Small Second Dwelling Feasibility Report
A real 632 m² lot in Sunshine North, assessed against thirteen lot-specific determinations — each one checked against the regulator's own instrument, not a summary of it.
This is a worked example on a real Melbourne lot, produced to demonstrate the method. The address has been removed — the property is not a client and its owner did not commission this. Everything else is exactly as it was found: the zone, the overlays, the lot area, the controls and the numbers are real.
The answer
Yes, with conditions — and the conditions are not the ones the owner would expect.
A planning permit is required here — not because of the lot's size or its zone, but because the Melbourne Airport Environs Overlay Schedule 2 (MAEO2) applies to this land and requires a permit both to use land for a small second dwelling and to construct the building. The widely-reported "granny flats no longer need a planning permit in Victoria" does not apply at this address.
| The five things that decide it | Answer |
|---|---|
| Zone | General Residential Zone – Schedule 1 (GRZ1) |
| Overlays | MAEO2 — Melbourne Airport Environs Overlay Sch 2 DCPO2 — Development Contributions Plan Overlay Sch 2 |
| Lot area | 632.3 m² — above the 300 m² line, so clause 54 does not apply |
| Planning permit trigger | MAEO2 clause 1.0 and clause 2.0 |
| The binding constraint | MAEO2's 600 m² minimum lot size. This lot is 632.3 m² — it clears the threshold by 32.3 m², about 5%. |
What this means, in plain words
You can build a small second home here, and the block is big enough — but only just, and only because of a rule almost nobody knows about. Because this land sits under the Melbourne Airport noise overlay, it needs a planning permit from the council as well as a building permit, even though the State removed the planning permit requirement for most of Victoria in 2023.
The overlay also says a block carrying a house and a small second home must be at least 600 square metres. This one is 632. A block in the next street, slightly smaller, would have been no — not "harder", but no.
On top of that, because the permit is required under the noise overlay, the new building must be built to an aircraft-noise standard, which adds cost that a standard kit price will not include. The council also has to notify Melbourne Airport's operator about the application.
Not the planning permit — that is foreseeable and manageable. The risk is the certificate of title, which has not been read. A registered restrictive covenant can prohibit a second dwelling outright, and neither the council nor the State enforces or publishes them — the title is the only place they appear. This lot sits on an older plan of subdivision, exactly the vintage where single-dwelling covenants are found in Melbourne's west.
Buy the title before spending another dollar. If a covenant prohibits it, everything else in this report is moot.
The determinations
Thirteen. Each one answered, sourced, and given a consequence — or marked honestly as not determined, with the exact step that would close it.
General Residential Zone – Schedule 1 (GRZ1). Schedule 1 is titled Incremental Change Areas. It specifies no neighbourhood character objectives and no street setback or site coverage variations.
Two apply. MAEO2 — Melbourne Airport Environs Overlay Schedule 2. DCPO2 — Development Contributions Plan Overlay Schedule 2.
No Heritage, Land Subject to Inundation, Special Building, Bushfire Management, Design and Development or Neighbourhood Character overlay applies.
632.3 m² — above 300 m². Clause 54 does not normally apply. The residential development provisions that would otherwise be assessed under clause 54 are instead applied through the building permit process.
Although clause 54 does not apply on lot-size grounds, a planning permit is still required here — under the overlay. The two questions are independent and are routinely conflated.
Yes. MAEO2 clause 1.0: "A permit is required to use land for a Small second dwelling." MAEO2 clause 2.0: "A permit is required to construct a building or construct or carry out works for a use in Clause 1.0."
Three consequences follow from this being an MAEO permit:
- Noise attenuation is mandatory. Clause 45.08-2 requires any building permitted under this overlay to comply with the noise attenuation measures in Section 3 of AS 2021-2015. A kit priced for a standard suburban block will not include this. A real and unquoted cost.
- Melbourne Airport must be notified. Clause 45.08-6 requires notice to the airport lessee company, with the application and plans.
- No public notice to neighbours. Clause 45.08-5 exempts the application from s 52(1)(a), (b) and (d) notice — neighbours are not notified and cannot object on this ground. That is favourable.
