Do I need a planning permit to build three townhouses in Victoria?

A permit is generally needed for two or more dwellings on a lot. Kingston City Council, for example, states that a permit is mandatory in its area, and the Code is written for exactly this case. Overlays can add other triggers, so ask your council what applies at the address before you assume anything about the process.

Can neighbours stop a development that meets the Code?

Where every applicable standard is met, the application is exempt from third-party appeal rights to VCAT. A City of Greater Geelong guide reports advice from the state government that councils cannot refuse an application that meets all standards and has no other permit triggers. If a standard is not met, the application is assessed on its merits and objectors can have appeal rights.

Can three townhouses fit on a 450 m² block?

The Code sets no minimum lot size, so the answer comes from the limits. At 65% site coverage, a 450 m² lot allows 450 x 0.65 = 292.5 m² of buildings, about 97.5 m² per dwelling, and leaves 157.5 m² for 75 m² of private open space, a driveway and setbacks. In the 25% garden area band that applies to lots of 400 to 500 m² in these zones, the garden requirement alone is 450 x 0.25 = 112.5 m² of that 157.5 m². Whether a workable design exists is a question for a designer and the council.

Where do I check the zone and overlays?

Planning Victoria's permit guidance says to review the local planning scheme, talk to the council's planning team and attend a pre-application meeting if one is offered. VicPlan, the state planning map, also carries the Car Parking Requirement Maps that give the parking category for a site.

How much land do you need to build three townhouses?

Victoria's Townhouse and Low-Rise Code, which governs two or more dwellings on a lot, does not set a minimum lot size for three townhouses. What decides whether three fit is a set of limits on site coverage, open space, setbacks, access and car parking, which the Code applies to developments of up to three storeys. This guide sets out the Victorian rules as at October 2026, with short notes on New South Wales and Western Australia.

The Code caps how much of a lot can be covered by buildings (60, 65 or 70 per cent depending on the zone) and asks for 25 m² of private open space per dwelling at ground level. The land you need comes from adding those limits together, not from one lot-size figure.

Checked October 2026. Rules, rates and prices change, so confirm anything that matters with the source linked below.

What the Code covers

Clause 55 of the Victoria Planning Provisions is now called the Townhouse and Low-Rise Code. According to Planning Victoria's guidelines, it applies to two or more dwellings on a lot, and to residential buildings up to three storeys, in the Neighbourhood Residential, General Residential, Residential Growth, Mixed Use, Township and Housing Choice and Transport zones. Applications lodged from 6 March 2025 are assessed under it.

If a proposal meets every standard that applies, it is treated as deemed to comply, and the application is exempt from third-party appeal rights. A council guide to the Code adds that overlays and other permit triggers can still apply, so the zone is only the first thing to check. Applications also need to include any registered restrictive covenants and section 173 agreements on the title.

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The limits that set the land you need

These figures come from Planning Victoria's May 2025 guidelines to the Code. Confirm the current text for your zone before relying on them.

Standard	What the guidelines say
Site coverage	Maximum share of the lot covered by buildings: 60% in Neighbourhood Residential and Township zones, 65% in General Residential, 70% in Residential Growth, Mixed Use and Housing Choice and Transport zones
Private open space	25 m² of secluded space per dwelling at ground level, at least 3 m wide, or a balcony, podium or roof option (balconies of 8 to 12 m² depending on type, a 15 m² podium or a 10 m² roof area)
Tree canopy	10% of the site for smaller sites (around 1,000 m² and under), 20% for larger sites
Street setback	Follows the neighbours' front setbacks, capped at 6 m; with no neighbouring building, 4 m, or 6 m on Transport Zone 2 roads
Side and rear setbacks	1 m plus 0.3 m for every metre of wall height over 3.6 m up to 6.9 m, then 1 m for every metre above that (the standard also offers a second option)
Walls on boundaries	Up to 10 m plus 25% of the remaining boundary length, average height 3.2 m, no part above 3.6 m
Access	Accessway no wider than 33% of the street frontage, or 40% where the frontage is under 20 m

A worked example on a 600 m² lot

The Code does not hand you a lot size, but its percentages let you test one. Take a 600 m² lot and apply each zone's site coverage limit:

Zone	Site coverage	Maximum footprint of all buildings	Per dwelling, split three ways
Neighbourhood Residential	60%	600 x 0.60 = 360 m²	120 m²
General Residential	65%	600 x 0.65 = 390 m²	130 m²
Residential Growth	70%	600 x 0.70 = 420 m²	140 m²

In the General Residential Zone, that leaves 600 - 390 = 210 m² that is not built on. Three dwellings at the 25 m² minimum need 3 x 25 = 75 m² of private open space, and a canopy of 10% of the site is 60 m². The driveway, front setback and bin areas also come out of the same 210 m². Where the garden area requirement applies (see below), a 600 m² lot is in the 30% band, which is 600 x 0.30 = 180 m² to be kept as garden.

