By Phil Herrick

A plan to make it easier to build a second house on an existing block of residential land has was approved by the Eurobodalla Shire Council on Tuesday.

Council will now amend the Eurobodalla Local Environmental Plan 2012 to allow Torrens Title subdivision of existing or proposed dual occupancy development in the R2 Low Density Residential Zone.

It means many property owners in the R2 zone, which covers most of the shire’s urban areas, will be able to more easily split their block of land for a dual occupancy development, increasing the density of houses in towns and villages in the shire.

The key change is to allow the new lot to be created with a Torrens Title. Until now, the only way residential lots could be split for dual occupancy was by creating a strata subdivision.

Strata title means that there are multiple owners of properties on one piece of land and all owners are responsible for the common areas. Torrens title, also known as freehold, means there is just one owner of the land and building. It is the standard title in NSW for residential land.

The change in the rules will only apply to lots with a minimum size of 550 square metres in the R2 Low Density Residential Zone. It will allow a subdivision down to 300 square metres with one dwelling allowed on each lot.

The council hopes the changes will encourage residential development in urban areas with existing services and utilities, minimise the demand for new land releases and help increase housing affordability and variety in the shire.