The home costs the same whichever council it lands in, and the install sits in the same $59,000 to $140,000 band inc GST across South East Queensland. What changes by council is three things: the size cap, which sets how big a home can be without a planning application; the infrastructure charge, which runs from nothing in Ipswich, Noosa and the Gold Coast up to $36,670.70 in Logan; and the fees for plumbing permits and planning applications, which each council sets every July. A longer truck run to the Gold Coast or the Sunshine Coast adds a little to delivery. The table below is the cost index for the region, read from each council's own documents.
Council by council
| Council | Cap, typical lot | Infrastructure charge on a granny flat | Noted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brisbane | 80 m² | No granny flat figure published; ask | Plumbing permit $300 plus $1,290; code assessable DA $1,500 (2026-27) |
| Moreton Bay | 45 m² | No granny flat figure published; ask | 450 m² minimum lot and 10 m frontage |
| Logan | 70 m² | $26,193.40 up to two bedrooms, $36,670.70 for three or more | Charged as a dwelling, at the state cap |
| Ipswich | 60 m² | None | 450 m² minimum lot; 90 m² over 600 m² |
| Redland | 85 m² | None inside the caps | 112 m² on 1,000 m² or more |
| Gold Coast | 80 m² | None up to 80 m² | Within 10 m of the house, sharing its driveway. Longer truck run |
| Sunshine Coast | 60 m² | No granny flat figure published; ask | 600 m² minimum lot; shared water meter. Longer truck run |
| Noosa | 65 m² | None | Two bedrooms at most |
| Scenic Rim | 60 m² | See the council page | Within 20 m of the house |
| Lockyer Valley | 70 m² | See the council page | 100 m² outside the residential and township zones |
| Somerset | 60 m² | See the council page | 800 m² minimum lot |
| Toowoomba | No cap | Charged at half a house's rate | Subordinate to the house is the only size test |
Each council page carries the rule, the charge and the document they were read from, with the date. The state caps every council's charge at $26,193.40 for a dwelling of two bedrooms or fewer and $36,670.70 for three or more, from 1 July 2025.
The part that does not change by council
The install. Across the region it runs in five buckets: certification and approvals about $25,000 as an owner builder or $35,000 with a licensed builder, footings $800 to $1,200 a pier, delivery and crane $8,000 to $38,000, plumbing about $16,000 or $32,000 with on-site wastewater, electrical $5,000 to $9,000. The block moves those numbers: slope, soil, sewer, access. The council name does not, beyond the truck run and the lines in the table.
The part that changes most: the home
A 45 m² home in Moreton Bay and an 85 m² home in Redland are different purchases because the cap says so. The cap decides the home, the home decides most of the price. Homes on this site are priced installed and sorted by price, so the cheapest home that fits a given cap is one filter away.
See it for your block
- Council rules and charges, with sources
- Install cost calculator by council
- Compare homes priced installed
Questions people ask next
Which SEQ council is cheapest for a granny flat?
The install cost is the same band everywhere. On charges, Ipswich and Noosa levy no infrastructure charge on a granny flat and the Gold Coast none up to 80 m², while Logan charges $26,193.40 or $36,670.70 by bedrooms. On size, Redland's 85 m² cap and Toowoomba's no cap allow the biggest home without an application.
Does the council change the install price?
Only at the edges: a longer truck run to the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, the plumbing permit fee, and the infrastructure charge. The block itself, slope, soil, sewer and access, moves the price far more than the council does.
Where do these figures come from?
Each council's own planning scheme, fact sheet, fee schedule or infrastructure charges resolution, read in October 2026 and linked from the council page, plus installer rates across South East Queensland for the install buckets.
- Planning (Prescribed Amounts) Amendment Regulation 2025, schedule 16 (state cap on infrastructure charges), read 16 October 2026
- Logan City Council, domestic housing fact sheet (secondary dwelling charged as a dwelling), read October 2026
- City of Gold Coast, infrastructure charges resolution (secondary dwelling up to 80 m² exempt), read October 2026
- Redland City Council, secondary dwellings planning amendments (charges only above the caps), read October 2026
- Noosa Council, fact sheet 3, secondary dwellings, read 15 October 2026
- Brisbane City Council, plumbing and drainage fees 2026-27, read 16 October 2026
- Brisbane City Council, development assessment and compliance fees 2026-27, read 16 October 2026
- The twelve council rules on this site, each with its scheme source, re-read 15 October 2026, read 15 October 2026
- Installer rates behind the install cost calculator, read 16 October 2026