Private Open Space Requirements for Residential Development in Victoria

What it is

Private Open Space (POS) is the outdoor part of a residential lot that the residents of that dwelling can use for recreation, drying clothes, growing plants and the basic things that need to happen outside. Secluded Private Open Space (SPOS) is the slice of POS that is screened from public view and from neighbouring properties, oriented to receive useful sun and at a workable shape for sitting outside.

In Victoria the rules sit in the Victoria Planning Provisions (VPP), specifically Clause 54 (one dwelling on a lot) and Clause 55 (two or more dwellings on a lot, often called ResCode). Most local planning schemes adopt these provisions and may impose tighter local variations through schedules.

When the rules apply

Clause 54 applies to a single dwelling or a single small second dwelling on a lot below 300 square metres in some zones. Clause 55 applies to two or more dwellings on a lot or to a residential building. Clause 58 applies to apartment developments four storeys or more above ground level. The numbers below are the state default. Always check the local schedule because councils routinely vary specific standards (typical examples are Boroondara, Stonnington and Glen Eira).

The headline numbers (Clause 55 Standard B28)

For Clause 55 (two or more dwellings on a lot) Standard B28, the state defaults are:

• Each dwelling needs at least 40 square metres of POS with one part of that area at least 25 square metres.
• That 25 square metre part has a minimum dimension of 3 metres and convenient access from a living room.
• The 25 square metre part is the Secluded Private Open Space.

For apartments and dwellings above ground floor under Clause 55, a balcony of 8 square metres with a minimum width of 1.6 metres meets the standard. For dwellings of one or two bedrooms on the ground floor, 25 square metres of secluded POS with a minimum dimension of 3 metres meets the standard.

Clause 54 Standard A17 (single dwellings)

For a single dwelling on a lot of less than 500 square metres, Standard A17 requires:

• An area of 25 square metres with a minimum dimension of 3 metres, with convenient access from a living room.

For a single dwelling on a lot of 500 square metres or more, the standard is the same area but the lot is large enough that the area is usually a non-issue.

Convenient access from a living room

Both standards require convenient access from a living room. A back door off the kitchen counts. A door off a study or third bedroom does not. The intent is that the SPOS is part of the lived environment, not a fenced off side run that nobody ever uses.

Solar access (Standard B29 and B32)

POS alone is not enough. Standard B29 deals with solar access to open space. The SPOS should be located on the north side of the dwelling where practicable and should be designed to allow sunlight to fall on at least 75 percent of its area or 40 square metres (whichever is the lesser) for at least two hours between 9am and 3pm on 22 September.

Standard B22 deals with overshadowing of neighbouring SPOS. The objective is that the area of SPOS that is not overshadowed by the new development should be greater than 50 percent or 25 square metres with a minimum dimension of 3 metres, whichever is the lesser area, for a minimum of five hours between 9am and 3pm on 22 September.

What does not count as POS

The standards exclude a number of areas from the POS calculation:

• Driveways and parking areas
• Areas required for visitor parking under Clause 52.06
• Areas dedicated to service yards or clothes lines unless integrated
• Roofs (a roof terrace can count if it is private and accessible)
• Areas with less than the minimum dimension specified

A 6 metre wide rear yard with a 4 metre setback can be POS. A 1.5 metre side passageway never is, no matter how long.

Common Clause 55 traps

A Clause 55 application is the single most refused application type in Victoria for residential developers. The repeat offenders for POS:

1. Tandem driveways that eat the rear yard. The SPOS ends up south facing because the only spot left is behind the second dwelling.
2. Service unit (rubbish, AC condenser, HWS) plonked in the middle of the SPOS, dropping the usable area below 25 sqm.
3. Living room located on the wrong side of the dwelling so the SPOS access is from a bedroom.
4. Boundary fences specced at 1.8 metres timber, dropping useful winter sun on a south facing yard below the Standard B29 floor.
5. First floor balcony counted toward ground floor SPOS. They are separate calculations.

Local schedules and variations

Each council has a Municipal Planning Scheme that can vary standards through a schedule to the residential zone. A common example: a schedule that increases the minimum POS to 50 square metres for any new dwelling in a heritage overlay. Always pull the planning scheme, look at the General Residential Zone or Neighbourhood Residential Zone schedule and check whether the relevant Standard has been varied.

A standard does not have to be met exactly. The structure of ResCode is that the application has to either meet the standard or meet the objective of the clause through an alternative design. A council can refuse based on an alternative that does not meet the objective. The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal hears appeals on these refusals.

Builder context

For builders pricing a Clause 55 development at the early feasibility stage, the POS calculation is the second number to check (after the site coverage). A site that cannot deliver 25 square metres of contiguous, north facing SPOS to each dwelling is a site that needs a different design or a different number of dwellings. Working that out at sketch stage is cheap. Working it out after the DA is refused is not.