RU6 Transition zone in NSW

What the zone is for

Every council that uses RU6 includes these objectives, word for word. They come from the Standard Instrument, the template all NSW council plans are built on:

• To protect and maintain land that provides a transition between rural and other land uses of varying intensities or environmental sensitivities.
• To minimise conflict between land uses within this zone and land uses within adjoining zones.

7 of the 14 LEPs add objectives of their own, so the full list for a property depends on its council.

Can you build a house in RU6?

A dwelling house is allowed in 14 of the 14 LEPs that use RU6 (with consent in 14).

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 (15)

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 (34)

These uses are allowed by some councils that use RU6 and prohibited by others, so the answer depends on which council the land is in.

Prohibited in most councils (31)

Most of the LEPs that use RU6 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. 12 of the 14 LEPs prohibit any use their RU6 table doesn’t name. The other 2 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 RU6 (14)

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

• Campbelltown LEP 2015
• Central Coast LEP 2022
• Goulburn Mulwaree LEP 2009
• Griffith LEP 2014
• Gunnedah LEP 2012
• Lake Macquarie LEP 2014
• Liverpool Plains LEP 2011
• Oberon LEP 2013
• Port Macquarie-Hastings LEP 2011
• Shellharbour LEP 2013
• Tamworth Regional LEP 2010
• The Hills LEP 2019
• Wagga Wagga LEP 2010
• Warren LEP 2012

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