This is arithmetic from published limits, not a design test. Setbacks, overshadowing and overlooking standards shape the buildable area further, and a town planner or building designer is the person to test a real lot.

Frontage and shape

Width matters as much as area. On a 15 m frontage, 40% means the accessway can be no wider than 15 x 0.40 = 6.0 m. On a 20 m frontage the limit drops to 33%, which is 20 x 0.33 = 6.6 m. Side setbacks are measured from both boundaries, so a narrow lot gives up a larger share of its width than a wide one of the same area.

Car parking

Parking rules were reformed in December 2025 (Amendment VC277, announced 3 December 2025). Clause 52.06 now sets requirements by category, using a Car Parking Requirement Map on VicPlan that reflects public transport access. Categories 1 and 2 have minimum rates only, Category 3 has minimums and maximums, and Category 4 has maximums only. A planning permit is still needed to provide fewer than the minimum.

The table in force before the reform (version VC160, January 2020) required one space for each one- or two-bedroom dwelling and two for each dwelling with three or more bedrooms, with visitor spaces only for developments of five or more dwellings. Check the current rate for your site's category on the map rather than using those older figures.

Garden area and local rules

Planning Practice Note 84 (December 2023) describes a minimum garden area requirement in the Neighbourhood Residential and General Residential zones: 25% for lots of 400 to 500 m², 30% above 500 to 650 m² and 35% above 650 m². The note says that for two or more dwellings the percentage is based on the original lot size and the garden area does not need to be shared equally between the dwellings, and it generally exempts development on lots under 400 m². Planning Victoria's Code FAQs say the zone's garden area requirements continue to apply alongside clause 55 in those two zones. The council can say what applies at a given address, along with any overlay, such as heritage or vegetation controls, on the property.

Other states

New South Wales: the Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy lists multi dwelling housing (terraces) with a 500 m² minimum lot size and 18 m minimum width, and dual occupancies at 450 m² and 12 m, in the areas the policy covers. Terraces are permitted with consent in R2 zones in those areas. The page was last updated in March 2025.
Western Australia: density follows the R-Code on the lot. A City of Melville fact sheet describes R40 as needing around 220 m² per house. The R-Codes Volume 1 table and the local planning scheme are the official references.
Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT set their own rules, and councils add local controls, so check the planning scheme for the address.

If you are comparing building with buying, you can browse new townhouses in Melbourne. Costs, approvals and timing are covered in what it costs to build two or three townhouses in Melbourne and how to subdivide and build townhouses.

Common questions

Do I need a planning permit to build three townhouses in Victoria?: A permit is generally needed for two or more dwellings on a lot. Kingston City Council, for example, states that a permit is mandatory in its area, and the Code is written for exactly this case. Overlays can add other triggers, so ask your council what applies at the address before you assume anything about the process.
Can neighbours stop a development that meets the Code?: Where every applicable standard is met, the application is exempt from third-party appeal rights to VCAT. A City of Greater Geelong guide reports advice from the state government that councils cannot refuse an application that meets all standards and has no other permit triggers. If a standard is not met, the application is assessed on its merits and objectors can have appeal rights.
Can three townhouses fit on a 450 m² block?: The Code sets no minimum lot size, so the answer comes from the limits. At 65% site coverage, a 450 m² lot allows 450 x 0.65 = 292.5 m² of buildings, about 97.5 m² per dwelling, and leaves 157.5 m² for 75 m² of private open space, a driveway and setbacks. In the 25% garden area band that applies to lots of 400 to 500 m² in these zones, the garden requirement alone is 450 x 0.25 = 112.5 m² of that 157.5 m². Whether a workable design exists is a question for a designer and the council.
Where do I check the zone and overlays?: Planning Victoria's permit guidance says to review the local planning scheme, talk to the council's planning team and attend a pre-application meeting if one is offered. VicPlan, the state planning map, also carries the Car Parking Requirement Maps that give the parking category for a site.

Keep reading

Sources

This is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice. Get advice that suits your situation before you buy.