Seven Ways Rockdale boarding house DA to double capacity

The developers behind plans for a boarding house at a busy southern Sydney intersection have applied to double the facility’s capacity to almost 100 residents.

Artist impression of a boarding house slated for 13 The Seven Ways, Rockdale. Picture: Supplied

An eight-storey boarding house at a busy southern Sydney intersection could house double the number of residents after developers applied to significantly increase the home’s capacity.

Bayside Council approved a development application for an eight-storey boarding house at 13 The Seven Ways in Rockdale with 48 rooms for 48 residents on October 13 last year.

On December 18 developers submitted a proposal to increase the capacity of every room in the boarding house to two residents instead of one – doubling the proposed number of residents from 48 to 96.

The applicants put the proposed modification down to an error.

“It is noted that there was an error in the operational plan of management prepared by Argentum and submitted with (the first application), which stated there would be one occupant per boarding room,” the applicants wrote.

“The original development application instead proposed a maximum of two occupants per room, which is in line with the acoustic report dated December 5, 2019.”

The boarding house plan originally approved in October also includes a manager’s room, rooftop communal open space and a ground floor commercial tenancy.

The applicants stated the acoustic report did not reflect any adverse impact associated with increasing the boarding house’s capacity from 48 residents to 96.

“A restriction of one person per room would unnecessarily exclude and deter certain occupants, such as couples, from being able to reside in the rooms,” the applicants wrote.

“This will have the effect of limiting the target housing market for the development.”

The State Environment Planning Policy’s legislation for affordable rental housing permits two adult lodgers per boarding room.