The Strategy

Provided Council endorses a final version of the draft Local Housing Strategy and the State Government then approves the necessary changes to the City’s District Planning Scheme, homeowners in the proposed Housing Opportunity areas could choose to make the following lifestyle changes:

• subdivide their block and build other dwellings to generate income from rent;
• subdivide their block, build a home more suited to their future needs and sell off or rent out the original
  property;
• subdivide their block to provide independent dwellings for members of their family; or
• subdivide their block and sell, leaving them free to make a complete change if that’s what they want.

Homeowners in these proposed areas are not obliged to do anything and can choose to do nothing.

The above options are not an automatic right. Within the proposed Housing Opportunity Areas, most properties will have two R Codes, for example R20/R30. This is known as a Dual Density Code. To develop at the higher R Code, the requirements of the proposed new Dual Density Code Policy must be met.

An important part of the draft Local Housing Strategy is that any new developments must be compatible with surrounding homes in the area, and have an emphasis on environmentally sustainable/energy efficient building design.

Section 10.5 of the draft Strategy details the proposed new residential densities and zonings for each area.

Owners will not be obliged to develop their properties and any decision to increase densities is their option. The majority of the City is recommended to stay the same.

The draft Strategy also recommends a number of policy changes to further encourage greater housing choices.

Section 10.3 lists all the recommendations of the draft Local Housing Strategy. Further details can be viewed in the City’s draft Local Housing Strategy in the Related Information. 

The submission period has now closed and the results are being analysed.