The studio-versus-dwelling line, precisely: MAEO2 clause 2.0 exempts "a non-habitable room or outbuilding". A backyard studio with no kitchen sink, food preparation facilities, bath or shower and toilet is an outbuilding and needs no planning permit here. A small second dwelling — which by definition has all of those — needs two. The cheaper answer and the rentable answer are not the same building, and the difference is a permit.
MAEO2 clause 1.0: "The development of a Dwelling and Small second dwelling on a single lot must be on a lot of at least 600 square metres." This lot is 632.3 m². It complies, with 32.3 m² to spare.
Had the lot been under 600 m², this would not be a permit hurdle — it would be a prohibition, and no design or negotiation would fix it. Many lots in this area on older plans fall between 550 and 600 m².
The 632.3 m² figure is computed from the digital cadastre, not a survey. It is not plausible that a survey would move it below 600 m² — that would need a 5% error — but the number on the title is the one the council will use.
Applies. The zone schedule answers "Is the construction or extension of a dwelling, small second dwelling or residential building exempt from the minimum garden area requirement?" with "No".
632.3 m² falls in the Above 500 – 650 m² band → 30% → 189.7 m² must be set aside as garden area.
The strongest numeric constraint on the design. The existing dwelling, its driveway and paving, any existing outbuilding, and the new 60 m² dwelling and its path must together leave 189.7 m² of qualifying garden area.
Rule: regulation 74A requires the small second dwelling to sit behind the front wall of the existing dwelling facing the front street. Regulation 74 setbacks apply concurrently. Regulation 73 (maximum street setback) is exempt.
This lot: not determined — requires the existing dwelling's front wall line. On a 40.2 m deep lot the rear yard is likely generous, but usable depth is 40.2 m minus the front setback minus the house depth.
Rule: regulation 86A requires private open space for the small second dwelling, and the existing dwelling must retain its own.
Interacts directly with D6. Garden area and private open space are different tests measured over the same ground, and satisfying one does not satisfy the other.
Rule: regulation 86B requires a clear and unobstructed path from the front street to the small second dwelling, subject to a maximum grade.
The lot is ≈15.7 m wide, generous for the area — a typical single dwelling of ~10–12 m width leaves 3–5 m of side access. Very likely satisfiable, but it depends on the house's actual width and position and on the driveway.
Rule: regulation 77 continues to apply with two buildings on the allotment. Adding ~60 m² of roof plus a path to a lot that already has a house and driveway may or may not breach the permeable proportion.
The certificate of title has not been purchased. The most important gap in this report.
A registered restrictive covenant can prohibit a second dwelling outright, regardless of everything else here. The State neither creates nor enforces covenants and does not publish them; they appear only on the title. An easement could remove the buildable part of the rear yard. A section 173 agreement could impose further conditions. An approved building envelope, if one exists, may override the siting requirements in both the planning scheme and Part 5 of the Building Regulations.
Clause 53.18 does not apply, for two independent reasons: it applies to applications "under a provision of a zone", and the permit here is triggered by an overlay; and it expressly excludes "an application to construct or extend a dwelling, fence or residential building in a residential zone".
The council's ESD local policy sets its lowest residential threshold at "2 – 9 dwellings" and specifies nothing for a single new dwelling.
Whether an existing house plus a new small second dwelling counts as "2 dwellings" for that threshold is genuinely arguable, and the policy is expressed as "consider as relevant" rather than as a mandatory requirement. This is a question for the council's planning department, and it should be asked before the application is lodged, not after.
Development contributions levy and community infrastructure levy: EXEMPT. The DCPO schedule lists among its exemptions: "The development of land for a small second dwelling." Despite DCPO2 applying to this land, no development contribution is payable.
Water corporation contributions: payable, amount not determined. The levy exemption does not remove them. The regulator's own words: "A small second dwelling will normally be exempt from these levies. Other contributions required by other government authorities such as water authorities will still apply."
