Changes were made to State Environmental Planning Policy (Affordable Rental Housing) 2009 that came into effect on 1 June 2018.
These changes have increased the amount of parking potentially required to be provided for developers of boarding houses in some locations.
The minimum standard for parking is now 0.5 spaces per room in all locations. This is a substantial increase on the previous standards of 0.2 spaces per room in an "accessible area" and 0.4 spaces per room in a "non-accessible area".
These remain a "standard which cannot be used to refuse consent", meaning that Councils cannot refuse consent to a a proposal that meets these standards on the grounds of parking, although in theory they are able to approve a proposal with less parking if they consider it appropriate.
The previous rates of 0.2 spaces per room in an "accessible area" and 0.4 spaces per room in a "non-accessible area" continue to apply for "social housing providers", which are defined as follows:
(a) the Department of Human Services,
(b) the Land and Housing Corporation,
(c) a registered community housing provider,
(d) the Aboriginal Housing Office,
(e) a registered Aboriginal housing organisation within the meaning of the Aboriginal Housing Act 1998,
(f) a local government authority that provides affordable housing,
(g) a not-for-profit organisation that is a direct provider of rental housing to tenants.
For any enquiries about the planning process for boarding house developments, feel free to get in contact with me on 0423163597 or via david@dcaplanning.com.au