Do the Low and Mid-Rise Housing reforms apply to your property?
The 2024 and 2025 reforms quietly changed what thousands of NSW sites can be developed for. Whether yours is one of them comes down to your zone, your location, and a few numbers. Here's how to read it.
If your land is in a residential zone, the reforms may now permit a dual occupancy, and on many sites within 800 m of a nominated town centre or station, terraces, townhouses or a low rise apartment building. Whether your site qualifies depends on its zone, exact distance, lot size and any overlays, which is what a Planning Check confirms.
What actually changed?
The NSW Government's Low and Mid-Rise Housing policy rolled out in two stages, expanding what's permitted in residential zones without changing the zoning itself:
- Stage 1 (July 2024) made dual occupancies and semi detached dwellings permissible with consent in the R2 Low Density Residential zone across most of NSW, subject to standards.
- Stage 2 (28 February 2025) introduced new controls within 800 metres of 171 nominated town centres and stations, allowing terraces, townhouses (manor houses) and low rise residential flat buildings in more locations than before.
The effect is that a site which last year could only take a single house may now, on paper, support two or more dwellings, often the difference between an ordinary purchase and a genuine development opportunity.
The 800-metre rule, in plain terms
Stage 2 hangs on a walking distance catchment: roughly a 10-minute walk from a listed centre or station. The catch is that the 800 m is measured as a walkable route, not a straight line on a map, and the list of qualifying centres is specific, being "near a station" isn't enough on its own. Two neighbouring properties can fall on opposite sides of the line.
What the policy actually enables
The policy opens up five forms of housing, from a second dwelling on the block, up to (in some apartment zoned locations close to a centre) a low rise residential flat building:
- Dual occupancies: two dwellings on one lot
- Multi dwelling housing and terraces: three or more attached homes
- Residential flat buildings and shop top housing: low rise apartments, in the apartment capable zones nearest a centre or station
Which of these, if any, applies to a given property depends on its zone and exactly where it sits in the catchment. That's the site specific part, and it's what a Planning Check settles: not "what does the policy allow in general," but "what does it allow here."
The catch: exclusions and standards still apply
A location inside the catchment can still be ruled out by the things the reform doesn't override:
- Heritage: items and conservation areas (common across Sydney's eastern suburbs) are generally excluded.
- Hazard land: flood, bushfire and foreshore controls can constrain or prevent the additional yield.
- Site specific controls: some councils and precincts carry their own limits that interact with the reform.
- The numbers: height, floor space ratio, setbacks and deep soil requirements decide what actually fits, not just what's permissible.
How to find out for your specific site
The honest answer is that no general guide can tell you whether your address qualifies. It turns on the exact zone, the on route distance, the lot dimensions and the overlays, read together. That reading is exactly what a Planning Check does: we confirm whether the reforms apply to your property, what they'd permit, and where the constraints sit, typically within 48 hours, for a fixed fee, before you commit to a purchase or a design.
Common questions
Does being near a train station mean my site qualifies?
Not necessarily. Stage 2 applies within 800 m of nominated centres and stations, measured as a walkable route. A station that isn't on the list, or a site just beyond the catchment, won't attract the new controls even if it feels "close."
My property is heritage listed. Can I still use the reforms?
Generally no, heritage items and properties in conservation areas are typically excluded from the reform pathways. This affects a large share of the eastern suburbs, so it's one of the first things worth checking.
Does the reform guarantee I'll get approval?
No. It changes what's permissible and opens a pathway; a proposal still has to satisfy the applicable standards (height, floor space, setbacks) and be assessed on its merits. It removes a barrier, not the assessment.
A listing says a site has development potential. Can I rely on that?
Treat it as a claim to confirm, not a fact to bank on. Advertised potential may well be genuine, but it is not an approval or a guarantee. An independent Planning Check tests it against the current controls, so you know whether it holds before you exchange.
- Dwelling types, development standards & the 800 m catchment, NSW Planning Portal, Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy: Summary of key provisions and Site selection.
- Stage 2 commencement (28 Feb 2025) & 171 nominated centres/stations, NSW Government, ministerial release.
- The legal instrument & current standards, State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021: NSW Planning Portal overview, and the consolidated instrument on legislation.nsw.gov.au for the current figures.
- Legal & industry commentary on the reforms, Mills Oakley, Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy: supporting new housing, but with complex rules; Sparke Helmore, Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy, Stage 2.
Find out if the reforms apply to your site.
Send the property address and what you're weighing up. We'll confirm which service fits, the fixed fee and the turnaround before any work begins. There's no charge to enquire.
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