Reference Data · New South Wales
Liverpool DCP: the dwelling controls, as published.
6 controls for low-density residential — dwelling houses, taken from Liverpool Development Control Plan 2008 — Part 3.2 (Dwelling Houses on land greater than 400 sqm in the R2, R3 and R4 zones). As at 2026-08-29.
NSW has no statewide dwelling setback or site-coverage standard. The LEP sets zone, height and FSR; the numbers that shape a build sit in each council's DCP — here, the 6 that Liverpool publishes numerically. Anything its DCP assesses on merit rather than a fixed number is absent from this table: not a zero, and not a permission.
Liverpool, City of — published dwelling controls
| Control | Published value | Qualifier |
|---|---|---|
| Front setback | 4.5 m | Table 1 (Other Streets): 4.5m ground floor, 5.5m first floor. Classified Roads 7.0m (ground & first). Garages set back 1m behind the main face of the dwelling. |
| Secondary street setback | 2.5 m | — |
| Side setback | 0.9 m | — |
| Rear setback | 4 m | — |
| Landscaped area | 25% | — |
| Private open space | 80 m² | 70 m² on sites ≤ 599 m² |
Source: Liverpool Development Control Plan 2008 — Part 3.2 (Dwelling Houses on land greater than 400 sqm in the R2, R3 and R4 zones). Clauses: Part 3.2 §3 Setbacks (Table 1 Front/Secondary; Table 2 Side/Rear); §4 Landscaped Area (control 1) and Private Open Space (Table 3). Open the source DCP.
Scope: R2 dwelling houses. These are the controls for R2, Liverpool’s low-density residential zone. Do not apply these figures to a dual occupancy, duplex, secondary dwelling or multi-dwelling housing development — those are assessed under different standards, which Feasibly has not codified.
What qualifies these Liverpool controls?
- Primary record uses Part 3.2 — the general dwelling-house control for lots >400sqm in the R2 (also R3/R4) zone. Values are for 'Other Streets' (non-classified) single/ground storey.
- No numeric site-coverage % is set in Part 3.2 (density is controlled via 25% landscaped area, not site coverage). Confirmed absent in Part 8 too.
- Second-storey/upper-floor setbacks (Part 3.2 Table 2): side 1.2m, rear 7.0m. Living-room-door openings (family/dining/rumpus): side 4.0m, rear 4.0m.
- Secondary street setback 2.5m on Other Streets (7.0m on Classified Roads); a garage addressing the secondary frontage must be set back 5.5m. Secondary setback = the longest-length boundary.
- Landscaped Area 25% may include lawn, deep-rooted trees, garden beds and mulch. Additional: min 50% of the front setback area must be landscaped; a 4x6m unencumbered area in the rear setback and a 3x5m area in the front setback for deep-rooted trees.
- Private Open Space (Part 3.2 Table 3): 70sqm for lots 400–599sqm, 80sqm for lots 600sqm and over; principal POS min dimension 4x6m; areas <2.5m wide don't count; not permitted in primary street setback.
- ALTERNATIVE CURRENT PATHWAY — Part 8 (dated 19 Jan 2017), a fully-complying fast-track for dwelling houses on lots 300–900sqm in R1/R2/R3 (only applies if the proposal fully complies and the land is unconstrained). Its figures differ slightly: landscaped area TIERED 25% (300–599sqm) / 30% (600–899sqm) with >=50% behind the building line and a front-setback landscape min of 25% (frontage <=18m) or 50% (>18m); front setback 4.5m ground & first floor (7.0m classified road), secondary street 2.0m, side 0.9m ground / first floor 1.2m if lot >450sqm else 0.9m, rear 4.0m ground / 6.0m first floor, zero-lot boundary 0.18m (no windows); POS min 4.0m x 6.0m in rear. Part 8 URL: https://www.liverpool.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/111822/Part-8-Dwelling-houses-and-class-10-structures-on-lots-greater-than-300m2-but-less-than-900m2-in-the-R1-R2-R3-zones-PDF-copy-linked-to-webpage-23-January-2017.pdf
- Fetch note: council site is behind Cloudflare and the Zyte helper's PDF byte-fetch was 520-banned; retrieved by having Zyte's browser (which passes the Cloudflare challenge) same-origin fetch the PDF and return its bytes, then pdftotext -layout.
Wondering how this compares with asking an AI to read the scheme? We wrote that up here.
How reliable is this Liverpool DCP data?
These values were machine-extracted from the source DCP and have not been independently re-checked. Treat them as screening grade: good enough to compare councils and to know which questions to ask, not a substitute for reading the clause before you rely on it. 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 Liverpool, City of before making decisions.
Liverpool planning controls — common questions
Do these Liverpool controls apply to a duplex or dual occupancy?
No. The figures on this page are Liverpool’s dwelling-house controls. A dual occupancy, duplex, secondary dwelling or multi-dwelling housing development is assessed under different standards — Feasibly has not codified those, so do not apply the numbers above to one.
Which zone do these Liverpool controls apply to?
R2 Low Density Residential — Liverpool’s low-density residential zone. Confirmed against the zones the Liverpool LEP actually contains. This page presents the low-density residential case; some DCP sections also cover other residential zones, and the source above names the zones it applies to.
What planning controls does Liverpool, City of publish for dwellings?
Liverpool, City of publishes 6 dwelling controls in Liverpool Development Control Plan 2008 — Part 3.2 (Dwelling Houses on land greater than 400 sqm in the R2, R3 and R4 zones): front setback, secondary street setback, side setback, rear setback, landscaped area, private open space. Each value and its clause reference is listed on this page, as at 2026-08-29.
Does NSW have a statewide dwelling setback standard?
No. The Local Environmental Plan sets zone, building height and floor space ratio, but the numbers that shape a dwelling — setbacks, site coverage, landscaped area and private open space — sit in each council’s Development Control Plan. That is why these figures are published per council rather than per state.
How reliable are these Liverpool figures?
They are machine-extracted from Liverpool Development Control Plan 2008 — Part 3.2 (Dwelling Houses on land greater than 400 sqm in the R2, R3 and R4 zones) and have not been independently re-checked, so treat them as screening grade — good enough to compare councils and to know which questions to ask, not a substitute for reading the clause. This is a lower confidence tier than our Victorian schedules, which a person reads and verifies from the source scheme.
Do these controls apply to every property in Liverpool?
No. These are the council-wide published figures for low-density residential — dwelling houses. The zone, any overlays and the consent triggers that actually apply depend on the individual parcel, and a control absent from this page means the DCP either sets no number or assesses that parameter on merit — not that the requirement is zero.
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