a dual occupancy can be approved at all. Georges River Development Control Plan 2021 then sets the setbacks, landscaping and parking that shape the design. This article gives investors the numbers, the clauses and the traps for Hurstville, Kogarah, Penshurst, Oatley, Blakehurst, Peakhurst and the rest of the St George area.

Who this is for: investors assessing a Georges River block for a duplex and two Torrens titles, who need to check the block against the LEP and DCP numbers before they sign a contract.

What lot size and width does Georges River LEP 2021 require for a dual occupancy?

Clause 4.1B(2) of Georges River LEP 2021 prohibits consent to a dual occupancy in Zone R2 Low Density Residential, Zone R3 Medium Density Residential or Zone R4 High Density Residential unless the lot area is at least 650 square metres and the width of the lot at the front building line is at least 15 metres. Clause 4.1B(4) then adds that an attached dual occupancy with both dwellings facing the primary road needs a 15 metre width, and Clause 4.1B(5) requires a detached dual occupancy to have a width of 18 metres if only one dwelling faces the primary road, or 22 metres otherwise. Clause 4.1B(6) excludes the area of any access handle or right of carriageway from the lot size calculation.

What it means in practice: the classic 15.24 metre by 42.67 metre St George lot of about 650 square metres just qualifies for an attached duplex, but not for a side by side detached pair, and not at all if it is a few square metres under after the surveyor measures it. The common mistake is relying on the area shown on the contract or the rates notice. Get a registered surveyor’s plan before you exchange, because 648 square metres is a refusal and Clause 4.6 variations to a minimum lot size are rarely supported for a two square metre shortfall that could have been avoided by buying a different block.

How does Torrens subdivision work under Clause 4.1A?

Clause 4.1A(2) of Georges River LEP 2021 says that despite Clauses 4.1 and 4.1B, consent may be granted to subdivide land in the R2, R3 or R4 zone if there is a lawfully erected or proposed dual occupancy on the land and each resulting lot will be at least 300 square metres, or, in the Foreshore Scenic Protection Area, at least 430 square metres. Clause 4.1A(3) again excludes access handles and rights of carriageway from the calculation. The council’s Local Planning Panel material and the DCP describe these as the unified lot sizes that apply to dual occupancy subdivision across the former Hurstville and Kogarah council areas, which had different rules before the 2021 plan.

The wording matters for how you lodge. Because the clause refers to a dual occupancy that “is proposed on the land”, a single DA can seek consent for the two dwellings and the Torrens subdivision at the same time, which is the usual way to run a duplex project in Georges River. The subdivision certificate is issued after the occupation certificate, once the works conditions are satisfied, and the two lots are registered with NSW Land Registry Services. Clause 4.1B(1)(e) also flags that where an existing lot is short on area or width the council expects consolidation of two or more lots rather than a variation.

The trap here is the rear lot in a battle-axe configuration. A 650 square metre block split front and back needs both lots to reach 300 square metres after the access handle is taken out. A 3.5 metre handle over 20 metres removes 70 square metres, so a 650 square metre block often ends up with a rear lot of about 290 square metres and fails. Side by side layouts avoid the problem but need the wider frontage.

What changes inside the Foreshore Scenic Protection Area?

Three things change. First, Clause 4.1B(3) says consent must not be granted to a dual occupancy in the Foreshore Scenic Protection Area unless the lot is at least 1,000 square metres as shown on the Lot Size for Dual Occupancy Map. Second, Clause 4.1A(2)(b) lifts the subdivided lot minimum to 430 square metres each. Third, Clause 6.6 requires the council to be satisfied, before granting consent, that the development protects topography, rock formations and canopy vegetation, achieves no net loss of significant vegetation or habitat, avoids clearing steep slopes, minimises impact on views to and from the Georges River, and steps the building down the slope to reduce height and bulk.

Clause 6.12 also raises the landscaped area requirement. Outside the foreshore area a dual occupancy or semi-detached dwelling must keep 25 per cent of the site as landscaped area or natural rock outcrop; inside it the figure is 30 per cent (dwelling houses are 20 and 25 per cent). Clause 6.4 adds a foreshore building line on mapped land, where new building forward of the line is generally limited to replacement of an existing footprint. The Foreshore Scenic Protection Area Map covers a large part of Oatley, Blakehurst, Connells Point, Kyle Bay, Sans Souci, Lugarno and the river frontages of Peakhurst Heights and Mortdale, so check the map on the NSW Planning Portal before assuming the standard 650 square metre rule applies.

What does Georges River DCP 2021 require for the design?

