Canterbury-Bankstown DCP: the dwelling controls, as published.

Canterbury-Bankstown — published dwelling controls

Source: Canterbury-Bankstown Development Control Plan 2023 — Chapter 5.2 Residential Accommodation (Former Canterbury LGA), Section 2 Dwelling houses and outbuildings (June 2023, Amended March 2026 / Amendment 11). Official short link: cb.city/DCP5-2. Clauses: Ch.5.2 Section 2 — cl.2.1 C1 (min frontage), cl.2.2 C1 & Table 1 (site coverage), cl.2.3 C1–C2 & Table 2 (deep-soil landscaping), cl.2.6 C1–C2 & Tables 3–4 (front/side/rear setbacks). Former Bankstown split documented from Ch.5.1 Section 2 cl.2.6–2.10, 2.29 (cb.city/DCP5-1).. Open the source DCP.

Scope: R2 dwelling houses. These are the controls for R2, Canterbury-Bankstown’s low-density residential zone. Do not apply these figures to a dual occupancy, duplex, secondary dwelling or multi-dwelling housing development — those are set out separately. See the dual occupancy controls below.

What qualifies these Canterbury-Bankstown controls?

• Canterbury-Bankstown DCP 2023 splits Residential Accommodation into TWO chapters by former LGA, with DIFFERENT numeric controls: Chapter 5.1 (Former Bankstown LGA) and Chapter 5.2 (Former Canterbury LGA). A site's controls depend on which former-LGA area it falls in. This record codifies Chapter 5.2 (Former Canterbury LGA) because it has the fuller, tier-based numeric set (site coverage table + deep-soil table + full setbacks incl. rear).
• FORMER BANKSTOWN (Chapter 5.1, Section 2) alternative controls: front setback 5.5m (ground floor) / 6.5m (second storey); secondary street 3m (building wall), 5.5m (attached garage/carport); side 0.9m for wall height ≤7m and 1.5m for wall height >7m; private open space min 80m² behind the front building line (each area min 5m wide); front-yard landscaping min 45% of the area between the dwelling and the primary street frontage AND 45% of the secondary-street-frontage area, plus at least one 75L tree; storey limit 2. Chapter 5.1 has NO site coverage table and NO rear setback control for dwelling houses.
• Chapter 5.2 setbacks vary by lot frontage: Table 3 (frontage ≤12.5m) = front 5.5m, side 0.9m, rear 6m; Table 4 (frontage ≥12.5m) = front 6m or average of neighbours, side 1m, corner secondary 2m, rear 6m. Codified front (6), side (1) and secondary-street (2) values use Table 4, the standard case given the 15m minimum-frontage requirement (cl.2.1 C1); rear (6m) is flat across both tables. Front setback is 9m where the site fronts a major road (cl.2.6 C1).
• Chapter 5.2 site coverage figure used = the 'Maximum site coverage of all structures on a site' column of Table 1 (60/50/40/40%). Table 1 also caps building footprint (300/330/380/430m²) and outbuilding floor area (30/45/60/60m²).
• Chapter 5.2 landscaped_tiers are the Table 2 minimum DEEP-SOIL permeable areas (15/20/25% of site area); deep soil must have a minimum dimension of 2.5m (cl.2.3 C2).
• No numeric private open space minimum is stated for dwelling houses in Chapter 5.2 Section 2 (pos_min_sqm=null); POS there is governed by solar-access percentages only. The 40m²/50m² POS figures found in the same PDF belong to Section 3 (dual occupancies), not dwelling houses.
• Chapter 5.2 building envelope (cl.2.5): max 2 storeys; max external wall height 7m where LEP max building height is 8.5m, or 8m where LEP height is 9.5m; finished ground floor ≤1m above natural ground level.
• Both chapters are the current versions: 'June 2023 (Amended March 2026)' — Amendment 11, dated 2026-03-12. Source PDFs fetched via the council's official short links cb.city/DCP5-2 (codified) and cb.city/DCP5-1 (Former Bankstown), which redirect to webdocs.bankstown.nsw.gov.au. Low-density R2 zone; controls also apply to dwelling houses in other residential zones per the LEP.

Wondering how this compares with asking an AI to read the scheme? We wrote that up here.

How reliable is this Canterbury-Bankstown DCP data?

These values were extracted from the source DCP and then independently checked against it — one of 29 of 93 councils on this site verified that way. This is a different and lower tier of confidence than our Victorian zone schedules, which are read and verified from the source planning scheme by a person. We do not present the two as equivalent.

A council's DCP can be amended at any time and this page reflects the document as at 2026-08-29. Where a control is absent above, the DCP either sets no number or assesses that parameter on merit.

This information is provided for research and preliminary screening only. It does not constitute professional planning, legal or architectural advice. Always verify with Canterbury-Bankstown before making decisions.

Canterbury-Bankstown dual occupancy (duplex) controls

A dual occupancy is assessed under the DCP’s specific land-use part, which overrides the dwelling-house controls only where it states something. Every row below is marked accordingly, so the ones that genuinely differ are visible rather than buried among the ones that do not.

Controls not listed here are not overridden by Section 3 and fall back to the dwelling-house values on this record, which come from Section 2 Dwelling houses and outbuildings.

Source: Canterbury-Bankstown DCP 2023 — Chapter 5.2 Residential Accommodation (Former Canterbury LGA), Section 3 Dual Occupancies and Semi-Detached Dwellings (June 2023, Amended March 2026 / Amendment 11). Clauses: 3.1 Minimum lot size and frontage (C2, C3); 3.2 Private open space; 3.5 Setbacks (Table 8). Open the source DCP part.

• SETBACKS ARE TIERED BY FRONTAGE, and dual occupancy always takes the wider band: Table 7 covers semi-detached dwellings under 12.5 m, Table 8 covers dual occupancy and semi-detached 12.5 m or greater. Because 3.1(C2) requires a minimum 15 m width for a dual occupancy, Table 8 always applies to one — Table 7's narrower figures (front 5.5 m, side 900 mm) are the semi-detached case and must not be read as dual occupancy.
• SIDE SETBACK DIFFERS FROM A DWELLING HOUSE: 1.2 m for dual occupancy against 1 m for a dwelling house.
• SECONDARY STREET SETBACK DIFFERS: 3.5 m from the longer street boundary on a corner lot, against 2 m for a dwelling house.
• Minimum 15 m site width measured at the street boundary (the short boundary on a corner lot), and each dwelling requires a minimum frontage width of 7.5 m (3.1 C2–C3).
• Private open space 50 m² applies to dual occupancy and semi-detached with a frontage of 7.5 m or more; the 40 m² figure is for SEMI-DETACHED dwellings with a frontage under 7.5 m, not dual occupancy. One area must have a minimum dimension of 4 m in any direction, plus one area at least 2.5 m x 2.5 m for outdoor dining, at ground level to the rear, maximum gradient 1:50.
• Development fronting a major road must have a minimum front setback of 9 m (3.5).
• Front and rear setbacks must be provided as deep soil areas; driveways and footpaths may cross them.
• Dual occupancy (detached) is acceptable only where each dwelling can face and have frontage to the street, such as on a corner site (3.1 C5).
• This chapter covers the FORMER CANTERBURY LGA only. Canterbury-Bankstown retains separate DCP chapters by former-council area, so the former Bankstown area is governed by different controls.

Canterbury-Bankstown planning controls — common questions

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