What is my block zoned?
Written by Shea Cullen, architect, for Dudils.
Zoning is the first thing to check on any block in New South Wales, because it decides which kinds of building council can approve there at all. Type an address below and the Site Checker reads the zone for your lot from the Land Zoning Map on the NSW Planning Portal, beside the height limit, floor space ratio, flood and bushfire readings for the same lot.
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What is my property zoned?
Your property's zone is shown on the Land Zoning Map of your council's Local Environmental Plan (LEP), and the Site Checker reads it for you when you type the address. Most houses in NSW sit in a residential zone such as R2 Low Density Residential, but a block can also be RU5 Village, C4 Environmental Living, a rural zone or a mixed use zone.
Every LEP has a Land Use Table that lists, for each zone, what is permitted without consent, what is permitted with consent and what is prohibited. The zone code is the key to that table. Once you know it, open your council's LEP on the NSW legislation website and read the table for your zone, because two councils can allow different things in zones with the same name.
A few lots are split between two zones, often where a block backs onto a creek or a reserve. If yours might be, open the Land Zoning Map in the NSW Planning Portal Spatial Viewer and check where the line falls before you plan where the house goes.
What can I build in R1, R2, R3, R4 and R5?
In short: R2 is for houses, R1 and R3 add townhouses and small apartment buildings, R4 is for apartments, and R5 is for houses on large lots. The table below is a summary, and each zone has its own page with more detail. What your council actually permits is in the Land Use Table of your own LEP.
| Zone | Mostly for |
|---|---|
| R1 General Residential | A mix of housing types and densities: houses, duplexes, townhouses and often apartments. |
| R2 Low Density Residential | Mostly detached houses, plus granny flats, and duplexes with consent since July 2024. |
| R3 Medium Density Residential | Townhouses, terraces, villas and small apartment buildings beside houses. |
| R4 High Density Residential | Apartment buildings. Some councils prohibit new single houses here. |
| R5 Large Lot Residential | Houses on large lots at the edge of towns, often without town sewer. |
| RU5 Village | Small rural villages, with houses and local shops side by side. |
| C4 Environmental Living | Low impact housing in areas with environmental or scenic value (formerly E4). |
Can I build a granny flat or a duplex on my block?
Often yes in a residential zone, but the lot matters as much as the zone. A granny flat (the planning term is a secondary dwelling) can be approved as complying development under the Housing SEPP where a house is permitted, on a lot of at least 450 square metres and 12 metres wide, with up to 60 square metres of floor area. A smaller lot, or a bigger granny flat where the LEP allows one, goes through a development application (DA) to council instead.
A duplex (a dual occupancy) has been permitted with consent in every R2 zone in NSW since 1 July 2024. Since 2025 the state has also set standards for dual occupancies that council cannot use to refuse an application when they are met, including a 450 square metre lot, a 12 metre width, a 9.5 metre height and a floor space ratio of 0.65:1. How those sit against your own LEP is worth confirming with council or a town planner before you buy a block for a duplex. Minimum lot size explains how lot size rules interact, and complying development covers the fast approval pathway.
What does permitted with consent mean?
It means you can build that kind of development only after it is approved, either through a DA to council or, where the design meets the state's complying development standards, through a complying development certificate from council or a registered certifier. Permitted without consent means the zone allows the use with no planning approval, although building rules still apply. Prohibited means it cannot be approved in that zone at all, however good the design.
Permitted with consent is not a promise of approval. A DA is assessed on its merits against the LEP, the council's Development Control Plan and the constraints on the site, which is why the flood, bushfire and heritage readings sit on the same report as the zone.
Can my zoning change?
Yes, in two ways. Council can rezone land through a planning proposal, which amends the LEP after public exhibition. The state can also change what a zone allows without redrawing any map, and the low and mid rise housing reforms did exactly that: from 1 July 2024 dual occupancies became permitted with consent in all R2 zones, and from 28 February 2025 terraces, townhouses, manor houses and low rise apartments became possible in parts of the R1, R2 and R3 zones within walking distance of selected train stations and town centres.
The Site Checker shows the zone in force as the Planning Portal publishes it. A draft zone on exhibition does not appear until the LEP is amended, so if you are buying, ask council whether a planning proposal covers the street.
What is the difference between an LEP and a DCP?
The LEP is the legal instrument: it sets the zone, the permitted uses and the hard numbers such as height, floor space ratio and minimum lot size. The DCP (Development Control Plan) is council's detailed guide to how a building should sit on its lot: setbacks, site coverage, landscaped area, privacy, parking and design. A DA is assessed against both, but the DCP is applied more flexibly than the LEP.
Complying development skips the DCP and uses the state's Codes SEPP instead, which is why a house approved by a certifier can have different setbacks from one approved by council on the same street.
What does zoning not tell me?
Zoning tells you what kind of building is allowed, not how big, how high or where on the block it can go. Those come from the height, floor space ratio and lot size maps, the DCP and any hazards on the land. Zoning also says nothing about easements, covenants on the title or a sewer main under the back yard. Those are on the title search and the section 10.7 planning certificate your conveyancer orders, and they are worth reading before anyone starts drawing.
What is my block zoned? Check any NSW address, free.
NSW addresses only. Free, and no sign up.
What else do people ask?
Is the zoning the same for every lot in my street?
Usually, but not always. Zone boundaries often follow streets, creeks and old subdivision lines, so the last few lots before a shopping strip or a reserve can sit in a different zone from their neighbours. Check your own lot rather than the street.
Which zone lets me build a single house?
Dwelling houses are permitted with consent in R2, and in most LEPs also in R1, R3, R5, RU5 and C4. Some councils prohibit new single houses in R4, where the controls are written for apartments. Your LEP's Land Use Table is the final word.
Is the zone on the Site Checker the same as a planning certificate?
The zone comes from the same LEP map the certificate relies on, but the Site Checker is not a section 10.7 planning certificate. The certificate is issued by council, is the legal record attached to a sale contract, and covers matters no public map carries.
Where does this information come from?
The Site Checker reads public maps. It is not a section 10.7 planning certificate, a flood certificate, a bushfire attack level assessment or a survey, and a map can be out of date for your lot. Confirm anything you rely on with council or the relevant authority before you buy, design or build. Nothing on this page replaces advice from your certifier, engineer, lawyer or your own designer.