Can a dual occupancy be sold separately in NSW?

Why one lot means one sale

A dual occupancy is two dwellings on one lot of land, so a finished duplex is two homes on a single title. To sell one of them you need to turn that lot into two. That subdivision is a separate approval from the one that lets you build the homes, although both can be sought in the same application.

Once the conditions of the approval are met, a council or registered certifier issues a subdivision certificate. That certificate authorises the plan of subdivision to be registered with NSW Land Registry Services. Registration gives each home its own title so it can be sold on its own.

Torrens title subdivision

Torrens title gives each home its own parcel of land. When a side by side pair is split down the middle, each owner holds their house and the ground beneath it. NSW Planning calls the result semi-detached homes, which is what most buyers picture when they shop for a semi.

There are three common routes to Torrens title, each with its own lot rules.

• In low and mid-rise housing areas, section 169 of the Housing SEPP allows the subdivision in R1, R2 and R3 zones. Each new lot needs at least 225 m², a 6 m width at the front building line and its own frontage to a public road, so battle-axe lots are excluded. The rule covers dual occupancies granted consent on or after 28 February 2025, along with combined applications for the build and the subdivision made from that date.
• If a complying development certificate (CDC) was issued for the duplex under the Low Rise Housing Diversity Code, the state code allows Torrens subdivision. Neither home can sit above the other and each lot needs one dwelling, a 6 m width and road frontage. Each lot must also meet the council's minimum size for dual occupancy subdivision. Where the council sets none the code applies 200 m².
• Elsewhere a development application goes to council, whose Local Environmental Plan sets the minimum lot size. Randwick, for example, requires 275 m² for each lot in its R2 zone outside a heritage conservation area. Inside one the minimum rises to 400 m², with a 7.5 m frontage for each lot in both cases.

Strata subdivision

Strata title divides the property into two lots plus common property, which the two owners hold together through an owners corporation. The owners then share decisions and costs for anything the strata plan treats as common property.

The state code allows strata subdivision of a dual occupancy as complying development in two cases. Either a CDC was issued for the homes under the Low Rise Housing Diversity Code or a single CDC application covers both the build and the subdivision. Each home then needs its own frontage to a public road and each lot must be at least 6 m wide. Neither home can sit behind the other except on a corner or parallel road lot.

The Housing SEPP's 225 m² route does not apply to strata, so a development application is assessed against the council's own controls. Randwick's plan, for instance, asks for at least 275 m² for each strata lot in its R2 zone. Since 1 October 2026 two-lot schemes such as duplexes no longer complete strata annual reporting, which makes them simpler to run.

Plan the title before the design

The early layout is where the title outcome is decided. A driveway, a stair or a boundary set a metre too far one way can rule out the subdivision you were counting on. We ask early whether you plan to live in one home and sell or rent the other. Then we shape the party wall, entries, parking and services so the pair can be divided the way you intend.

A planner, registered surveyor and certifier should test the boundary, access and servicing together before the design is settled. Our guide to whether you can build a duplex on your property covers the building rules in more depth. When you are ready, our duplex builders in Sydney can work through the title pathway with you from the first site visit.