For years, the answer for Hawkesbury landowners who wanted a second home on their own property was effectively no. Attached dual occupancy was permitted in parts of the local government area, but a genuinely separate second dwelling on rural land was not. That could soon change.

In August 2025, Hawkesbury City Council formally resolved to progress a planning proposal permitting detached dual occupancy across rural zones, carried 12 votes to nil. It followed more than a decade of advocacy, and it would bring the Hawkesbury into line with neighbouring council areas where this form of housing has been permitted for years.

For farming families, for parents wanting adult children to stay close, and for households planning ahead for ageing relatives, it opens up an option that hasn’t existed here. The change is not law yet. But if you own land in the Hawkesbury, it’s worth understanding what’s proposed and what your own block could realistically support.

What Is Detached Dual Occupancy, and How Is It Different?

Attached dual occupancy: two dwellings on one lot that share a wall, such as a duplex.

Detached dual occupancy: two separate, standalone dwellings on the same lot. Both can be full-sized homes with their own entries, outdoor space and privacy.

That distinction is the whole point. A shared-wall arrangement rarely suits a rural block or the way extended families actually want to live. A detached second dwelling gives genuine independence on both sides while keeping everyone on the same property. It also differs from a secondary dwelling or granny flat, which is typically capped in size and treated as ancillary to the main home.

Which Zones Are Covered?

The proposal seeks to amend the Hawkesbury Local Environmental Plan 2012 to permit detached dual occupancy in:

• RU1 Primary Production
• RU2 Rural Landscape
• RU4 Primary Production Small Lots
• RU5 Village

If your property sits in one of these zones, it falls within the scope of the proposal. That is not the same as being eligible to build. Lot size, access, servicing and site constraints all still apply, and supporting controls are intended to preserve rural character through visual consistency, shared access and rural-appropriate building footprints.

Where Is the Proposal Up To?

The proposal received its Gateway Determination from the NSW Department of Planning in November 2025, with a deadline of 25 August 2026 to finalise. It remains at the Gateway implementation stage. It has not been publicly exhibited and it has not been finalised.

Council is no longer expected to meet that original deadline, with the proposal now expected to progress through public exhibition and further consideration later in 2026. Public exhibition is the formal window for landowners and residents to make submissions.

Importantly, the Department has retained plan-making authority. That means Council cannot make the amendment itself, and any change only takes effect once published on the NSW Legislation website.

“I’ve Got Five Acres. Could I Build a Second Home for My Kids or My Parents?”

It’s the question landowners across the district are asking, and the honest answer is that it depends far less on the rule change than most people expect.

Even if the amendment is made, approval will not be automatic. Two neighbouring properties in the same zone can reach completely different answers depending on where the buildable land sits, how the site drains, and whether a second dwelling can be safely accessed and serviced. The zoning change opens a door. Your site determines whether you can walk through it.

What Can You Assess on Your Property Right Now?

Waiting for the rules to change isn’t the same as being ready for them. Every one of the factors below already applies to your property today, and none of them will be altered by the amendment being made. What the amendment changes is whether a second dwelling is permissible in your zone at all. What the following factors determine is whether your particular block can actually accommodate one, and where. Working through them now means you’ll have your answer well before the rules land, rather than starting from scratch afterwards. 

• Zoning and lot size. What zone applies, and how large is the holding?
• Flooding. Where does your flood planning level sit, and how much of the block is above it? Evacuation access matters as much as the building pad.
• Bushfire. Is the land bushfire-prone, and what bushfire attack level would apply to a second dwelling?
• Access. Can a second home be reached safely, and would a shared driveway work for both households?
• Wastewater. On unsewered land, can the site support a second on-site system?
• Easements and services. Are there easements, pipelines or utility corridors limiting where you can build?
• Slope and siting. Where does a second dwelling actually sit well, with privacy for both homes and minimal earthworks?

Some of this you can establish yourself. A planning certificate will tell you your zone, your flood planning level and whether the land is bushfire-prone. The harder part is what those constraints mean in practice: whether the buildable area left over is big enough for a second home worth living in, where it should sit, and what it would realistically cost to design and build there.

That’s the conversation worth having now. Christou Homes can talk through your property with you, read the constraints against what you’re actually trying to achieve, and tell you plainly whether a second dwelling stacks up on your block, before you commit to plans, surveyors or consultants. If the answer is no, you’ll know early and cheaply. If it’s yes, you’ll be ready to move when the rules do.

Thinking about a second home on your Hawkesbury property? Talk to Christou Homes about a site and feasibility discussion, and find out what your land can support before the proposal reaches exhibition.