Trailblazing report on granny flat laws as Logan investigates slashing lot sizes to 400 sqm
A fast-growing council in the southeast has been briefed on a controversial development proposal to allow granny flats to be sold on separate ownership titles.
Logan
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One of the fastest growing cities in Queensland could become the first in Australia to allow landowners to sell off their granny flats on separate ownership titles.
The groundbreaking plan was outlined in a report tabled to Logan City Council detailing the pros and cons of changing local laws to allow landowners to convert their properties into dual occupancy premises.
Under the proposition, a landowner with a granny flat in the back yard would have the ability to sell the secondary dwelling on an independent title.
If the plan were adopted as an amendment to Logan’s new planning scheme, it would be the only council to allow dual occupancy title on lots under 600 sqm.
Brisbane council allows dual occupancy on 600 sqm, Ipswich and Redland on 800 sqm, and in some residential zones in Moreton Bay the minimum lot size for two titles is 1000 sqm.
The five-page report, requested by the state’s youngest councillor Jacob Heremaia, concluded that to allow separate titling of granny flats, Logan would have to slash its Dual Occupancy minimum lot size from 700 sqm to 400 sqm.
The report said cutting minimum lot sizes could lead to “unintentional consequences” including higher density housing in suburbia.
“Granny flats have most commonly been delivered in Logan on lots between 400 sqm and 500 sqm in size, smaller than the required 700 sqm for dual occupancies,” the report said.
“The effect of this change would be to allow all lots of 400 sqm or more, within the Suburban Precinct, to be developed for a Dual Occupancy.
“Due to the small-scale nature of granny flats, the strata titling of these dwellings would effectively result in the widespread creation of very small lots.
“This outcome in the city’s existing neighbourhoods may undermine the Logan planning scheme’s minimum lot size for suburban areas, which is typically 400 sqm and would establish precedence for the creation of lots smaller than intended.
“Should the planning scheme be amended to allow conversion of granny flats to Dual Occupancies, it is conceivable that residential density may be drawn away from centres and public transport nodes.
“This may instead result in more intense housing developments in the city’s suburban neighbourhoods, with the associated amenity and social challenges.”
Under existing laws for secondary dwellings, granny flats must remain on the title of the primary property and cannot be sold separately unlike properties with a dual occupancy zoning.
Under dual occupancy, common property such as vehicle access areas and open space are governed by a body corporate but each dwelling can be independently sold on separate titles.
Leading Brisbane town planner Alex Steffan supported the proposal and said he could not see any major concerns.
“I don’t know how much of an impact this proposal would have on suburbia, considering granny flats can already be rented,” he said.
“It might just change the stock of new developments coming through and every developer will do 400 sqm allotments with dual occupancies on them to sell to investors.
“But developers have been doing similar already in Logan since 2015 with the only difference under this proposal being that granny flats can now be titled and sold off as opposed to being rented.
“Considering Logan council charges developers the same amount of infrastructure fees for a granny flat as they would for a dual occupancy, in theory, they should let people title them.
“You could expect this to open up a whole new range of dwelling types for new buyers and investors.
“I can’t imagine such small units would be attractive for investors, so they’d likely be bought by first home buyers trying to get into the market.”
Originally published as Trailblazing report on granny flat laws as Logan investigates slashing lot sizes to 400 sqm
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