What may lawfully be built
| Maximum gross floor area | 60 m², measured from the outside of external walls, including all roofed areas — a roofed deck or verandah counts |
| Must be self-contained | kitchen sink; food preparation facilities; a bath or shower; a toilet and wash basin |
| Reticulated natural gas | Prohibited — all-electric by law |
| Car parking | None required |
| Subdivision / separate sale | Not permitted |
| Occupancy | Anyone — family member, dependent person, or unrelated tenants; long or short stay |
| Later extension | Cannot be extended beyond 60 m² without a change-of-use approval |
| Additional requirement here | Must be constructed to the noise attenuation measures in Section 3 of AS 2021-2015 — a consequence of the MAEO permit, not a standard inclusion |
What this report is — and is not
This report is a desk feasibility assessment of whether a small second dwelling can lawfully be built on a lot, what controls apply, and what the approval path looks like.
It is NOT:
- not a planning permit, a building permit, or any approval. Only the council and a registered building surveyor can issue those.
- not a determination by the council. Council is not bound by anything in it and may reach a different view.
- not advice from a registered building practitioner. Total Reno is not a registered building practitioner and does not carry out, arrange or manage domestic building work.
- not architectural, engineering, surveying or legal advice.
- not a design, and not a construction cost estimate.
Boundaries and dimensions are derived from the State's digital cadastre and are indicative only. They are not a survey and must not be used to set out a building.
In this worked example no site visit was carried out and no certificate of title was purchased, which is why four determinations are marked as not determined rather than answered.
Who does the building
Total Reno prepares the feasibility assessment. We do not carry out domestic building work, and we do not arrange or manage the carrying out of it. Neither is a service we offer.
Under the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 s 3(1), a contract to carry out, or to arrange or manage the carrying out of domestic building work is a domestic building contract, and the party to it must hold the appropriate registration. Total Reno is not registered. The homeowner contracts directly with the registered builder and with each trade, and pays them directly.
Referral. Where one is wanted, we introduce you to a registered building practitioner whose registration we have confirmed on the Building and Plumbing Commission public register at the date of introduction, and give you the registration number so you can confirm it yourself. We are not a party to your building contract. Any fee we receive for the introduction is disclosed to you in writing, with its amount, before you engage them. You are free to use any builder you choose.
Home Warranty insurance. Domestic building work over $20,000 requires Home Warranty insurance, capped at $400,000. Since 1 July 2026 it is no longer limited to the builder dying, disappearing or becoming insolvent — it reaches incomplete, defective or non-compliant work where the builder fails or refuses to fix it. It is arranged by the builder. Confirm the certificate exists before paying a deposit.
Sources
Every determination is checked against the instrument itself, not a summary of it. All sources checked 6 September 2026.
| Determination | Source |
|---|---|
| D1, D6 | Brimbank Planning Scheme cl 32.08 + Schedule 1 (GRZ1) |
| D2, D4, D5 | Brimbank Planning Scheme cl 45.08 + Schedule 2 (MAEO2) |
| D2, D13 | Brimbank Planning Scheme cl 45.06 + Schedule 2 (DCPO2) |
| D12 | Brimbank Planning Scheme cl 53.18, and the council's ESD local policy clause |
| D3, and the 60 m² product definition | Planning Victoria — Small second homes |
| D7–D11, D13 | Building and Plumbing Commission — Small second dwelling |
| D1, D2, D3 | Vicmap / VicPlan property, parcel, zone and overlay services |
| Referral | Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 s 3(1), s 29(3) |
Small second dwellings of 60 m² or less were exempted from a planning permit on 14 December 2023 (Amendment VC253). Clause 54 changed for lots under 300 m² on 8 September 2025 (VC282). Victoria's building regulations and Minister's Guidelines are stated by the department as still to be aligned with those planning changes, so the siting rules are a moving target. The Building and Plumbing Commission replaced the Victorian Building Authority on 1 July 2026, and Home Warranty replaced Domestic Building Insurance the same day.
On the expiry of the dependent person's unit provisions, the two regulators publish different dates — one says 28 March 2025, the other 28 March 2027. We rely on the later, from the authority on the planning provisions, and record the disagreement rather than resolving it silently. It affects nothing in this example, but anyone checking will find it.