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Owners of company title dual occupancy premises in Randwick City can from today, 17 August 2018, seek to have their properties subdivided into strata or torrens title.
The changes are part of amendments made to the Randwick City Local Environmental Plan 2012 which permit attached dual occupancies with consents granted before 6 July 2018 to subdivide.
Randwick Mayor Lindsay Shurey said the changes deliver on the Council’s commitment to help property owners affected by banks tightening lending on company title premises.
“Late last year we were approached by many property owners of dual occupancies expressing concern that buying and selling company title premises was becoming increasingly difficult due to banks tightening their lending practices.
“We committed to review our planning controls for existing property owners and consulted thoroughly with the community. I heard from dozens of people at a public forum in March talking about the uncertainty and financial hardships they faced.
“Consequently I met with the Minister for Planning Anthony Roberts along with the Member for Maroubra Michael Daley in April 2018.
“Minister Roberts agreed to fast-track amendments to our LEP and he has today delivered on that promise, giving affected residents and their families financial certainty,” Mayor Shurey said.
Affected property owners can now lodge Development Applications seeking to subdivide in accordance with the new provisions.
For further information please contact Randwick City Council’s Planning Department on 1300722542 or email council@randwick.nsw.gov.au
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18 April 2018
On 17 April 2018 Randwick Council resolved to amend its
Local Environmental Plan (LEP) to allow the subdivision of existing and
approved attached dual occupancies. The move aims to create consistency with a
new state-wide Low Rise Medium Density Code released by the NSW Government
recently which takes effect from 6 July 2018. The amendment means that if you
have an existing attached dual occupancy (or development consent issued prior
to 6 July 2018) on a lot size of 450 sqm or more you may apply for strata
subdivision provided certain conditions are met. Lots of 480 sqm or more may be
eligible for Torrens title subdivision. Council must now seek the Department of
Planning’s consent to commence a public exhibition process of the proposed
changes.
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11 April 2018
Randwick City Council will seek to fast-track amendments
to its planning controls to align with a new housing code for terraces and dual
occupancies released by the NSW Government, Randwick Mayor Lindsay Shurey
announced today.
The Government’s Low Rise Medium Density Housing Code will take
effect from 6 July 2018 and permit new dual occupancy homes to be built and
subdivided on blocks as small as 225sqm – almost half Randwick’s existing
minimum lot size of 400sqm.
However
the Government’s Code does not apply to existing or approved dual occupancy
developments, which under Council’s existing controls are generally not
permitted to subdivide.
“Today I attended a very productive meeting with the
NSW Planning Minister Anthony Roberts, the Member for Maroubra Michael Daley
and local residents where we discussed the financial
pressure and stress owners of these existing properties are under. These owners
are trapped in properties, many of which are under company title, and are increasingly
difficult to sell after banks tightened lending practices on company title.
“I would like to thank Michael
Daley for setting up this meeting and for championing this issue for our local
residents.
“I would also commend the
Planning Minister Anthony Roberts for agreeing to fast-track approval of an amendment
to our Local Environmental Plan that will allow existing and approved dual
occupancy development to be subdivided.
“This is a positive step forward
providing housing certainty for those residents caught up in this issue and will
provide consistency between existing and future development,” Mayor Shurey
said.
Council will now meet to consider amending its Local
Environmental Plan at an Extraordinary Council Meeting on 17 April 2018 and put
the amendment on public exhibition for 28 days. The amendment will then be
submitted to the NSW Planning Minister for fast-tracked approval.
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9 April 2018
New housing rules announced by the NSW Government on
Friday 6 April 2018, will fast-track and increase medium density housing in
Randwick City, Randwick Mayor Lindsay Shurey said today.
The Low Rise Medium Density
Housing Code and Low Rise Medium Density Design Guide released by the
government provides for the construction and subdivision of dual occupancies,
manor houses and terraces to be built under a fast-tracked complying
development process.
Randwick Mayor Lindsay Shurey
said Council staff are analysing the details of the announcement to determine its
impact on Randwick City.
“This code provides the
opportunity to build and subdivide more medium density homes such as attached
dual occupancies on smaller blocks in R2 Low Density Residential zones.
“Development approved in this
way could result in new homes built and strata subdivided on blocks as small as
225sqm which is less than Randwick’s current minimum lot size of 400sqm.
“This will be very welcome
news by some sections of our community – in particular people wanting to build
dual occupancy premises and apply for Torrens and Strata subdivision.
“Just
last week I facilitated a forum on minimum lot sizes and heard first-hand the
financial pressure and stress owners of company title properties are under,”
Mayor Shurey said.
The
forum was part of a Council-initiated two-month community consultation process
with the community on the issue of minimum lot size.
“While
they’ll be those within the community very happy with this change, I think the
broader community will be waiting to see what effect this has on the future
character and density of our suburbs.
“These
new controls are effectively a game changer for housing not just for Randwick
City but the broader Sydney metropolitan area.
“I’ll
be watching with interest to see the effect it has on housing affordability,
density and parking and traffic issues.
“I
note however these changes don’t appear to apply to owners of existing dual
occupancies,” Mayor Shurey said.
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9 March 2018
Residents and property owners are encouraged to have their say on lot sizes and dual occupancies as part of Council’s community consultation on minimum lot sizes and subdivision standards for residential development in the R2 Low Density Residential zone.
Randwick Mayor Lindsay Shurey said this is an important issue for the community and encouraged everyone to have their say.
“We have recently been approached by a number of people raising concerns about financial hardship caused by banks tightening their lending practices on company title dual occupancies. As a result, residents have been requesting consideration of reducing Council’s minimum lot sizes to permit greater subdivision of attached dual occupancies.
“This is an important issue for the whole community as any change to these standards would potentially have an impact on many properties and affect the future character and amenity of Randwick City.
Under the Randwick Local Environmental Plan 2012 (RLEP), the minimum lot size for properties in an R2 Low Density Residential zone is 400sqm.
This means that for a block of land to be subdivided into Torrens or Strata Title, it must be 800sqm or larger so the resulting lots following subdivision are a minimum 400sqm. There are other requirements that also apply such as the resulting lots having a minimum frontage of 12m or more.
Dual occupancies are permitted on blocks 450sqm or larger provided other conditions such as frontage sizes are met too. Dual occupancies provide for a greater range of housing choice, particularly for larger families, ageing parents or to allow families to live close together – however they cannot be subdivided unless they meet the minimum lot size.
Some owners of dual occupancies have converted properties to company title to sell the two homes separately. Company title is a form of housing title that does not require Council approval. However company title properties have historically been subject to tighter lending from banks and consequently are more affordable.
There are currently 688 dual occupancies in the Randwick City low density residential zone and of these 137 are company title. The majority of dual occupancies in Randwick City are located in Chifley, Matraville, Little Bay, Malabar and La Perouse.
Residents and properties are encouraged to find out more information about the issue on the consultation website and consider making a submission.
Community Forum
Council is hosting an open forum available to everyone to attend and to share your stories, experiences and opinions.
- Wednesday 28 March 2018 commencing 6pm Prince Henry Centre, Little Bay
Register to speak: www.yoursayrandwick.com.au/LotSizeReview or phone Emese Wolf on 9093 6824 by 5pm, Friday 23 March.
The consultation is open for eight weeks from 9 March 2018 to 4 May 2018.