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The State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) Amendment (Dual Occupancies and Semi-detached Dwellings) 2024 (Amendment SEPP) commenced operation on 1 July 2024.

Dual occupancies

The Amendment SEPP provides that development for the purposes of dual occupancies and semi-detached dwellings is permitted with development consent in Zone R2 across Hornsby Shire, subject to certain exceptions dealing with sensitive land.

The provision does not apply to land that is:

  • in a Transport Oriented Development Area as defined in the Housing SEPP;
  • a heritage item or on which a heritage item is located;
  • bush fire prone land;
  • certain flood prone land or land within flood planning areas in the Hawkesbury Nepean catchment;
  • in a coastal vulnerability area or a coastal wetlands and littoral rainforests area;
  • in an ANEF contour or ANEC contour of 20 or greater; or
  • land within a certain distance of certain pipelines.

At this point in time the Department of Planning has not specified planning controls applicable to dual occupancies and semi-detached dwellings. This will be subject to Council preparing amendments to the Hornsby Development Control Plan to guide future development applications.

Subdivision of Dual Occupancies and Semi-detached Dwellings will need to comply with Council’s minimum allotment size for each dwelling in the R2 Low Density residential zone (i.e. 500m2 or 600m2 as relevant) until such time Council adopts a minimum small lot size standard for dual occupancies.

Development consent will be required until 1 July 2025, after which the use will also be permissible as Complying Development (i.e. may be approved by a Private Certifier when the relevant development standards are met).

Council is currently reviewing its mapping for the exclusion of flood prone land and it is anticipated details of affected properties will be available to the public in coming weeks.

To further assist you, a link to the Department of Planning’s policy and factsheet is provided below:

Note: Attached dual occupancies are permitted in certain Rural zones of Hornsby Shire under the provisions of the Hornsby Local Environmental Plan 2013.