Boarding Houses and Co-living
With the introduction of the Statement Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021, boarding houses have been redefined and co-living housing has been introduced as a residential land use.
Boarding houses and co-living housing will be similar in terms of their built form and operation. Boarding houses are a type of affordable housing which must now be managed by registered community housing providers.
Co-living housing provides a compact, ready to occupy form of accommodation for a range of people including young professionals and key workers.
The definition of each use are as follows:
Boarding house means a building or place:
- that provides residents with a principal place of residence for at least 3 months, and
- that contains shared facilities, such as a communal living room, bathroom, kitchen or laundry, and
- that contains rooms, some or all of which may have private kitchen and bathroom facilities, and
- used to provide affordable housing, and
- if not carried out by or on behalf of the Land and Housing Corporation—managed by a registered community housing provider,
but does not include backpackers’ accommodation, co-living housing, a group home, hotel or motel accommodation, seniors housing or a serviced apartment.
Co-living housing means a building or place that—
- has at least 6 private rooms, some or all of which may have private kitchen and bathroom facilities, and
- provides occupants with a principal place of residence for at least 3 months, and
- has shared facilities, such as a communal living room, bathroom, kitchen or laundry, maintained by a managing agent, who provides management services 24 hours a day,
but does not include backpackers’ accommodation, a boarding house, a group home, hotel or motel accommodation, seniors housing or a serviced apartment.
Note: Co-living housing is a type of residential accommodation
NSW Department of Planning and Environment, Housing SEPP provides additional details on Boarding houses and Co-living housing.
