15/08/2026
Brisbane City Council are getting closer to implementing Amendment L to the City Plan this will have alot of impact on Rooming Accomidation and we are suggesting if you plan to build in the next few years and you land can get a Building Approval, get them as soon as you can.
⚠️ **BRISBANE ROOMING ACCOMMODATION — WHAT PACKAGE L COULD ACTUALLY CHANGE**
Brisbane City Council’s **Major Amendment Package L** is still proposed and is **not yet in force**.
Council currently anticipates the amendment becoming effective in **mid-to-late 2026**.
For rooming accommodation, these are the changes that matter most.
**1. 50% TOTAL SITE COVER**
Council is proposing a **50% total site-cover outcome** for small-scale housing.
Examples:
• 400m² lot = about **200m²** site cover
• 500m² lot = about **250m²** site cover
• 600m² lot = about **300m²** site cover
**EFFECT:** Larger single-level rooming houses may become harder to fit efficiently on smaller sites.
This can push designs toward smaller footprints, more compact layouts or additional storeys.
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**2. ROOMING ACCOMMODATION TO LOOK MORE LIKE A NORMAL HOUSE**
Council specifically states that the proposed amendment seeks a design outcome where rooming accommodation **more closely resembles a standard house**.
**EFFECT:** Designs that visually present as purpose-built boarding or institutional accommodation may become more difficult to achieve under the accepted-development pathway.
Façades, building bulk, entrances, parking and overall site layout will increasingly need to read as conventional suburban housing.
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**3. LESS SELF-CONTAINED BEDROOM DESIGN**
The proposed Rooming Accommodation Code draws a clearer distinction between a bedroom and a self-contained dwelling.
Private resident facilities can include items such as an ensuite and dry-bar style facilities, but the proposal does not support turning each room into its own fully self-contained unit.
**EFFECT:** Rooming accommodation designed around highly independent rooms with private cooking facilities may need to move back toward genuinely **shared kitchens and shared household facilities**.
That changes the resident product considerably.
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**4. MORE LAND HAS TO REMAIN OUTSIDE THE BUILDING**
The combination of the **50% site-cover target** and Council’s increased emphasis on backyards, landscaping, street trees and suburban character means more of the block is intended to remain as usable external space.
**EFFECT:** On smaller lots, every square metre becomes more important.
Less land available for the building can mean:
• smaller communal areas
• smaller bedrooms
• less storage
• reduced internal circulation
• more pressure to build over two storeys
• reduced flexibility in floor-plan design
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**5. THE 5-PERSON ACCEPTED-DEVELOPMENT MODEL BECOMES MORE DESIGN-SENSITIVE**
Currently, rooming accommodation for **5 people or fewer** can potentially be accepted development where it is in the appropriate zone and complies with all identified acceptable outcomes of the Rooming Accommodation Code.
Package L changes those design benchmarks.
**EFFECT:** The five-resident limit may stay the same, but achieving accepted development could become harder if the building does not satisfy the new design requirements.
Failure to meet an acceptable outcome can potentially mean needing a **development application** rather than proceeding as accepted development.
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**WHAT DOES THIS MEAN IN PRACTICE?**
Package L is not primarily about reducing the number of residents.
It is about changing **what a compliant 5-person rooming house looks like and how much of the site it can occupy.**
The likely result is:
• smaller building footprints on constrained sites
• greater reliance on two-storey designs
• less ability to provide highly self-contained bedrooms
• more shared facilities
• more land allocated to landscaping and open space
• less flexibility in maximising internal floor area
• greater risk that marginal sites require a planning application
For developers, the biggest issue is simple:
**A block that comfortably accommodates a 5-bedroom rooming house under the current City Plan may not accommodate the same building under Package L.**
**STATUS:** Proposed only — not yet law.
**Council timeline:** anticipated adoption and commencement **mid-to-late 2026**.
Source: Brisbane City Council — Major Amendment Package L, Brisbane City Plan 2014.
