Low and Mid Rise Housing in Dee Why

1,053 residential lots in Dee Why are eligible for Low and Mid Rise Housing today, about 61% of the suburb's houses. Most sit inside the walking catchment of Dee Why town centre. Here is what that means, in plain English.

Dee Why by the numbers
LMR-eligible lots1,053
Share of residential lots61%
Most common zoneR2 (low density residential)
Typical eligible lot622 m²
Typical shapeabout 15 m wide, 43 m deep
Nearest centreDee Why town centre

Figures are drawn from the public NSW planning record across the eligible lots in Dee Why. Eligibility is assessed lot by lot, so your block may differ.

The lots themselves

What you can actually build in Dee Why

Dee Why has the shape of suburb the reform was drawn for. 781 of the 1,053 eligible lots (74%) carry a measured frontage of at least 12 m, the width a terrace row needs, and 465 (44%) also reach 15 m, so a substantial minority can look past terraces to a manor house. Eligibility reaches 61% of the suburb's residential lots, so this is a broad rezoning rather than a pocket.

Across those same lots, 18 (2%) are heritage listed, 174 (17%) sit in a flood risk precinct, and 79 (8%) sit on steep slope. None of those is an eligibility test. They change what a scheme has to answer for, and they are why two neighbouring blocks with the same zoning can land in very different places.

Frontage of 12 m or more781 of 1,053 (74%)
Frontage of 15 m or more465 of 1,053 (44%)
Heritage listed18 of 1,053 (2%)
In a flood risk precinct174 of 1,053 (17%)
On steep slope79 of 1,053 (8%)

Figures are drawn from the public NSW planning record across the eligible lots in Dee Why. Eligibility and each of these constraints are assessed lot by lot, so an individual block can sit well away from the suburb pattern. The frontage counts cover lots we hold a measured frontage for, so a lot we have not measured is not counted as clearing the gate.

What changed

Why Dee Why is on the list

In 2024 the NSW Government used a state planning policy to override council zoning within walking distance of designated centres. Dee Why falls inside the catchment of Dee Why town centre, so R2 (low density residential) lots that could carry a single house the day before can now carry more.

The change was not announced to the people it affects. The market has been acting on it since it landed. Most owners have heard nothing.

Why it matters
The change was not announced to the people it affects. The market has been acting on it since it landed. Most owners have heard nothing.
What the reform permits

What an eligible Dee Why block can become

On an eligible lot, the reform permits dual occupancies, terraces, manor houses, and small apartment blocks where the dimensions work. It also opens a faster approval route for projects that qualify, one your council cannot override. What any single lot can carry depends on its size, its frontage, and the controls that still apply.

The reform widens what is permitted. It does not require you to do anything, and it does not remove bushfire, flood, heritage, or environmental checks.

What the market is doing

74 LMR-eligible lots in Dee Why have changed hands in the two years to July 2026, at a median of $2.82M. Some of those sales reflect the uplift and some do not, which is exactly why a lot-specific read matters.

Check your block

Is your Dee Why lot one of them?

Enter your address. We read the full planning record on your lot and tell you, in plain English and for free, whether you are eligible. If your block stacks up, we can make you an offer to buy it.

Site addressFree · Five minutes
Other Northern Beaches suburbs
How Low and Mid Rise Housing works →