What’s permitted in R2 Low Density Residential
Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2012 · as at 19 August 2026 · City of Sydney
This list comes from the Local Environmental Plan (LEP) that applies to this address.
The land use table
These are the planning scheme’s official terms. A close match tells you the rule for that term; whether your project counts as that term is a judgement call.
Permitted without consent 1
No consent required
- Home occupations
Permitted with consent 32
Development Application (DA)
- Bed and breakfast accommodation
- Boarding houses
- Centre-based child care facilities
- Community facilities
- Dual occupancies
- Dwelling houses
- Educational establishments
- Electricity generating works
- Emergency services facilities
- Environmental facilities
- Exhibition homes
- Group homes
- Health consulting rooms
- Home-based child care
- Home businesses
- Home industries
- Home occupations (sex services)
- Horticulture
- Hostels
- Information and education facilities
- Neighbourhood shops
- Oyster aquaculture
- Places of public worship
- Pond-based aquaculture
- Recreation areas
- Respite day care centres
- Roads
- Roadside stalls
- Seniors housing
- Shop top housing
- Signage
- Tank-based aquaculture
Anything not named below is treated as “Prohibited”. That is not the same as being on the list.
Objectives of this zone
- To provide for the housing needs of the community within a low density residential environment.
- To enable other land uses that provide facilities or services to meet the day to day needs of residents.
Some state-level housing and precinct policies sit above council rules and can override them. Those aren’t included here.
A council’s LEP can also grant extra permitted uses of its own on top of the standard list. Those aren’t included here either.
Check a property in Sydney
This page is the table for the zone. Search an address to see whether this zone actually covers the lot, or open the Sydney zoning map.
R2 across NSW
Each NSW council writes its own table for R2, and they don’t all allow the same things. See what R2 allows across every NSW council that uses it.
Other zones in Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2012
Building rules
Frequently asked questions
Does this R2 Low Density Residential table apply to my property in Sydney?
Only if this zone and this planning scheme apply to the land. Search your address — that is what names both.
Can I assume my project is one of the terms listed for R2 Low Density Residential?
No. The list uses the planning scheme’s official names. Whether your project counts as one of those names is a judgement call — that’s what a planner is for.
If a use is not listed in R2 Low Density Residential, is it prohibited in Sydney?
Not by itself. Unlisted uses follow this zone’s fallback (“Prohibited”). That is different from being named on the list.
Sources
General guidance only. Not planning advice. This is the land use table from Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2012, sourced 19 August 2026. It does not decide what your project is, and overlays can still change what you need to apply for.
Talk to a town planner in Sydney
This page covers the general rules. A qualified town planner can tell you what applies to your block, including the zone, overlays and approval path, before you spend money on drawings.
- Qualified, practising town planners
- Advice specific to your property
- Free, with no obligation