Brisbane City Council’s “More Homes, Sooner” reforms have reshaped the low-medium density residential (LMR) zone under Brisbane City Plan 2014. The reforms were delivered as two separate amendment packages, and both are now in force. The first, which changes on-site car parking rates for multiple dwellings, was adopted on 9 June 2026 and took effect on 12 June 2026 as City Plan amendment v36.00/2026. The second, the Low-medium density residential design package, which changes building heights, lot sizes and built form, was adopted by Council on 18 August 2026 and commenced on 18 September 2026. It is now in effect as part of City Plan version 37.00/2026. The LMR zone covers about 14 per cent of the city, and Council expects the changes to support up to 6,000 new homes by 2032. The reforms are directed at established middle-ring suburbs, where Council wants to encourage duplexes, terraces, townhouses, villas and small apartment buildings rather than high-rise, and where new unit construction had fallen from around 1,100 homes a year to about 445 by the end of 2023.
A central feature of the design package is that it combines two existing LMR zone precincts into a single new zone precinct, the 3 or 4 storey mix zone precinct, without changing the location or number of properties in the zone. The lower 2 storey mix zone precinct continues. The key changes from both packages are set out below.
The key changes
- Minimum lot sizes: in the new precinct, the minimum lot size for small lot houses is reduced to 120 square metres where a site is more than 400 metres walking distance from frequent public transport or a centre, subject to specific design and servicing requirements. Dual occupancies have a minimum lot size of 400 square metres, increasing to 600 square metres on well-located sites within 400 metres walking distance of frequent public transport or a centre.
- Building heights: in the new precinct, small lot houses and dual occupancies may reach up to 3 storeys and 11.5 metres. Multiple dwellings, such as townhouses and low-rise apartments, may reach up to 4 storeys and 14 metres on larger sites, of at least 800 square metres, with a frontage within 400 metres walking distance of a railway or busway station. The former precincts were generally limited to 2 to 3 storeys.
- Retirement and residential care facilities: these may also reach up to 4 storeys and 14 metres on comparable sites near a railway or busway station.
- Subdivision of low-density land near centres: the existing ability to subdivide into 300 square metre lots near a shopping centre is expanded, from within 200 metres to within 300 metres walking distance of the centre.
- Car parking (adopted separately and in force from 12 June 2026): outside the City core and City frame, the two-bedroom rate is reduced from 2 spaces to 1.5, while the one-bedroom (1), three-bedroom (2), four-bedroom-plus (2.5) and visitor (0.25) rates are unchanged. Lower rates apply in Key Locations, being centres or land within 400 metres walking distance of a frequent public transport stop or centre, at 1.2 spaces for two-bedroom units, 1.6 for three-bedroom and 2 for four-bedroom-plus. Resident spaces are rounded down and visitor spaces rounded up, and every dwelling still requires at least one space. Council noted that a single car space can add up to $82,000 to the cost of a unit.
- Built form and character controls: a total site cover of 55 per cent applies to lots under 180 square metres, with a maximum impervious area of 70 per cent, alongside minimum setbacks, maximum building footprints and space for street trees intended to manage suburb character.
- Assessment: assessment in the new precinct is simplified, enabling more code assessable development for multiple dwellings and small lots, and reducing dual occupancies to accepted development, with the stated aim of delivering these homes sooner.
Where the changes apply
The changes are directed at the LMR zone, which takes in parts or all of a range of established suburbs, including Morningside, St Lucia, Moorooka, Zillmere, Fitzgibbon, Bulimba, Indooroopilly, Nundah, Northgate, Clayfield, Hamilton, Ascot, Hawthorne, Coorparoo, East Brisbane, Stones Corner, Carina, Taringa, Toowong, Highgate Hill and Wynnum. Whether a particular property is affected, and which outcomes apply to it, depends on its zoning and its position within the new precinct under City Plan, not merely on its suburb.
What the changes mean
For landowners in the affected suburbs, the reforms open development and subdivision potential on sites that were previously too small to use, and are likely to affect land values. For developers and investors, smaller minimum lots, additional height near transport and centres, and reduced parking rates should improve the feasibility of low-rise unit, terrace and townhouse product, although the design, built-form and character controls remain significant and will shape what can actually be delivered.
For owners of low-density land within 300 metres of a shopping centre, the expanded subdivision allowance is a discrete but potentially valuable new option. The consultation and public debate also highlighted concern that infrastructure, including public transport, footpaths, intersections and parks, should keep pace with the additional density, so proponents can expect continued scrutiny of amenity and infrastructure impacts, particularly for the larger four-storey outcomes near transport.
Getting the detail right
This article is a general summary and is not legal advice. The figures and thresholds above are drawn from Council’s adopted amendment material. Both packages are now in force, but the precise criteria, and how they apply to a particular site within the new precinct, should be confirmed against the current version of City Plan before they are relied on. This design package forms part of City Plan version 37, which we address more broadly in our separate overview of the version 37 amendments. We can advise on how the changes apply to a specific property or project, including development and subdivision potential, the likely assessment pathway, and submission or appeal rights.