Four South East Queensland councils set a minimum lot for a secondary dwelling, and below it the answer is no before size or design come up. Moreton Bay needs 450 m² and 10 m of frontage, or 600 m² and 12.5 m in its Suburban neighbourhood and Coastal communities precincts, and both tests must be met. Ipswich allows none on a lot of 450 m² or under. The Sunshine Coast needs a regular-shaped urban lot of at least 600 m². Somerset needs 800 m². The other eight set no minimum, so a small lot there is limited by the cap, the setbacks and site cover rather than a floor. Frontage, the width of the lot at the street, also decides whether a second driveway crossover is allowed.
The floors, council by council
| Council | Minimum lot | Frontage | Noted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moreton Bay | 450 m²; 600 m² in the Suburban neighbourhood and Coastal communities precincts | 10 m; 12.5 m in those precincts | Both must be met. Below them the home fails the code and the fallback repeats the same numbers |
| Ipswich | Over 450 m² | None set | 60 m² to 600 m², 90 m² to 800 m², 120 m² above |
| Sunshine Coast | 600 m², regular-shaped, in the urban zones | None set | Shared meter, sewer connection, number and driveway |
| Somerset | 800 m² | None set | A dwelling house in the Rural zone needs 4,000 m² and formed road access |
| Logan | None | Under 30 m of frontage, one crossover only | Four car spaces with a detached granny flat |
| Toowoomba | None for the granny flat | None set | Under 450 m² the house itself falls under the Small Lot Housing Design Code |
| Brisbane, Gold Coast, Redland, Noosa, Scenic Rim, Lockyer Valley | None set | None set | Redland has proposed 600 m² and 15 m in its canal estates |
What frontage is, and why it matters
Frontage is the length of the boundary that meets the road. It decides three things: whether the council's minimum is met where one exists, whether a second driveway crossover is allowed, and whether a truck can get in at all. Logan allows one crossover on a lot with less than 30 m of frontage unless it is a corner or dual road lot, and Noosa one per lot, so on a narrow block the second home shares the drive and the car space has to fit beside the house's. A battle-axe or hatchet lot has almost no frontage and its own rules in several schemes.
Small lots: the cap bites first
Where there is no floor, a small lot is limited by site cover and the cap. Brisbane uses its small lot code for lots under 450 m², and the Queensland Development Code part 1.1 for siting under 450 m² elsewhere. A 400 m² lot with a 200 m² house, 50% site cover and a 1.5 m setback on each side has room for a small home or none, and the answer comes from drawing it, not from the rule. The block check does the drawing.
Homes for sale that already pass
Every home for sale on the site's land pages has been measured against its council's minimum lot, cap and open ground, so a buyer looking for a block that will take a second home can see which ones do before the inspection.
See it for your block
- Check your block: lot, frontage, cap
- Homes for sale measured for a second home
- Council rules, including the minimum lot
Questions people ask next
What is the minimum block size for a granny flat in Queensland?
There is no state minimum. Four South East Queensland councils set one: 450 m² and 10 m frontage in Moreton Bay (600 m² and 12.5 m in some precincts), over 450 m² in Ipswich, 600 m² on the Sunshine Coast, 800 m² in Somerset. The other eight set none.
Can I build a granny flat on a 400 m² block?
In Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Logan, Redland, Noosa, Scenic Rim, Lockyer Valley and Toowoomba there is no minimum, so it depends on what fits after site cover and setbacks. In Moreton Bay, Ipswich, the Sunshine Coast and Somerset, no.
Can a granny flat have its own driveway?
Usually not. Most councils require it to share the house's driveway and crossover. Logan allows a second crossover only on a lot with 30 m or more of frontage or on a corner, and Noosa allows one crossover per lot.
- Brisbane City Plan 2014, dwelling house code, secondary dwelling, read 15 October 2026
- City of Moreton Bay, secondary dwelling information sheet, read 15 October 2026
- Logan Planning Scheme 2015, dual occupancy and dwelling house code, read 15 October 2026
- Ipswich Planning Scheme, dwelling house code, read 15 October 2026
- Redland City Council, amenity and aesthetics guideline, read 15 October 2026
- City of Gold Coast, City Plan, dwelling house code, read 15 October 2026
- Sunshine Coast Council, dwelling house code, read 15 October 2026
- Noosa Council, fact sheet 3, secondary dwellings, read 15 October 2026
- Scenic Rim Regional Council, dwelling houses and secondary dwellings fact sheet, read 15 October 2026
- Lockyer Valley Regional Council, dwelling houses and secondary dwellings info sheet, read 15 October 2026
- Somerset Region Planning Scheme, version 50, read 15 October 2026
- Toowoomba Region Planning Scheme, schedule 1 definitions, read 15 October 2026
- Business Queensland, Queensland Development Code (MP 1.1 for lots under 450 m²), read 16 October 2026