RU2 Rural Landscape zone in NSW

What the zone is for

Every council that uses RU2 includes these objectives, word for word. They come from the Standard Instrument, the template all NSW council plans are built on:

• To encourage sustainable primary industry production by maintaining and enhancing the natural resource base.
• To maintain the rural landscape character of the land.
• To provide for a range of compatible land uses, including extensive agriculture.

35 of the 49 LEPs add objectives of their own, so the full list for a property depends on its council.

Can you build a house in RU2?

A dwelling house is allowed in 49 of the 49 LEPs that use RU2 (with consent in 49).

Whether a particular lot can take a house also depends on rules mapped to that lot, such as the minimum lot size, so check the address before relying on this.

Allowed in most councils (32)

Each number is a count of LEPs, not properties. No consent needed means the use itself doesn’t need a development application. With consent means it does. Can’t say is not a ban: either that council has no rule for the use, or it is a broad term whose types the table treats differently, so it depends on the type of project.

Councils differ (44)

These uses are allowed by some councils that use RU2 and prohibited by others, so the answer depends on which council the land is in.

Prohibited in most councils (42)

Most of the LEPs that use RU2 prohibit these, either by naming them or through the catch-all rule below.

Uses the table doesn’t name

Every council’s table ends with a rule for anything it hasn’t listed. 41 of the 49 LEPs prohibit any use their RU2 table doesn’t name. The other 8 allow such uses with consent.

That is why a use can be counted as prohibited above in more councils than actually name it.

What the zone doesn’t tell you

• Lot size, height and floor space are set on the LEP maps for each property, so they vary within the same zone.
• Heritage, flood and bushfire mapping can limit what is possible on a lot even where the zone allows it.
• State policies can apply as well as the council’s table. Granny flats are dealt with under the Housing SEPP, and small works such as sheds can be exempt development under the Codes SEPP. See the NSW granny flat rules and NSW shed rules.

An address search shows all of this for one property.

Council LEPs that use RU2 (49)

Some councils have more than one LEP, each covering part of the area.

• Albury LEP 2010
• Ballina LEP 2012
• Bathurst Regional LEP 2014
• Bega Valley LEP 2013
• Bellingen LEP 2010
• Blayney LEP 2012
• Blue Mountains LEP 2015
• Broken Hill LEP 2013
• Byron LEP 2014
• Cabonne LEP 2012
• Camden LEP 2010
• Campbelltown LEP 2015
• Central Coast LEP 2022
• Cessnock LEP 2011
• Clarence Valley LEP 2011
• Coffs Harbour LEP 2013
• Cootamundra LEP 2013
• Dubbo Regional LEP 2022
• Fairfield LEP 2013
• Goulburn Mulwaree LEP 2009
• Great Lakes LEP 2014
• Griffith LEP 2014
• Hawkesbury LEP 2012
• Hornsby LEP 2013
• Kempsey LEP 2013
• Kiama LEP 2011
• Lake Macquarie LEP 2014
• Lismore LEP 2012
• Lithgow LEP 2014
• Liverpool LEP 2008
• Maitland LEP 2011
• Nambucca LEP 2010
• Penrith LEP 2010
• Pittwater LEP 2014
• Port Macquarie-Hastings LEP 2011
• Port Stephens LEP 2013
• Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional LEP 2022
• Shellharbour LEP 2013
• Shoalhaven LEP 2014
• Singleton LEP 2013
• The Hills LEP 2019
• Tweed LEP 2014
• Upper Lachlan LEP 2010
• Uralla LEP 2012
• Wagga Wagga LEP 2010
• Wingecarribee LEP 2010
• Wollondilly LEP 2011
• Wollongong LEP 2009
• Yass Valley LEP 2013

Land zoned under a State Environmental Planning Policy rather than a council LEP, such as some growth precincts, isn’t included in these counts.

Frequently asked questions