Before any tape measure: land and lot
The complying development rules for a granny flat apply only on land in a residential zone, and not in Zone R5 Large Lot Residential. The work cannot include a basement or a roof terrace on the topmost roof.
Section 54(2) of the Housing SEPP adds two conditions before any measurement counts: the work must meet the general requirements for complying development in clauses 1.17A and 1.18(1) and (2) of the State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008, known as the Codes SEPP, and it cannot be on land listed in clause 1.19(1) of the Codes SEPP. Between them, those clauses generally rule out land such as a heritage item, an environmentally sensitive area or a heritage conservation area, so a lot that meets every figure below can still miss the fast route.
A granny flat that is attached to the house or stands apart from it needs a lot of at least 450 square metres. The planning department notes one exception: a granny flat built entirely inside an existing house, which follows a shorter list of conditions of its own, including a 60 square metre limit and no outside change to the house beyond an extra entrance.
The lot also needs enough street frontage, measured at the building line: at least 12 metres on a lot of 450 to 900 square metres, 15 metres on a lot over 900 and up to 1,500, and 18 metres above that. A battle-axe lot instead needs an access handle at least 3 metres wide and room for a 12 by 12 metre square clear of the handle, and the handle’s area is not counted in the lot size.
When the work is finished the lot may hold only one principal dwelling and one secondary dwelling, and it needs lawful access to a public road.
The measurements, drawn on one lot
Most of Schedule 1 is a set of distances and proportions taken from the lot’s boundaries and its area. This plan marks where each one is measured.
The numbers change with the size of the lot
Many of the standards step up as the lot gets bigger, so the first number to know is the lot’s area. This table brings together a selection of them; Schedule 1 holds the full wording and several more.
| Standard | 450 to 600 m² | Over 600 to 900 m² | Over 900 to 1,500 m² | Over 1,500 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Site coverage of both homes and the structures around them, at most | 50% | 50% | 40% | 30% |
| Total floor area of both homes plus enclosed attached structures, at most | 330 m² | 380 m² | 430 m² | 430 m² |
| Landscaped area, at least | 20% of the lot | 25% of the lot | 35% of the lot | 45% of the lot |
| Side setback, for building up to 3.8 m high | 0.9 m | 0.9 m | 1.5 m | 2.5 m |
| Rear setback, for building up to 3.8 m high | 3 m | 3 m | 5 m | 10 m |
| Front setback, when there are not two houses within 40 m to average | 4.5 m | 4.5 m | 6.5 m | 10 m |
| Setback from a secondary road on a corner lot | 2 m | 3 m | 3 m | 5 m |
Site coverage leaves out some things, among them eaves, driveways, paths and paving, swimming pools, and decks or verandahs attached to either home that are not walled in above 1.4 metres.
The limits that hold on every lot
The granny flat itself
Its floor area, not counting an attached structure such as a deck or carport, can be no more than 60 square metres, unless another planning instrument for the land allows a larger one. For the combined floor area limit, floor area is measured inside the outer face of the external walls at 1.4 metres above each floor, and leaves out eaves, stairways, lift shafts and voids.
Height
A new granny flat can be no more than 8.5 metres above existing ground level; a detached outbuilding no more than 4.8 metres, and a fence no more than 1.8 metres. Above 3.8 metres, the side setback grows by a quarter of the extra height, and the rear setback by three times the extra height, up to 8, 12 or 15 metres depending on the lot band.
The front of the lot
Normally the front setback is at least the average of the two nearest houses on the same side of the road within 40 metres. A classified road needs 9 metres unless another planning instrument sets its own figure, and a boundary with a public reserve needs 3 metres. On a lot that is not a battle-axe lot, one of the two homes needs a front door and a window to a habitable room in the wall facing the primary road.
Open space, landscaping and privacy
The lot needs more than 24 square metres of principal private open space, which the two homes can share and which can be a deck or balcony. It has to sit next to a living area (a habitable room that is not a bedroom), be more than 4 metres wide, and be no steeper than a 1 in 50 slope. At least half of the landscaped area sits behind the building line, and every part of it is more than 2.5 metres across. Some raised windows and decks that face a side or rear boundary need privacy screens, and a required deck screen is between 1.7 and 2.2 metres high.
Ground and trees
Digging is limited by how close it is to a boundary: no deeper than 1 metre within 1 metre of a boundary, 2 metres between 1 and 1.5 metres, and 3 metres further in, with a 1 metre limit on some acid sulfate soils or within 40 metres of a natural waterbody. Fill for a granny flat is limited to 1 metre above existing ground, unless it sits wholly within the building’s footprint. The granny flat, its structures and its excavation stay at least 3 metres from a protected tree on the lot, with exceptions for things such as paths, driveways and ramps that need very little cut or fill.
Parking
Nothing in Schedule 1 requires an extra parking space for a granny flat. If the plans take away existing car parking, the department suggests checking any existing consent and talking to the council.
When it does not fit: the development application
For a granny flat that misses a Schedule 1 standard, the department says it may still be possible to lodge a development application with the council. The Housing SEPP sets three conditions for consent: no dwellings on the land other than the two, a combined floor area within the maximum another planning instrument allows for a dwelling house on that land, and a granny flat of no more than 60 square metres unless another instrument allows more.
It also names two “non-discretionary development standards”: a minimum site area of 450 square metres for a detached granny flat, and the same number of parking spaces on the site as before the work. Where a proposal meets them, the council cannot ask for more on those two matters; the note to that section adds that missing one does not by itself stop consent being granted.
A change under way
The NSW Government is proposing changes to the complying development system, including letting some development standards be varied. The department exhibited the proposals between 14 May and 24 June 2026 and says it is reviewing the feedback before finalising the changes later this year. Any of the figures above could be affected, so check the department’s complying development page and the current Schedule 1 before relying on them.
Bushfire-prone land brings its own conditions for a complying granny flat, covered on the building rules page.
The other stops
Five more places on the same lot: