Granny flat rule changes come into effect amid hopes will cut red tape
LONDON: One region has made a cut to red tape to foment the rapid growth of granny flats, accessory housing and laneway dwellings.
Cherie Gaskin wanted to provide her elderly parents with a safe, comfortable and affordable place to live.
When she decided to construct a secondary building, or granny flat, in her Bendigo backyard, Ms Gaskin said she had not realised how tricky the process would be.
“It’s complicated, it’s difficult, it takes much longer than what you think, and it’s expensive,” she said.
Ms Gaskin has welcomed changes to Victorian planning laws that mean secondary dwellings under 60 square metres will no longer require a planning permit.
“It’s a great option now for people and everybody wins,” she said.
The single mother said her parents, who live on the pension, were becoming anxious about their housing options amid an increasingly competitive rental market.
“I kind of looked at the backyard and thought ‘it’s not a huge backyard, but it is big enough’,” she said.
Ms Gaskin applied for a permit to build a dependent person’s unit, which there were specific regulations for.
She found a local builder who specialised in building granny flats and understood the legislation.
After some delays and a horrible experience of being scammed out of almost $30,000, she said her parents were due to move into their new home before Christmas.
She said there were strengths to the arrangement beyond just the economic advantages.
“When I was a kid, my grandfather, my mum’s father, he lived with us for a while. I’ve got very fond memories of that,” she said.
It would be a “return to those sorts of traditional families”.
“With this new legislation, that whole process will be a lot easier, and with a lot more economic benefit for everybody,” Ms Gaskin said.
Under the new laws, a secondary building of up to 60sq m on a block of land measuring 300sq m or more can be built without the need for a planning permit.
The Victorian government says this is the case even in a “heritage or neighbourhood character area” when specified requirements like height and colouring are met.
Anyone is allowed to live in the building, whether family, friends, or a renter.
This ruling applies as long as environmental or flooding overlays do not affect the lot.
However, applicants will still require a building permit.
The buildings also must be self contained, requiring some kind of kitchen and bathroom, and there can only be one secondary home on a lot.
The secondary home cannot be connected to a reticulated natural gas supply, and it does not need to allow for car parking space.
In New South Wales, changes to legislation in 2009 made it easier to build a secondary dwelling without development approval if the property was considered compliant.
Rules can differ between local councils, but across the state, as long as the property owner has obtained an occupation certificate, the secondary dwelling can be lived in by family or rented to tenants.
In South Australia, the government is seeking to clarify rules around granny flats or ancillary dwellings and to streamline the approvals process.
Councils still have development approval and, while state planning rules do not prevent leasing granny flats to someone outside the family, many councils stipulate their own conditions.
In September 2022, Queensland’s government removed restrictions on who can live in a secondary dwelling, which enabled ancillary dwellings to be rented out, and not just for the use of dependent relatives.
The Queensland government states that “any new secondary dwellings will require building approval and you will still need to speak with your local council to understand if you need development approval prior to building”, with rules differing between councils.
Jess Kelly, from Ballarat tiny home manufacturer HUCX, said the new regulations were a welcome improvement for the industry.
“I think it’s fabulous that people are going to be able to build smaller buildings on their property without having to go through the rigmarole of council,” she said.
“People have always tried to get around it. A lot of people want to chuck things on a trailer just so they can get around those rules.
“[Building on trailers] is expensive. You’re adding another $10,000 to $15,000 onto a building that may only cost you $40,000, just to avoid a permit.”
Ms Kelly said the new laws would “remove a hurdle” for people looking to increase available space on their property.
“A building envelope of 60sq m is a completely liveable space,” she said.
“You can have two reasonably sized bedrooms. It’s just not over the top.
“Everything’s going to be very functional, but absolutely liveable.”
Ms Kelly said people in regional communities would be best placed to take advantage of the new rules.
“I think there’s more opportunity regionally than in metro areas simply because people have more land out here,” she said.
“That’s why most people make their regional shift, because they want space.
“Every single one of my friends would put one of these in their backyards.”
Co-founder of prefabAus, Damien Crough, said that while backyard studios and granny flats were great for families, they were not a long-term solution for the housing crisis.
“I think they’re great for multi-generational living outcomes,” he said.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for couples who maybe if they’ve got their first mortgage and are looking for some assistance of some additional rental income to help pay off their mortgages, I think that’s fantastic.
“Fundamentally, we’ve got a challenge in Australia with significant population growth and unmet housing demand, and that has to be addressed in other ways.”
Municipal Association of Victoria president David Clark said a lot of the confusion in the community regarding the regulations was due to the different terminology being used to describe secondary living spaces.
Mr Clark said regulation needed to be more consistent across Victoria’s council regions to provide better clarity.
“What we’ve actually got to support this in a regulatory sense is probably behind the eight-ball in terms of where the world’s moving,” he said.
“We don’t want to regulate council by council, it’s something we need to do statewide and consistently for the community so they understand the rules are consistent.”
