Dwelling house including a secondary dwelling | Dual living - secondary dwelling | Redland City Council
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Further information

Dual living - secondary dwelling

Dwelling house including a secondary dwelling

A dwelling house is defined in Planning Regulation 2017, Schedule 24 as the following:

dwelling house means a residential use of premises involving—

(a) 1 dwelling and any domestic outbuildings associated with the dwelling; or

(b) 2 dwellings, 1 of which is a secondary dwelling, and any domestic outbuildings associated with either dwelling.

Secondary dwelling

A secondary dwelling is defined in Planning Regulation 2017, Schedule 24 as the following:

secondary dwelling means a dwelling on a lot that is used in conjunction with, but subordinate to, another dwelling on the lot, whether or not the dwelling is—

(a) attached to the other dwelling; or

(b) occupied by individuals who are related to, or associated with, the household of the other dwelling.

A dwelling (including a secondary dwelling) is rated the same as standard dwelling, sharing the same bins and connections such as electricity, water, sewer (where applicable).

A secondary dwelling (commonly referred to as a granny flat) is purely an extension of a dwelling house use (whether attached or detached).  As such, it is subordinate to the primary dwelling, and cannot be separately sold.

Redland City Council does not have a specific size restriction or maximum area for a secondary dwelling, however please refer to Queensland Development Code (QDC) MP1.3 Design and siting standards for duplex housing, for site coverage/setbacks depending on the property.

Renting a secondary dwelling - changes in 2022

An amendment to the Planning Regulation annouced on 23 September 2022 came into effect on Monday 26 September 2022.  

To provide people with a greater range of affordable housing options, restrictions on who can live in secdonary dwellings no longer apply across Queensland.

This amendment removes the restriction of how members of a household live together.  This reognises that the relationship of occupants in a dwelling and how they interact with one another should not be considered in a planning assessment of how land is used.

For more information, please refer to the State website FAQ's.

Approval process

The application process depends on the zoning and overlays on your property, and the design of your proposal.

To determine the zoning and overlays on your property, you can visit:

To determine the level of assesment, please refer to Part 5 of the Redland City Plan.

For more information, you can access the Queensland Development Code (QDC) MP1.1 Design and siting standards for single detached housing on lots under 450m2, or MP1.2 Design and siting standards for single detached housing on lots 450m2 and over.

For some secondary dwellings, you only need to obtain building and plumbing approval, while others may also need a planning approval. To find out if you need planning approval, contact Council's Planning Liaison Officer on (07) 3829 8999.

Also see our information on approval for dual occupancy.