Dwelling Entitlement Exemption

Published on 24 October 2024

To assist with relocating dwellings purchased through the NSW Reconstruction Authority’s Resilient Homes program, Lismore City Council has received an exemption that could potentially open up additional rural sites for house relocations. 

The Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI) has granted Lismore Council an exemption allowing staff to consider the suitability of existing rural allotments where no dwelling entitlement currently exists.

Under the Lismore Local Environmental Plan (LEP), a rural allotment must meet minimum lot size requirements for a dwelling entitlement. This is generally 40 hectares or 20 hectares in some areas. Many smaller rural lots also have dwelling entitlements because of the planning controls applicable when they were created.

However, many rural allotments do not meet the requirements for a dwelling entitlement for various historical reasons, generally because they were historically part of a larger land holding.

A dwelling entitlement does not automatically mean a dwelling can be built (or relocated) on the land. It means the Council can consider a DA and assess the site's suitability for a dwelling.

Lismore City Council Mayor Steve Krieg said the community’s desire to preserve and relocate as many buy-back homes as possible across the Northern Rivers Region was a key factor behind this plan.

“It became clear to us that our community wanted to use these abandoned but structurally sound homes across the Northern Rivers to house local families,” he said.

“We wanted to work collaboratively with the NSW Government to find a common-sense solution where more historic homes could be saved and relocated to an area away from the flood plain.

Council’s Head of Planning and Environment, Graham Snow, said it’s senseless to abandon structurally sound homes when they could be relocated to accommodate people.

“It doesn’t make sense that we have hundreds of abandoned houses that are structurally sound that could be housing people,” he said.

“The challenge is to find suitable sites where they could be relocated. The Reconstruction Authority’s Resilient Lands program will facilitate house relocations to Goonellabah, East Lismore and North Lismore sites. Still, it could be years before some of these sites are ready.

“Hopefully, this exemption from DPHI will increase the opportunity for buy-back recipients and others to find suitable rural lots for our historic timber homes.”

Lismore Council has prepared a Fact Sheet about re-siting dwellings to rural lots and the exemption terms on the Council’s website. Some of the key points are:

• The suitability of a rural site will need to consider buffers to existing agriculture and watercourses, vehicle access, biodiversity values and risk from bushfire and flooding, etc. In general terms, sites within the flood planning area will not be considered suitable.
• The exemption from DPHI applies for two years (until September 30, 2026).
• No additional rural subdivisions below minimum lot size are permissible. The exemption only applies to existing lots.

You can find more details and the full Fact Sheet on the Council’s Future Housing page under the Relocating Dwellings tab at www.lismore.nsw.gov.au/Building-and-planning/Strategic-planning/Future-housing.