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The NSW Government's Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy has opened new development opportunities for Mona Vale property owners. Since February 28, 2025, properties within 800 metres of the town centre can now accommodate apartments up to six storeys, townhouses, terraces, and dual occupancies.
This guide combines two essential perspectives: Essential insights from OwnerDeveloper—your partner in feasibility, design, approvals, and joint ventures—together with legal expertise from Jackie Atchison at LexAlia Property & Commercial Law.
If you own property in the affected area and are wondering whether these changes could create opportunities for you, here’s how to get started. Whether you’re considering a dual occupancy or planning to collaborate with neighbours on a larger project, these steps will help you unlock value under the new planning rules.
The LMR policy essentially overrides local council planning restrictions, allowing medium-density housing where it wasn't previously permitted. In practical terms, this means R2 and R3 zoned properties in Mona Vale can now accommodate more dwellings than before, subject to specific design standards.
Key opportunities include:
However, just because development is now legally permissible doesn’t mean it’s automatically financially viable for your specific property. That's where proper assessment becomes essential.
Before investing thousands in consultants, you can conduct a simple in-house assessment with guidance from OwnerDeveloper.
Key filters to consider:
Site Basics: Start by reviewing your lot size and shape. Tools like the NSW eSpatial Viewer or Archistar can help you understand zoning, contours, and other planning essentials.
Local Market Research: Assess local demand by reviewing sales of new developments in the area. Platforms like Realestate.com.au and Microburbs can provide insights into suburb medians, rental yields, and average days on market.
Ask the right questions:
Understanding both pricing and absorption rates will guide you toward the product type most likely to succeed.
Basic Numbers: As a guide, construction costs average $1,900–2,600/m² for mid-spec dual occupancies, $2,400–3,000/m² for townhouses, and $3,500+/m² for apartments. Allow an extra 20% for professional fees, approvals, and contingencies. If total costs plus land value exceed likely sale prices, unfortunately the project isn’t financially viable.
Jackie Atchison, LexAlia Property & Commercial Law
While the LMR policy expands what's legally possible, your specific property might have constraints that aren't immediately obvious.
Title Investigation: Your property might have easements, restrictive covenants, or heritage overlays that limit development despite the new LMR permissions. A heritage-listed property, for example, can't take advantage of these changes regardless of zoning. Building restrictions from decades ago may still apply.
Strata complications: If your property is already part of a strata scheme, any development will likely require owners corporation approval and potentially complex by-law amendments. This adds time, cost, and uncertainty to any development proposal.
Planning exclusions: The LMR policy doesn't apply everywhere within the 800m radius. Properties affected by flooding, bushfire risk, or coastal hazards may be excluded. Environmental constraints like significant tree preservation requirements can also limit practical development potential.
If your property shows potential, the next step is moving from theory to reality with the right professional guidance.
Development Feasibility Study: OwnerDeveloper recommends starting with a detailed due diligence and feasibility study. The process begins by assessing your site against key factors such as lot size, zoning, and development control plans. From there, it’s essential to analyse market conditions, projected sale prices, planning and construction costs, as well as marketing expenses.
With this foundation, specialists can prepare conceptual plans, and a quantity surveyor can provide accurate costings and yield calculations. The more effort invested at this stage, the clearer the path forward becomes—and the greater the reduction of risk throughout the project.
OwnerDeveloper offers comprehensive due diligence and feasibility studies for a fixed fee of $1,660. This includes a deep dive into site specifications, council and planning requirements, market analysis, and financial feasibility—equipping you with the insights needed to make informed, confident decisions.
Legal Structure and Planning: In parallel, Jackie suggests a legal review of your property title and development options. This includes partnership structure advice if you're considering working with developers, along with an analysis of the legal pathway from approval to completion. Budget $2,000-5,000 for comprehensive legal advice at this stage.
Council pre-consultation: Both perspectives agree this is crucial. Northern Beaches Council offers pre-development meetings where you can test concepts before a formal application. This often reveals approval issues early when they're easier and cheaper to address.
Most property owners face a choice: develop independently or partner with experienced developers.
Doing it alone: You maintain full control and keep all profits, but take on all risks and management responsibility. This also works best for straightforward dual occupancy projects where you have adequate capital, and time to manage the process. OwnerDeveloper notes that many owner-developers underestimate the time, expertise, and stress required.
Development partnerships: You contribute land while developers provide expertise, project management, and often additional capital. Jackie emphasises that partnership agreements must clearly define profit sharing, decision-making authority, and what happens if things go wrong. The legal framework needs to protect your interests while allowing the developer to execute the project effectively.
Option arrangements: Some developers will pay a premium price for exclusive development rights while they obtain approvals, then purchase your property at a predetermined price. This transfers most risk to the developer but limits your upside if the project proves highly profitable.
□ Book a free strategy session with OwnerDeveloper for an initial feasibility scan.
□ Commission a detailed feasibility study with market analysis and cost estimates, including local sales and rental research in Mona Vale for townhouses, duplexes, and apartments.
□ Order a professional survey and site plan to establish accurate boundaries, easements and constraints.
□ Commission a preliminary architectural review to explore potential yield and design options.
□ Engage potential development partners, townplanner or builders etc, early to gain practical insights and advice.
□ Obtain property title search and planning certificate
□ Review existing encumbrances, easements, and covenant restrictions
□ Assess eligibility for LMR development rights and any applicable exclusions
□ Engage commercial property lawyer for initial strategy discussion.
