Floor Space Ratio, or FSR, caps how much floor area you can build relative to the size of your block. It is one of the main controls on the bulk of a building, alongside the height limit and the minimum lot size. These simple steps show how to find the FSR for land in NSW on the Planning Portal.
What Floor Space Ratio means
FSR is the ratio of gross floor area to site area. An FSR of 0.5:1 on a 600 square metre block allows up to 300 square metres of gross floor area. A higher ratio allows a larger building. Many low density residential lots have no FSR mapped, in which case the height limit and the minimum lot size do the work of controlling bulk.
How to find it
- Open the NSW Planning Portal Spatial Viewer.
- Search for your address.
- Turn on the Floor Space Ratio layer under the planning controls.
- Read the ratio shown for your lot.
You can also type your address into the tool at the top of this page to see the FSR straight away.
If no FSR is shown, there is no floor space ratio control for your lot, and you should check the height of building and minimum lot size instead.