Granny Flat vs Duplex on the Gold Coast: What’s the difference, and which one can I build?

Ever wondered what the difference between a Granny flat and Duplex is and which one you may be able to construct at your Gold Coast property? This article will discuss the differences between the two and what zonings etc are needed to pursue either. The key difference between a Granny Flat (defined as a Secondary Dwelling under the Gold Coast City Plan) and a Duplex (defined as a Dual Occupancy under the Gold Coast City Plan) is that a Duplex can be separately titled and sold as two separate Dwellings. A Granny flat cannot be separately titled. Other differences exist as well including the need to consider privacy, additional car parking requirements etc but the key one is the fact that if you don’t achieve a Duplex approval you must remain on a single title.

We have produced this basic table below to show you some of the differences in terms of Gold Coast council requirements between a Granny Flat and Dual Occupancy:

	Granny Flat	Duplex
Maximum Size	80m2 (in certain circumstances can go over this)	No limit
Maximum number of bedrooms	2	No limit
Car Parking requirements	1 (raises to 2 if over 80m2) (3 in total required due to 2 required for primary Dwelling)	2 per Dwelling
Private Open Space Requirement	None	25m²
Privacy between Dwellings considered	No	Yes
Required to use a single Driveway	Yes	No
Dwellings required to be within close proximity of each other	Yes	No

The above outlines some clear differences between a Granny Flat and a Dual Occupancy. But where can you build these in the Gold Coast? We have produced this table below to show you some of the basic requirements on the Gold Coast should you want to build either a Granny Flat or a Duplex.

	Granny Flat	Dual Occupancy
Zoning	Any zoning in the Gold Coast (in principle)	Limited to residential zones (mainly medium density residential zones and some low density area)
Minimum Lot Size	None	None in principle but to accommodate car parking, setbacks, privacy etc usually need over 500m2
Council Application Required?	90% of the time	99% of the time
Private Open Space Requirement	None	25m²
Privacy between Dwellings considered	No	Yes
Required to use a single Driveway	Yes	No
Dwellings required to be within close proximity of each other	Yes	No
Infrastructure Charges	Only if over 80m²	Yes
Council Application Fee	Approximately $1,250.00 – $2,500.00	Code Assessment – $5,172.00Impact Assessment – $8,488.00

As you can see many differences exist in terms of council requirements when it comes to a Granny Flat and Dual Occupancy.

Our general advice to clients is if you can achieve a Dual Occupancy at your property this would usually be the preferred development type due to the flexibility on size and ability to separately title the Dwellings in the future.

Interested in exploring a Granny Flat or Dual Occupancy at your property? Get in contact with us for a no obligation review of your property.

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Granny Flat vs Duplex on the Gold Coast: What’s the difference, and which one can I build?

Granny Flat vs Duplex on the Gold Coast: What’s the difference, and which one can I build?