Planland

03/06/2026

Your Sydney block might quietly have become a duplex site — and you might not have noticed.
Two waves of planning reform have rolled through NSW in the last 18 months. The headline:
🏡 From 1 July 2024 — dual occupancy is now permissible in pretty much every R2 zone in NSW, including in councils that previously banned it.
🚉 From 28 February 2025 — if your block is within an 800m walk of one of 171 designated train stations, light rail stops or town centres across Greater Sydney, the Central Coast, the Illawarra or the Hunter, you may now be able to build:
– A duplex on as little as 450m² with a 12m frontage
– A manor house (3–4 dwellings that look like a single large house) on 600m²
– A terrace row from 500m² and 18m wide
– A small apartment building on 500m² in some R1/R2 areas
The 800m is measured along walking routes, not in a straight line — so it's worth checking properly rather than guessing.
Plenty of older Sydney blocks that were locked out of duplex development by council width minimums of 15m or 18m are now in scope at the new 12m threshold. If you've owned your block for a few years and assumed it was a single-dwelling site, that assumption may no longer be true.
Full breakdown of who's eligible, what's permitted, and the catches around DA vs CDC, heritage areas and bushfire land 👇

Stage 1 + Stage 2 LMR reforms explained — dual occ at 450m²/12m, manor houses, the 800m catchment. What's permitted on your Sydney block in 2026.

01/06/2026

How often do you actually use your formal dining room?
In Sydney's 2026 custom build market ($2,800–$4,200/m²), that room is costing you somewhere between $80,000 and $150,000 to build — plus heating, cooling, cleaning and maintenance for the next 30 years. Same goes for the formal living room, the fifth bedroom that's really a storage room, and the over-large media room.
The default brief on most renovations is still "maximise the envelope." But the 140m² gap between a 180m² home and a 320m² home is now a $600,000–$800,000 decision — and that money, redirected, buys better finishes in the kitchen and bathrooms you actually use, passive design that genuinely lowers your bills, a proper alfresco, and a much calmer build experience.
Sometimes the bigger house is the right answer. But it should be a deliberate choice, not the default.
New piece on the blog 👇

Sydney custom builds now sit at $2,800–$4,200/m². A 320m² home costs $600K+ more than a 180m². When does maximising the envelope actually make sense?

01/06/2026

"What's it going to cost?" is the first question almost every homeowner asks at the start of a renovation. It's also the hardest one to answer at the early stage — before a designer has assessed the site, before a builder has seen the drawings.
Here's something useful: AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini are now genuinely good at giving you a ballpark range for a renovation — if you ask the right way.
A vague prompt ("how much does a first-floor addition cost in Sydney?") gets a vague answer. A structured prompt — one that includes your suburb, your existing house, the size of the addition, your finish level, and any known structural issues — gets a much sharper response.
We've put together four copy-and-paste prompts for the most common project types:
🏡 First-floor additions
🔨 Knockdown rebuilds / new builds
🏠 Secondary dwellings (granny flats)
🏘️ Dual occupancies (duplexes)
Each one asks the AI for a construction cost range, design and approval fees, the key cost drivers, and a total project cost — so you walk away with a usable indicative number before you spend a cent on design.
A few tips for using them:
✅ Run the same prompt through ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini and compare answers
✅ Use the midpoint of the range, not the bottom
✅ Update the prompt as you learn more about your site
✅ Bring the result to your designer — don't use it instead of one
AI knows market rates. It can't tell you whether your project is approvable, whether your existing structure can take an upper level, or whether there's a sewer easement under your back garden. That's still what a proper feasibility assessment is for.
All four prompts, free to copy 👇

One of the most common questions we hear from homeowners at the start of a project is: "What's it going to cost?" It's also one of the hardest questions to answer accurately at the early stage — before a designer has assessed your site, before a builder has seen the drawings, and before

29/05/2026

Hiring the wrong building designer is one of the most expensive mistakes you can make on a renovation. Most homeowners pick on portfolio and gut feel — but neither tells you how a designer will perform when something goes wrong.
Ten questions worth asking before you sign anything:
1️⃣ Can I see projects similar to mine that have been approved and built — not just rendered?
2️⃣ What's your feasibility process before design starts?
3️⃣ How do you handle my budget — and what if early builder estimates come back over?
4️⃣ Who actually does the work — you, or junior staff?
5️⃣ What exactly is included in the drawings the builder will quote from?
6️⃣ How many projects are you running at once right now?
7️⃣ Have you worked with my council before?
8️⃣ How do you handle Requests for Information from council?
9️⃣ Are you available during construction to answer the builder's questions?
🔟 Can I speak to a recent client?
A good designer will answer every one of these without hesitation — and provide client references willingly. If a designer dodges, deflects, or makes any of these sound difficult, that's information too.
Why these matter: most renovations don't go wrong during design. They go wrong during documentation, council assessment, and construction — the stages a glossy portfolio doesn't show you.
Full breakdown of why each question matters and what a good answer sounds like 👇

Choosing the right building designer is one of the most important decisions in your renovation project. The right designer will save you time, money, and stress. The wrong one will cost you all three. Most homeowners assess designers based on portfolio and gut feel — both of which matter, but neit...

