Have you ever wondered why the humble duplex has become an increasingly popular option for both first home builders and investors alike?
Australia’s current real estate market is notoriously difficult to navigate.
Although purchasing a property can be a daunting task, acquiring land with the characteristics where you will be presented with the opportunity to own your dream home, generate income or increase property value can be an even greater challenge.
Let’s dive into some frequently asked questions by our clients at Duplex Building design regarding this type of development in New South Wales and see if this is the right fit for you and your journey through the housing market.
What is a duplex?
In New South Wales, a duplex means two dwellings on one lot of land that can be attached or detached from each other but does not include a secondary dwelling.
There are different types of dual occupancies such as:
- Side by side: It is when two homes are built right next to each other, boundary to boundary, are characterised by sharing a common wall.
- Semidetached dual occupancy: It is when two homes share a common wall on a small fraction of the design. Example: Only garages are attached.
- Detached: Two separated dwellings on one lot, may share a driveway but with no common walls.
- Front and back: It is when two detached dwellings are built in front of another but only one faces the street (Unless there is a rear lane).
- Above: It is when one dwelling is over the other. It is a class 2 development
After building is complete a duplex can be under one title, a strata title or torrents tiltle.
What are the benefits of building a duplex?
There are several ways that building a duplex can be beneficial:
- Rental Income: One of the biggest benefits of the duplexes is the potential for rental income. By renting out one side of the duplex, you can offset your mortgage payments and even generate a profit.
- Cost Savings: Building a duplex can be more cost-effective than building two separate homes because it allows you to share certain expenses, such as the foundation, roof, driveway and exterior amenities. The main reason why you should carefully select a design company like Duplex building design to help you keep costing on track.
- Increased property value: We pride ourselves at Duplex Building design to be experts in well-designed duplexes that can increase the overall value of your property.
- Multiugenerational living: A duplex can be an ideal solution for multigeneration living, where different generation of family members live close by, but independent. Specially because there is no requirement for both dwellings to be the same size, and because at Duplex building design we specialize in liveable design, accessible and adaptable designs.
- Reduction of mortgage: By selling one of the two dwellings you will significantly reduce the capital of your mortgage if you did not own the site, alternatively you may be able to have a brand-new house free of debt.
- Shared maintenance responsibilities: With a duplex, you can share the responsibility of maintaining the property with your tenant, which can save you time and money.
How can I get a Duplex Approved in NSW?
There are two options at the moment in NSW to get your Duplex Approved.
- DA Process: Using Council and following Development Control Planning (DCP) and Local Environmental Planning (LEP) regulations.
- CDC Process: Seeking approval following Low Rise housing diversity code and getting it approved either by Council or private certifier.
If this type of development is right sounds like a fit for you, give us a call and to book your feasibility assessment. This includes assessing your site to find the best approval process for your development and your business model.
