Granny Flat in Lake Macquarie

S

serendip

I was thinking of finding a house on a decent sized block in Lake Mac & adding a Granny Flat. I actually have 1 in mind, 850sqm, main house situated so it would be a great set up.

Looking at the Lake Macquarie council site I found this:
http://www.lakemac.com.au/downloads/855DD7F7C1775140049C481D2F8C421BBC085B28.pdf

which seems to say that if it's not part of the main house, it's not a Granny Flat & therefore must be treated as a secondary dwelling.

Anyone have any experience with this?
 
serendip said:
which seems to say that if it's not part of the main house, it's not a Granny Flat & therefore must be treated as a secondary dwelling.
Anyone have any experience with this?
Click to expand...


Granny flats are secondary dwellings. LMCC is a PITA to deal with but the good news is, that if your property can have a granny flat built as a complying development, then you don't need to go near them for approval - a Private Certifier can do that.

Just comply with: http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/fragview/inforce/epi+364+2009+sch.1+0+N?tocnav=y
 
Thanks, I keep hearing that about Lake Mac Much easier to get big blocks there than Newcastle though!

For future reference:
Lake Mac Granny Flat definition:

For Bed sitters/granny flats.

The accommodation is incorporated
entirely within a dwelling house
ƒ Is restricted to a maximum gross floor
area of 50m2
,
ƒ shares facilities with the main dwelling
that include:
ƒ a laundry,
ƒ metering,
ƒ mailbox and postal address,
ƒ car parking facilities,
ƒ has direct internal access to the main
dwelling and is not separated by a
garage, storeroom or the like, and
is provided with appropriately located
self-contained smoke alarms in addition
to a smoke alarm for the main household
which is interconnected and complies
with Australian Standard AS 3786.

Crap formatting, sorry.

Otherwise it's a Secondary Dwelling but, if it meets the criteria it can still get approval without a development application.
 
Do you need to adhere to Lake Macquarie Definition or can you go with the definition as defined by NSW planning... after all thats what the SEPP is about isn't it?

Because under SEPP, you would be able to build a detached 60sqm granny flat and that can be approved under the 10 day complying development.
 
I'm still reading the detail but it looks like you can, they just differentiate between a granny flat & a secondary dwelling for some reason.
 
serendip said:
Thanks, I keep hearing that about Lake Mac Much easier to get big blocks there than Newcastle though!
Click to expand...
It may be easier to get bigger blocks in LMCC but remember you also have to pay Section 94 contributions of approx $13,000 for a 2brm g/flat in LMCC or pay $0 for the same Sec 94's in Newy.

serendip said:
Otherwise it's a Secondary Dwelling but, if it meets the criteria it can still get approval without a development application.
Click to expand...
If it meets the complying development provisions of the SEPP, then no DA is required.
 
Propertunity said:
It may be easier to get bigger blocks in LMCC but remember you also have to pay Section 94 contributions of approx $13,000 for a 2brm g/flat in LMCC or pay $0 for the same Sec 94's in Newy..
Click to expand...

Didn't know Newcastle City Council charge $0 S94.

Do you know Port Stephens Council if charge S96 for GF?
 
how do you think a granny flat would go in Port Stephens? My initial thoughts are that there's so much land being released & development there wouldn't be much of a market. This is gut, rather than evidence based.
 
serendip said:
how do you think a granny flat would go in Port Stephens? My initial thoughts are that there's so much land being released & development there wouldn't be much of a market. This is gut, rather than evidence based.
Click to expand...

Raymond Terrace was the suburb I was interested in, though more closer to Newcastle, but it falls under PS council. Not sure about suburbs up and closer to PS, but RT seems more closely associated with Newcastle. Not seeing land estate that are released in bulk..
I thought RT had higher number of Housing Commission properties but my latest research indicate a less than 5%, and scattered in certain pocket or streets only. This is 5% of 6000 or so dwellings in RT.
 
Hi Serendip

Good to see someone else on the Lake Macquarie bandwagon. We just settled on a home on the Morisset peninsula recently with a view to retiring there in a few years. Now tidying up before tenant moves in.

Really like the area, proximity to Sydney etc, what part of Lake Macq are you looking at ?
 
At the moment I'm looking at Charlestown for convenience & relative proximity to city / shopping / beaches, particularly the east side.

It's staggering how many people are already commuting to Sydney so yeah, maybe close to one of the big train stations is also a good option. LMCC now say 3m above sea level is flood prone which is interesting.

I grew up on the lake & my parents still live out that way (at 1m above sea level, lol)
 
Agree, proximity to both Newcastle and Sydney makes it an interesting spot.

What is also interesting is the number of cashed up retirees headed up that way. An agent mentioned that Waikiki St at Bonnells Bay is much sought after by retirees ... and apparently, they're buying blocks of land to build their smaller homes on. Wonder what implications this will have on future capital growth though ...

Good luck with Charlestown.
 
I'm pretty sure Newcastle Council just started charging (grrrr!) Section-94 Developer Contributions. Propertunity, have you heard this too or no? I had a guy call me last week and say he heard they're also on the $$ bandwagon now :(

Lake Macquarie charge the fee based on number of bedrooms so there are ways to <cough> fix this and pay less S94 fees!

Serge.
 
serendip said:
Oh that's disappointing to hear! Do you do GFs in Newcastle too Brazen? If so I may soon have some questions for you :)
Click to expand...

Hi serendip,

Yea I do approvals there but there are additional fees in The Hunter:
1. Hunter Water charge $454 for a stamp and they take 3-4 weeks to do it. Sydney Water charge less than $30 and can do it on the same day! Bloody country water boards are never simple.
2. Travel for us to survey and inspect is $600 more.

I have couple of local builders up there who can help you with the construction work.

Brazen.
 
Seems to be some conflicting stories - anyone know if it's possibly / likely to get a granny flat approved without a primary dwelling existing?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

W
Secondary Dwelling (Granny Flat) Brisbane
Replies
9
Views
3K
gaiusb
G
D
Tree removal and Granny Flat
Replies
4
Views
3K
brazen
brazen
R
Any granny flat success stories?
2 3
Replies
40
Views
8K
brazen
brazen
N
Do granny flats add value? Some real life figures :)
2
Replies
29
Views
5K
RetireRich101
R
jodes92
Existing Granny Flat- Victoria
Replies
2
Views
1K
S.T
S
Back
Top