□ Engage the council for pre-development consultation on potential approval issues
□ Obtain geotechnical soil testing and site constraint analysis
□ Develop preliminary architectural concepts, site survey, and development timeline
□ Determine preferred partnership structure based on risk tolerance and objectives
□ Begin partnership agreement negotiations if collaborating with developers
□ Establish legal protection framework for development agreements
□ Review insurance requirements and risk management strategies
□ Prepare your Development Application (DA) or Complying Development Certificate (CDC) with all required supporting documentation.
□ Finalise key agreements, including joint venture contracts, partnership terms, and funding arrangements.
□ Appoint your project team — architect, certifier, builder, and superintendent, etc.
□ Submit your DA/CDC package with architectural plans, specialist reports, and QS costings.
□ Establish project monitoring systems with clear milestones and regular reporting.
□ Monitor development approval conditions and compliance requirements
□ Manage contract administration and milestone payment procedures
□ Maintain legal documentation and records throughout the development process
□ Coordinate settlement procedures for completed development
Many Mona Vale property owners are now receiving approaches from developers interested in assembling larger development sites. The LMR changes have made multi-lot developments more attractive, creating opportunities for property owners who understand how to respond strategically.
Understanding developer interest: When developers approach your area, it's typically because they've identified genuine development potential that requires multiple properties to work effectively. This represents validation of your area's development prospects and often indicates strong market fundamentals.
OwnerDeveloper Insights: When developers approach you, it’s not at random — your site has genuine development potential. They’ve already done their homework, investing time and resources to identify high-opportunity properties like yours.
Here’s the key: larger developments often require multiple neighbouring lots, giving individual property owners more negotiating power than they might realise. At OwnerDeveloper, we help you understand — and strategically leverage — that power to achieve the best outcome.
Jackie's strategic guidance: The key is responding thoughtfully rather than reactively. Initial approaches are typically exploratory - developers are testing interest levels and market conditions. This gives you time to understand your position and coordinate with neighbours if beneficial.
The value of coordinated response: When multiple properties are involved, a strategic group approach often delivers better outcomes for everyone involved. Consider a real-world example: a block of 27 neighbouring property owners sitting on a prime development site have fielded offers from 3-4 different developers over approximately 7 years. Despite receiving above-market individual offers, developers have been unable to secure sufficient properties because the group lacks coordination - some neighbours want to sell while others prefer to hold, and without a unified approach, no development can proceed. This leaves everyone in limbo with unrealised potential.
Effective coordination can include shared professional advice to understand true market value, unified response timing that prevents developers from securing some properties while others remain uncommitted, strategic negotiation that maximises value for all participants, and clear decision-making processes that allow the group to move forward decisively.
The goal isn't to create adversarial relationships with developers, but to ensure property owners understand their collective value and negotiate from a position of strength.
The Mona Vale LMR changes create genuine opportunities, but success requires both development expertise and proper legal structure. Most property owners benefit from professional guidance early in the process rather than trying to navigate complex feasibility and legal requirements alone.
Contact OwnerDeveloper for development feasibility assessment and Jackie Atchison at LexAlia Property & Commercial Law for legal structure and compliance guidance. Together, we provide the complete expertise needed to evaluate and execute LMR development opportunities successfully.
About the Team: OwnerDeveloper specialises in joint ventures with homeowners on small- to medium-density residential projects across NSW. We provide a fixed-fee, done-for-you development service, guiding you from feasibility to handover. For over 30 years, our team has helped Sydney landowners transform backyards and family blocks into high-return dual occupancies, townhouses, and boutique apartments.
Jackie Atchison brings 15+ years of NSW commercial and property law experience, with particular expertise in development partnerships and property transactions across Northern Beaches.
The full timeline depends on your project's scale. Dual occupancy typically takes 12-15 months from concept to completion, townhouses around 15-18 months, and apartments usually 24-30 months. This includes 3-12 months for planning approvals and 9-18 months for construction. Legal processes run parallel, but partnership agreements need 6-8 weeks to complete properly.
Your partnership structure should align with your goals and risk tolerance. Joint ventures offer stronger returns if you have capital and expertise to contribute actively. Option agreements or profit-sharing models work better for those seeking lower risk and less involvement. The legal structure affects tax treatment and liability protection - I recommend getting professional advice to evaluate what suits your situation.
The LMR policy significantly limits council's discretionary refusal powers, but they can still refuse applications that don't meet specific development standards or have genuine planning concerns. Pre-development consultation with council and quality professional advice dramatically reduce this risk. Most refusals occur when applications don't address basic requirements or overlook site constraints.
Yes, coordinating with neighbours often delivers better outcomes for everyone. Larger developments requiring multiple lots give property owners more negotiating power when approached by developers. Consider engaging legal advice together initially to understand collective value, then separate representation once specific deals are being negotiated. This strategic approach maximises value for all participants.
Properties need to be within 800m of Mona Vale town centre and zoned R2 or R3. Minimum lot sizes are approximately 450m² for dual occupancy and 500m²+ for townhouses, with adequate street frontage for access. Properties must be free from heritage overlays, significant environmental constraints, and restrictive covenants that would prevent development despite LMR permissions.
This depends on your capital, expertise, and risk tolerance. Solo development maintains full control and profits but requires significant time, expertise, and stress management. Development partnerships provide professional expertise and often additional capital, but require clear legal agreements defining profit sharing, decision-making, and risk allocation. Most property owners benefit from partnerships for larger projects.
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