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Planning Assessment for Auxiliary Units

By liam-henry In building, Construction, Development, Planning, Property, Uncategorized On October 29, 2018

(Updated 20/01/2020 – Liam Henry for Baird & Hayes)

– As of 20/01/2020, it would appear as though Ipswich City Council’s draft Planning Scheme/Statement of Proposals/draft Strategic Framework makes no reference to how Auxiliary Units are to be treated under the proposed new Planning Scheme.
– We would recommend contacting us as soon as possible if you are interested in carrying out such work, given the uncertainty surrounding the new Planning Scheme.

 

(Original Post) –
In October of 2018, Ipswich City Council introduced new guidelines and policies regarding Granny Flats/Fonzie Flats. The ‘Granny Flat’ or ‘Fonzie Flat’ is more formally referred to as an ‘Auxiliary Unit’.

 

Not to be confused with a ‘Dual Occupancy’, in the Ipswich City Council Local Government Area an Auxiliary Unit is defined as:

 

A building or part of a building used as a secondary residence not exceeding 50m2 gross floor area with a maximum of one bedroom which is attached to or associated with a dwelling on the same lot (Ipswich Planning Scheme, Implementation Guidelines No. 1, October 2018).

 

It is most important to remember that while an ‘Auxiliary Unit’ can be rented out under a Residential Tenancy Agreement, a Community Title/Strata Title cannot be arranged. Therefore, an ‘Auxiliary Unit’ cannot be sold on its own as a separate Title (this is when it would become a ‘Dual Occupancy’ – subject to further Planning assessment).

 

To find out if your proposed ‘Auxiliary Unit’ is permissible under the recent amendment to the Ipswich Planning Scheme, we encourage you to contact Baird & Hayes to discuss your particular circumstances.

 

Some key questions to ask before you consider building an ‘Auxiliary Unit’ are:

 

  • Is it designed and located to provide high quality and attractive streetscapes?
  • Is your proposal appropriate and well considered for your particular neighbourhood/zone?
  • Does it avoid increasing the overall concentration of auxiliary units in your area?
  • Is it compatible in design with, and not distinguishable from, the primary residence?
  • Has your lot been nominated as an ‘Auxiliary Unit Lot’ as part of a Reconfiguration Approval? OR,
  • Was your lot created in 2006 or earlier and has a min. lot size of 800m2?
  • Is your lot not a ‘hatchet lot’?

 

Answering YES to some or all of the questions above may make it possible for you to construct an ‘Auxiliary Unit’ without further Planning Approval from Ipswich City Council (subject to further site specific assessment and advice).

 

If you would like to find out more about the contents of this article, or about another property matter, please contact Baird & Hayes today on:-

(07) 3812 2076 or bhinfo@bairdandhayes.com.au

4 Comments

  • Veronica at 10:49 am, May 1, 2019

    We are just looking at what we need to do in order to obtain approval to build an auxillary unit on our property. What steps would we need to take.

    • Liam Henry at 4:32 am, May 28, 2019

      Hi Veronica! Thank you for your question. There are a few things you would need to look at, to determine if an auxiliary unit is suitable for your property. Please contact me on (07) 3812 2076 to discuss further.

  • Debra Buttner at 3:15 am, November 12, 2019

    Hi. I was wondering how I would find out if I could Strata a second dwelling on my acreage Propety in One Mile?
    What is involved and is your company the ones to contact?

    • Liam Henry at 3:26 am, December 10, 2019

      Hi Debra. Thank you for your question. You have certainly come to the right place. We can assist with Dual Occupancy or Auxiliary Units over your land. Please get in touch (07) 3812 2076.