Secondary dwelling · Northern Beaches Council
Granny flats in Northern Beaches
How big a granny flat can be on a house block in Northern Beaches Council's area — the LEP's cl 5.4(9) size rule (the greater of 60 m² or a share of the house), the state fast-track that gets one approved by a certifier in weeks, and what stops it. Read from the LEP text; the address check applies it to your lot.
The size rule under the LEP
Warringah Local Environmental Plan 2011
Warringah LEP cl 5.4(9) — the greater of 60 m² or 11% of the house’s total floor area, parking excluded. In the C4 Environmental Living zone a secondary dwelling is not permitted.
Manly Local Environmental Plan 2013
Manly LEP cl 5.4(9) sets the size as the greater of 60 m² or 30% of the house’s floor area — not the 60 m² flat cap; cl 6.22 allows up to 75 m² where the flat sits entirely inside the existing house. In the C4 Environmental Living zone a secondary dwelling is permitted within existing dwelling only.
Pittwater Local Environmental Plan 2014
Pittwater LEP cl 5.4(9) — the greater of 60 m² or 25% of the house’s total floor area, parking excluded. In the C4 Environmental Living zone a secondary dwelling is permitted.
The fast-track
Under the Housing SEPP a secondary dwelling is permitted wherever a house is. The complying-development route needs a lot of 450 m² and 12 m wide, a flat of up to 60 m², single storey on most lots, 3 m rear and side setbacks and a 1 m path from the street — issued by a private certifier without a DA. Smaller lots, larger flats up to the LEP percentage, and constrained land go by DA to Northern Beaches Council. The flat stays on the house's title — it cannot be subdivided or strata-titled; that is what separates it from a duplex.
What stops it here
- Trees — a protected tree in the backyard can stop the fast-track; Northern Beaches Council's tree controls apply before the footprint is drawn.
- Bushfire — much of the Forest, Belrose, Davidson and the Pittwater escarpment is mapped; the flat needs a BAL assessment and construction to match.
- Sewer — the main often runs across the back of the lot; building over or near it needs the water authority's approval.
- Floor area — 60 m² is internal floor space; a verandah does not count, a carport can under some readings. Confirm before designing to the limit.
More: the Northern Beaches Council guide · duplexes in Northern Beaches · granny flat rules across NSW.
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