The Western Australian government has published the revised Residential Design Codes Volume 1 (R-Codes), which will boost housing supply and choice while improving design standards across the state.
The changes respond to industry feedback to help reduce any further impacts on the residential construction sector and keep the cost of delivering affordable housing down.
Single homes in areas coded R40 and below will not be subject to the 2023 draft Medium Density Code provisions and existing standards from the R-Codes will continue to apply, minimising impacts on popular housing products in new residential estates.
The 2023 draft Medium Density Code provisions will apply to single houses coded R50 and above, grouped dwellings coded R30 and above, and multiple dwellings coded R30-60, with minor modifications to some provisions.
The revised R-Codes retain the site area incentives for small dwellings and accessible dwellings in areas coded R30 and above, promoting greater housing diversity.
Changes to granny flat provisions are also incorporated in the revised R-Codes and relax existing planning exemptions by removing the previous minimum 350 square metre lot size requirement and no longer requiring the granny flat to be compatible with the existing dwelling.
Consequential amendments to the existing Apartment R-Codes (Volume 2) have also been published to ensure consistency with the revised R-Codes Volume 1.
Most provisions in the revised R-Codes will come into effect on 10 April 2024, while implementation of a small number of new provisions subject to existing planning instruments, such as a structure plan, will be supported by a 24-month transition period.
