The Most Useful NSW Government Zoning Guide

Whether you want to purchase a property, subdivide, build houses, or do anything related to real estate property development, you need to understand government zoning. Zoning is the way that the council control what can and can’t be built so that we can maintain sustainable population growth. As a home-buyer or developer, having a deep understanding of government zoning may benefit you in numerous aspects.

There are 517 councils across Australia – currently, the only state with standardized zoning codes is NSW. In NSW, zoning falls into the following categories: Residential, Commerical, Industrial, Mixed-Use, Agricultural, and Public-Use. To be familiar with all zoning codes might sound tedious; however, Realtisan summarises the five most relevant principles in NSW, which are sufficient for making smart home purchasing decisions.

R1 – General Residential

R1 Residential Zone provides a wide variety of residential densities and housing types, including ‘dwelling houses,’ ‘multi-dwelling housing,’ ‘residential flat buildings,’ ‘boarding houses,’ and ‘seniors housing.’ The zone also includes other uses that provide facilities or services to residents, including ‘neighborhood shops,’ ‘community facilities,’ ‘child care centers,’ and ‘respite day care centers.’

R2 – Low Density Residential

R2 low density residential zone is intended to be applied to land where primarily low density housing is to be established or maintained. Typically the zone features detached dwelling houses, but it may be appropriate to include ‘dual occupancy’ (attached or detached) or some ‘multi-dwelling housing.’ This is the lowest density urban residential zone and the most restrictive in terms of other permitted uses considered suitable. These are generally restricted to facilities or services that meet the day-to-day needs of residents. This zone is generally not suitable adjacent to major transport nodes or larger activity centres where residential densities should be higher.

R3 – Medium Density Residential

R3 medium density residential zone is for land where a variety of medium density accommodation is to be established or maintained. Other residential uses (including typically higher or lower density uses) can also be permitted in the zone where appropriate. A variety of residential uses have been mandated to encourage housing choice and diversity in this zone.

R4 – High Density Residential

R4 high density residential is generally intended for land where primarily high density housing (such as ‘residential flat buildings’) is to be provided. Other lower density residential accommodation such as ‘multi-dwelling housing’ could also be accommodated where appropriate. The zone also includes additional uses that provide facilities or services to residents, including ‘neighbourhood shops,’ ‘community facilities,’ ‘places of public worship,’ ‘child care centres’ and ‘respite day care centres.’

R5 – Large Lot Residential

R5 large lot residential is intended to cater for development that provides for residential housing in a rural setting, often adjacent to towns or metropolitan areas. The allocation of large lot residential land should be justified by council’s housing/settlement strategy prepared in accordance with planning principles set out in regional and subregional strategies. Lot sizes can be varied within the zone depending on the servicing availability and other factors such as topography, native vegetation characteristics and surrounding agricultural land uses.

---

---

---

References:

www.otfordeco.com. (n.d.). General Residential Zoning – R1 R2  R3  R4  R5. [online] Available at: http://www.otfordeco.com/land-use-zones/general-residential-r1-r2-r3-r4-r5.html.

Government, N. (n.d.). LEP practice note PLANNING SYSTEM. [online] Available at: https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/-/media/Files/DPE/Practice-notes/preparing-LEPs-using-the-standard-instrument-standard-zones-2011-03-10.pdf.