Reference Data · New South Wales
Maitland DCP: the dwelling controls, as published.
6 controls for low-density residential — dwelling houses, taken from Maitland Development Control Plan 2026 (MDCP 2026), Chapter 6: Residential Uses — General Housing Controls. As at 2026-08-05.
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. Below are the 6 controls Maitland publishes numerically. Anything its DCP assesses on merit rather than a fixed number is simply absent from this table — it is not a zero, and it is not a permission.
Maitland, City of — published dwelling controls
| Control | Published value | Qualifier |
|---|---|---|
| Front setback | 4.5 m | Dwelling house (Table 6.5): 4.5m OR the average existing setback of dwellings within 40m of the lot (prevailing-line alternative, Note 1). Irregular-geometry lots (PC.3): minimum 3m, averaging 4.5m over the building length. Setback to a classified road: minimum 9m (Note 2). |
| Secondary street setback | 2 m | — |
| Side setback | 0.9 m | — |
| Rear setback | 4 m | — |
| Landscaped area | 30% | — |
| Private open space | 24 m² | — |
Source: Maitland Development Control Plan 2026 (MDCP 2026), Chapter 6: Residential Uses — General Housing Controls. Clauses: 6.2.7 Table 6.2 (PPOS); 6.2.8 Table 6.3 (Landscaped Area); 6.2.9 Table 6.4 (Max Impervious Area); 6.2.10 Table 6.5 + PC.1–PC.3 (Housing setbacks). Open the source DCP.
Qualifications that change how these read
- Current in-force DCP: Maitland DCP 2026, adopted 17 Mar 2026, came into effect 14 April 2026, replacing Maitland DCP 2011. DAs lodged before 14 April 2026 are assessed under DCP 2011. Extracted from the ADOPTED 2026-03 Chapter 6 (not the 2025-05 exhibited draft).
- SITE COVERAGE: The DCP 2026 has NO building 'site coverage' control for dwelling houses. It was replaced by 'Maximum Impervious Area' (Table 6.4), a different control that counts buildings + driveways + sheds + garages. Recorded here (not mapped to site_coverage to avoid misrepresentation): Dwelling house <700m2 = 75%; 700–<1500m2 = 60%; 1500–<2500m2 = 50%; 2500–<4000m2 = 1,000m2 (absolute cap); >4000m2 = 1,250m2 (absolute cap). Top two tiers are absolute m2, not %.
- LANDSCAPED AREA (Table 6.3): 30% of lot area for a dwelling house (flat, not lot-area-tiered), which must include 40% of the front setback and a minimum of two trees (one front, one rear). Called 'landscaped area' (not deep-soil). Areas <1.5m wide are excluded from the calculation; landscaped area is additional to PPOS.
- SIDE SETBACK: 0.9m ground floor. Upper floors must increase with height and sit within a 45-degree building height plane projected from 3m above existing ground level (PC.2) — no fixed upper-floor number, so recorded side value is the 0.9m ground-floor minimum. REAR SETBACK: 4m ground floor, 6m upper floor (recorded rear = 4m ground floor).
- FRONT SETBACK is 4.5m OR the average existing setback of dwellings within 40m of the lot (prevailing-line alternative). Recorded 4.5m as the numeric minimum; classified-road frontage minimum is 9m.
- PPOS (Table 6.2): dwelling house 24m2, at least 3m wide and 3m long. No small-site reduction for dwelling houses (the reduced 16m2 + balcony option applies only to dual occupancies / attached / multi-dwelling).
How this was compiled, and how far to trust it
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 2026-08-05. 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 Maitland, City of before making decisions.
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