18/05/2026

A second rental. A self-contained space for aging parents. A teenage retreat that pays its own way one day.
For owners of small NSW lots, all of those plans tend to die the moment someone mentions the 450m² threshold for secondary dwellings.
They don't have to.
If the principal dwelling is designed from day one to accommodate a future within-dwelling secondary dwelling — self-contained wing, separate entrance, plumbing rough-ins, BCA Class 1a separation — a second CDC post-OC activates a second legal tenancy without another shovel in the ground.
We've published the full strategy, including what Stage 1 needs to get right so Stage 2 doesn't unravel:
📖 https://www.planland.com.au/new-blog/2026/4/24/how-to-get-a-secondary-dwelling-on-a-site-under-450m-in-nsw

11/05/2026

Own a battle-axe lot in Leppington, Austral, Oran Park or anywhere in the South West Growth Area?
Here's the problem you've probably hit: the access handle eats 60–80m² off your lot area, your developable land drops below 450m², and suddenly every granny flat quote turns into a "sorry, can't be done."
It can be done. Just not the way most builders are pitching it.
Our latest article walks through the exact Complying Development pathway — two CDCs, staged — that delivers a principal dwelling and a secondary dwelling on sub-450m² developable sites. Plus what Stage 1 has to include so Stage 2 actually gets signed off.
Worth a read before you settle on that block 👇
https://www.planland.com.au/new-blog/2026/4/24/how-to-get-a-secondary-dwelling-on-a-site-under-450m-in-nsw

11/05/2026

"Should we go up or go out?"

It's the question at the heart of almost every Sydney home renovation. And getting it wrong can cost you significantly. 🏠

The answer depends on what you actually need — and what your site, structure, and planning controls allow. It's rarely as simple as "first floor = more bedrooms" or "rear extension = better living."

Our latest post breaks down both options honestly:

🔹 When a rear extension is the right call
🔹 When going up delivers more for your dollar
🔹 The backyard question that often decides it
🔹 Why the answer is sometimes both — and how to think about that

If you're at the "we need more space but don't know how" stage, this is the post to read.

It's the question at the heart of almost every Sydney home renovation: do you extend outward across your backyard, or go up and add a new level? The answer isn't always obvious — and getting it wrong can cost you significantly. Here's how to think through the decision. The Case for Going Out (Gro

08/05/2026

Getting a DA refused is one of the most demoralising things that can happen during a renovation. Months of time. Thousands in design fees. Real emotional investment. And then council says no.

What makes it worse? In most cases, it was preventable.

Our latest post covers the five most common reasons Sydney home additions get refused — and what good design does to avoid each one:

🔹 Overlooking and privacy — the most common reason first-floor additions get knocked back
🔹 Overshadowing a neighbour's outdoor space
🔹 Bulk and scale that feels out of proportion with the street
🔹 Controls that were never checked before lodgement
🔹 Documentation that wasn't complete enough to assess

And if your DA has already been refused — it's not necessarily the end. We cover that too.

Read it here 👇

A DA refusal is one of the most demoralising experiences a homeowner can go through. You've invested months of time, thousands of dollars in design fees, and genuine emotional energy into a project — and then council says no. It happens more often than it should. And in most cases, it was preventa...

07/05/2026

Adding a second storey can double your floor space, transform your home, and dramatically increase its value. It can also be expensive, disruptive, and leave you with a house that looks like two unrelated buildings stacked on top of each other.

The difference is almost always in the preparation. 🏠

Our latest post is a complete guide to adding a second storey in Sydney — covering every step from structural assessment to construction, and the things most homeowners don't know to ask until it's too late:

🔹 How to find out if your existing structure can take an upper level
🔹 The planning controls that determine what's actually achievable
🔹 Why the stair is one of the most important design decisions in the whole project
🔹 The construction reality of removing your roof — and how to plan for it
🔹 What a first-floor addition realistically costs in Sydney right now

Read it here 👇

Adding a second storey is one of the most transformative things you can do to a Sydney home. Done well, it can double the usable floor space, dramatically increase the property's value, and create a home that works beautifully for decades. Done poorly, it can be expensive, disruptive, and leave you

07/05/2026

Before you lodge, talk to Council.
Most property owners don't know this step exists — and skipping it can cost you months.
It's called a Pre-DA meeting (formally, Pre-Lodgement Advice), and it's one of the first things we recommend for any development project that goes beyond a straightforward granny flat or minor alteration.
Here's why it matters:
You get Council's read on your project before you're committed.
By the time you lodge a DA, you've spent money on plans, reports, and consultant fees. A pre-DA meeting lets you test Council's appetite for your proposal before that investment is made — and course-correct if needed.
You can ask the questions that aren't answered in the LEP.
Zoning and development standards tell you what's permitted. They don't tell you how a particular officer interprets a DCP clause, or how Council has treated similar applications on similar sites. A face-to-face conversation fills those gaps.
It creates a paper trail that works in your favour.
Written advice from Council, received before lodgement, is a valuable record. If the goalposts shift during assessment, you have something to point to.
You can identify deal-breakers early.
Stormwater, heritage, flood, tree constraints — these can derail an application. Better to know at concept stage than after you've lodged.
When we're managing pre-DA for clients, we recommend the Paid Planning Advice pathway. Yes, there's a fee — but it gets you in the room with the assessing officer. That conversation is worth far more than written advice alone. You can read body language, ask follow-up questions, and walk away with a genuine sense of whether Council is likely to support the project.
The free option gives you a letter. The paid option gives you a relationship.
If you're planning a dual occupancy, secondary dwelling, subdivision, or any multi-dwelling project in NSW, a pre-DA meeting should be one of your first moves.
We coordinate pre-DA submissions and meetings for clients across NSW. If you'd like to know what's worth exploring on your site, start with a conversation.
🔗 planland.com.au