- A CDC is all or nothing. Meet every standard, or you need a DA, which the department estimates adds 60+ days on average.
- The big three: building height (8.5 m), setbacks (front, side and rear, which change with lot size and wall height) and landscaped area (a percentage of your lot).
- Most fails are small: 10 cm on a side setback, a few square metres of lawn. They're cheap to fix on a drawing and expensive after lodgement.
Why "nearly" isn't good enough
Complying development works because nobody has to use judgement. The certifier checks your plans against fixed numbers. That's what makes it fast. It's also why a certifier can't approve a side setback of 0.85 m when the standard is 0.9 m, even if nobody would ever notice.
The figures below are for a new house under the Housing Code (Part 3 of the Codes SEPP), as set out in the department's Guide to Complying Development. They change with the size and width of your lot, so always work from your own lot's numbers.
1. Building height: 8.5 m, two storeys
The maximum height for a house under the Housing Code is 8.5 m, and it can have no more than two storeys.
- It's measured from existing ground level, not from your new floor level. On a sloping block, the highest point of the roof above the lowest point of the natural ground under it is often where you'll fail.
- Cut and fill changes the picture. If you're lowering the site, measure from the ground as it is now, not as it will be.
- Pitched roofs eat height fast. A steep roof over two generous ceiling heights can push past 8.5 m on a slope.
2. Setbacks: the most common fail
A setback is the distance from your building to a boundary. There are three to check, and each one has its own rule.
Front (primary road) setback
If there are dwellings within 40 m on the same side of the street, the setback is generally based on the average of the two nearest. If there aren't, use the default for your lot size:
| Lot area | Default front setback |
|---|---|
| 200–300 m² | 3 m |
| 300–900 m² | 4.5 m |
| 900–1,500 m² | 6.5 m |
| Over 1,500 m² | 10 m |
A change to the front setback rule has been proposed. See the "match the neighbours" proposal.
Side setbacks
On most suburban lots, the lower part of the house can sit 0.9 m from a side boundary. The higher the wall goes, the further back it has to sit. That's the trap: a two-storey wall that's fine at ground level can fail at the top.
- Measure the side setback at the tallest part of the wall, not just the ground floor.
- Eaves, gutters and some fixtures have their own allowances. Check them separately.
Rear setbacks
The rear setback depends on lot size and on whether the part of the house is above 4.5 m high:
| Lot area | Parts up to 4.5 m high | Parts above 4.5 m high |
|---|---|---|
| 200–300 m² | 3 m | 10 m |
| 300–900 m² | 3 m | 8 m |
| 900–1,500 m² | 5 m | 12 m |
| Over 1,500 m² | 10 m | 15 m |
The upper floor is where this bites. A first floor that runs the full depth of the house can easily end up 6 m from the back fence when it needs 8 m.
3. Landscaped area: the forgotten one
A set share of your lot must be landscaped. That means ground you can grow plants, grass and trees in. Paving, decks, driveways and the house itself don't count.
| Lot area | Minimum landscaped area | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 200–300 m² | 10% | 280 m² lot → 28 m² |
| 300–450 m² | 15% | 400 m² lot → 60 m² |
| 450–600 m² | 20% | 550 m² lot → 110 m² |
| 600–900 m² | 30% | 700 m² lot → 210 m² |
| 900–1,500 m² | 40% | 1,000 m² lot → 400 m² |
| Over 1,500 m² | 45% | 2,000 m² lot → 900 m² |
Designs usually fail here late in the process, when someone adds an alfresco slab, a wider driveway or a paved side path. Re-check the number after every change to the outdoor areas.
A quick pre-lodgement routine
- Write down your lot area and width. They decide which band of every standard applies.
- Take the highest point of the roof and the lowest natural ground under it. Is the difference 8.5 m or less?
- Measure every setback at its worst point: the closest corner, the tallest wall.
- Add up the soft landscaping on the site plan. Leave out anything paved or built on.
- Run the numbers through a check and then confirm with your certifier, who will also test the standards we don't cover here.
Other things can still stop a CDC: the land itself may be excluded (see the land exclusions checklist), and there are more standards than the ones above, such as privacy screening, earthworks and car parking.
Check your design in a minute
Enter your lot size and building dimensions. The free quick check tests height, storeys, setbacks and landscaped area against the Housing Code, clause by clause. No account needed.
Sources
- State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008, Part 3 Housing Code, cl 3.1, 3.8, 3.10 and 3.13.
- NSW Department of Planning and Environment, Guide to Complying Development (August 2022), Housing Code tables. Figures in this guide come from it; check them against the current in-force SEPP.
- SN Architects, Close enough to complying, summarising the department's May 2026 Explanation of Intended Effect (60+ days added when a project moves from CDC to DA).
- Shoalhaven City Council, Complying development (a CDC can't be approved unless all controls are met).
General information only, current at 9 October 2026. It is not legal, planning or certifier advice. Confirm with a registered certifier or your council.