Townhouses, dual occupancies and unit developments live or die at feasibility. By the time a design is drawn, the yield has usually already been decided — by the zone, the overlays and the standards.
The common failure on multi-dwelling projects isn't a bad design. It's a good design for a yield the site was never going to support — drawn, costed, lodged, and then cut down by council after months of assessment, at which point the numbers that justified the purchase no longer work.
We test yield before we design. It's less exciting and it's saved our clients a great deal of money.
A single dwelling on a lot is assessed under Clause 54. The moment you propose two or more, you step up to Clause 55 — a longer and stricter set of standards, and the document that actually governs what fits.
Every one of these has to be answered in the submission, standard by standard. See how a planning set is assembled.
A feasibility exercise puts a defensible number on the site before you commit. Zone and overlays, orientation and shape, setback envelope, open space, parking and waste access, then a built-form test against character. The output isn't a pretty drawing — it's a realistic dwelling count and a list of what would have to be true to get more.
Be sceptical of a yield quoted from land size alone. Two identical-sized lots in the same suburb can support different numbers, because of orientation, the overlay, and what the street already looks like.
Multi-dwelling applications are usually advertised, so neighbours can object, and the assessment weighs those objections. Three grounds carry real weight: overlooking, overshadowing, and neighbourhood character.
Designing with those anticipated — screening resolved, shadows tested at the equinox, built form broken down so it reads at the scale of the street — is cheaper than defending them at a hearing. Council timing for complex multi-residential already runs to twelve months or more. A defensible scheme is a faster scheme.
Approval is not the finish line, and a scheme that stacks up on a planning drawing can fall apart when priced. Party wall construction, fire separation between dwellings, acoustic separation, service coordination, and the sheer awkwardness of building four dwellings on a site with one access point — these are construction problems, and they are ours as much as the builder's.
Our portfolio runs from dual occupancies to 26-residence boutique developments. See what we've delivered across Melbourne, or read about the construction set that follows approval.
Clause 55 is the ResCode standard that applies to two or more dwellings on a lot, and to residential buildings. Where a single dwelling is assessed under Clause 54, anything multi-dwelling steps up to Clause 55 — a longer, stricter list covering neighbourhood character, street setback, site coverage, permeability, energy efficiency, open space, safety, parking, daylight, overshadowing, overlooking and internal amenity.
It is the document that decides your yield. Not your ambition, and not your feasibility spreadsheet.
Nobody can answer that from the land size alone, and you should be sceptical of anyone who tries. Yield is decided by the zone, any overlays, the shape and orientation of the lot, setbacks, private open space requirements, car parking, waste access, and how the proposal reads against neighbourhood character.
A yield test at feasibility — before design — is the cheapest money you'll spend on the project.
They are usually advertised, which means neighbours can object, which means the assessment weighs those objections. Overlooking, overshadowing and neighbourhood character are the grounds that carry weight.
Council timing for complex multi-residential runs to twelve months or more. A proposal designed with the objections anticipated moves faster than one that has to be defended after the fact.
For a straightforward dual occupancy, often not. For a contested site, a larger development, or anything where the neighbourhood character argument is finely balanced, a planner earns their fee. We'll tell you honestly which situation you're in rather than defaulting to the bigger consultant team.
Each stage answers a different question, for a different assessor.
The construction set your builder prices and builds from.
View service → — DraftingThe set council assesses against the planning scheme and ResCode.
View service → — DraftingDocumentation your building surveyor assesses against the NCC.
View service → — DraftingDrafting that has to meet an existing building honestly.
View service → — DraftingFabrication drawings — detailed in-house, not outsourced.
View service → — OverviewThe full picture: permits, drawing sets, consultants, timeframes and fees.
Back to drafting →Site address, sketch, brief, or just a question — we'll respond within one business day.