Bankstown boarding house: 38- room development to replace homes

Eye-watering plans for an expansive four-storey boarding house development have been revealed for Bankstown. See where it will be built here.

Ambitious plans for 38-room boarding house — which could be home to as many as 76 people — have been revealed in an development application to Canterbury-Bankstown Council.

The four-storey boarding house would replace homes at 6 Topaz Place and 74 Marshall St, Bankstown, with 19 underground car spaces to be included for the residents, alongside eight motorcycle and bicycle spaces.

Aerial view of new building, drawn over Google Earth satellite image of street, complete with wind direction lines

The private rooms would feature a kitchenette, with a communal kitchen and laundry available for residents.

Canterbury-Bankstown Council tightened its controls on boarding house developments in 2019 following a spike in approvals when the NSW Government amended its environmental planning laws to loosen restrictions in 2010.

A series of developers rushed to build boarding houses following a lowering of building standards, and government assistance on costs for each unit. Additionally, many buildings had shared bathrooms and laundry facilities as standard, increasing the number of individual rooms per dwelling.

Graph: Number of boarding rooms approved by year, 2002-2016, showing high increase from 2010-2016

The development currently before council features private bathrooms for each of the residents.

There are now 47 boarding houses registered in the LGA, with just one designed to meet the needs of people with mental health issues.

Boarding houses have rent prices set as a proportion of the resident’s income, making them cheaper than most similar sized locations on the private market.