Part 6.1 of Georges River DCP 2021 covers dwellings, dual occupancies and secondary dwellings in the low density areas, and Section 6.1.3 is the dual occupancy chapter. The controls that most often decide whether a duplex fits are:

• A maximum of two storeys over a basement at any point above existing ground level, with basements no more than 1 metre above ground and no larger than the parking, ramp, 10 square metres of storage and 20 square metres of plant they serve.
• Front setback of 4.5 metres to the main building wall and 5.5 metres to the garage door, or the prevailing street setback if that is greater (the average of the two adjoining dwellings each side).
• Side setbacks of 1.2 metres for ground and first floor, or 1.5 metres in the Foreshore Scenic Protection Area, so a detached side by side pair needs 2.4 metres (or 3 metres) between dwellings.
• Rear setback of 15 per cent of the average site length or 6 metres, whichever is greater, for side by side layouts.
• For a battle-axe layout, a rear setback of 4 metres for the front lot, 6 metres for the rear lot, a 2 metre front setback for the rear dwelling giving 6 metres separation, and 1.2 metres between the front dwelling and the access handle.
• Corner sites: 3 metres to the secondary street and 5.5 metres to any garage accessed from it.
• Solar access of 3 hours between 9 am and 3 pm on 21 June to living room windows and half the private open space, for the new dwellings and for the neighbours, with shadow diagrams required.
• Parking under Part 3 of the DCP, with one garage and one tandem driveway space the standard expectation for each dwelling, and garages that do not dominate the street elevation.

Split-level design is required on sites steeper than 1 in 10, and the foreshore chapter in Part 6.5 adds locality controls on the river side. The mistake we see most is a standard project-home duplex plan designed for a flat Western Sydney block dropped onto a sloping Oatley or Peakhurst Heights site, where the cut and fill, the basement and the two storey limit all fail at once.

LEP and DCP controls versus a typical 650 square metre proposal

Height and FSR vary across the LGA, so treat the height and FSR rows as examples to be confirmed on the Planning Portal maps for the specific lot.

How to run a Georges River duplex and subdivision project

1. Order a Section 10.7(2) and (5) certificate and read the zone, the Lot Size Map, the Height of Buildings and Floor Space Ratio maps, and the Foreshore Scenic Protection Area, Foreshore Building Line, heritage and flood layers.
2. Commission a registered survey confirming area and front building line width, and check for easements and Section 88B restrictions that might limit the footprint or the driveway.
3. Test the lot against Clauses 4.1A and 4.1B, including the access handle exclusion, and decide between attached, detached side by side and battle-axe layouts on the numbers.
4. Have a designer prepare concept plans to Part 6.1 of Georges River DCP 2021, with a landscape plan proving 25 or 30 per cent landscaped area and shadow diagrams for 21 June.
5. Prepare the statement of environmental effects addressing the LEP clauses, the DCP controls and Clause 6.6 where the site is in the foreshore area, and confirm the local infrastructure contributions under the Georges River Local Infrastructure Contributions Plan 2021.
6. Lodge a single DA for the dual occupancy and the Torrens subdivision on the NSW Planning Portal, respond promptly to any request for information, then move to construction certificate, occupation certificate and subdivision certificate in that order.

Definitions

Dual occupancy (attached and detached)

Two dwellings on one lot of land. Attached means the two dwellings share a wall or are otherwise physically joined; detached means they are separate buildings. The Standard Instrument definitions adopted by Georges River LEP 2021 apply.

Torrens subdivision

Subdivision that creates separate freehold lots, each with its own certificate of title, as opposed to strata subdivision which creates lots within a strata scheme with common property.

Front building line

The line of the front wall of the building facing the primary road. Clause 4.1B measures lot width at this line, not at the street boundary, which matters on irregular or splayed lots.

Foreshore Scenic Protection Area

Land shown on the Foreshore Scenic Protection Area Map to Georges River LEP 2021, where Clause 6.6 applies, larger lot sizes apply to dual occupancies and their subdivision, and landscaping and side setback requirements increase.

Landscaped area

As defined in the Standard Instrument and used in Clause 6.12 of Georges River LEP 2021, the part of a site used for growing plants, grasses and trees, excluding buildings and hard paving, with natural rock outcrops counted under that clause.

Access handle

The narrow strip that connects a battle-axe lot to the street. Clauses 4.1A(3) and 4.1B(6) exclude its area from the lot size calculations for dual occupancy and subdivision.

URBA prepares due diligence reports and statements of environmental effects for dual occupancy and Torrens subdivision projects across Georges River and the wider St George area, testing the survey against Clauses 4.1A and 4.1B before you commit. See our dual occupancy and duplex planning and subdivision planning services, or request a fee proposal for a specific block.