NSW Pattern Book Terraces 04: Three Homes on One Lot

Shea CullenNSW Registered Architect 9748 · Updated 27 September 2026

A row of three terraces, each split into three small buildings with a garden between them, approved as complying development in 10 days when the block suits it.

Terraces 04 is one of the low rise designs in the NSW Housing Pattern Book, drawn by Sydney practice Other Architects with NMBW Architecture Studio in Melbourne. Government Architect NSW has already approved the design, so a proposal that keeps to it is assessed as complying development with a 10 day certificate instead of going to council as a development application.

The idea behind the design

One row, three homes, one lot: a small, a medium and a large terrace side by side, and three dwellings is the published minimum for this development type.

What sets it apart from an ordinary terrace row is that each home is broken into three buildings rather than one long house. A single storey front building sits on the street with a flexible room and a carport where one is provided. A two storey middle building carries the kitchen, dining, living, bathrooms and the stair. A single storey rear building closes the back with a bedroom, a retreat and a bathroom. Two courtyards sit between them, each at least 4.8 metres deep, and the main one moves around the site with the orientation so it keeps the sun.

Most rooms are flexible rather than labelled, so the same plans give 2 bedrooms in the small terrace, 3 in the medium and 4 in the large. Each dwelling is 113 square metres in the base pattern.

The pattern is drawn twice, once for a low and mid rise housing area and once for the rest of NSW. These are the five sheets for the low and mid rise version, with the features drawing that goes with them.

Site plan of Terraces 04 on a lot 35 metres deep and 18 metres wide inside a low and mid rise housing area, showing the 3.5 metre front setback, the front building, the secondary courtyard, the 9.6 metre middle building, the primary courtyard, the rear building, the 1.5 metre rear setback, the driveways off the street and the private garden of each of the three homes — Sheet A-301, the site plan inside a low and mid rise housing area. The small terrace lot runs 23.9 metres back, the medium and large the full 35 metres. 3 homes on the block.

Ground floor plan of all three Terraces 04 homes inside a low and mid rise housing area, with kitchens, dining rooms, flexible living rooms, bathrooms, laundries, stores, entries off the side paths, two carports, decks, rainwater tanks and the two landscaped courtyards — Sheet A-302, the ground floor. Two of the three homes take a carport here, and every home has both a primary and a secondary courtyard.

First floor plan of Terraces 04 inside a low and mid rise housing area, showing the upper level of each two storey middle building with flexible rooms used as bedrooms, studies or living rooms, bathrooms, robes and the switchback stairs — Sheet A-303, the first floor. Only the middle building goes to two storeys in the base pattern.

Second floor plan of Terraces 04 inside a low and mid rise housing area, showing the optional third storey dormer rooms drawn in blue, loft storage over two homes and a flexible bedroom or study over the third, each reached by an added flight of stairs — Sheet A-304, the second floor. The dormer level is an adaptation, not part of the base pattern.

Roof plan of Terraces 04 inside a low and mid rise housing area, showing 25 degree gable roofs over the front, middle and rear buildings, the zones set aside for solar panels, translucent fibreglass sheeting over the windows and entries, gutters and downpipes — Sheet A-305, the roof plan, with the solar panel zones and the 25 degree gables.

Drawings by Other Architects and NMBW Architecture Studio for the NSW Housing Pattern Book. © State of New South Wales (Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure).

Two material palettes are published, an exterior and an interior sheet each, and the pattern book asks that one of them be used across all three homes in the row.

Exterior material palette 1 for Terraces 04, with painted fibre cement sheet cladding, painted facade battens and exposed timber structure, Custom Orb Zincalume roofing, translucent fibreglass sheeting, uPVC or aluminium windows, Australian red pressed brick low fences and timber front fences — Palette 1 outside: painted fibre cement cladding and battens, Zincalume roofing and a red pressed brick low fence.

Interior material palette 1 for Terraces 04, with exposed laminated veneer lumber joists, painted plasterboard walls, plywood ceilings, feature walls and bay windows, timber floorboards and stainless steel joinery trim — Palette 1 inside: exposed timber joists, plywood linings, timber floors and stainless steel trim.

Exterior material palette 2 for Terraces 04, with fibre cement sheet cladding, external grade timber facade battens and exposed structure in a clear finish, Custom Orb Zincalume roofing, Australian hardwood windows and doors and Australian red pressed brick low fences — Palette 2 outside: the same Zincalume roof, with clear finished timber battens and hardwood joinery in place of the paint.

Interior material palette 2 for Terraces 04, with painted plasterboard walls and ceilings, plywood lined bay windows, cork flooring on the ground floor, Australian wool carpet in the flexible rooms and painted joinery — Palette 2 inside: painted linings, plywood lined bay windows, cork floors and wool carpet in the flexible rooms.

Drawings by Other Architects and NMBW Architecture Studio for the NSW Housing Pattern Book. © State of New South Wales (Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure).

Will it fit your block

Two minimums apply. Inside a low and mid rise housing area, meaning the well located residential zones within 800 metres walk of selected centres and stations, the lot must be at least 18 metres wide and 595 square metres. Everywhere else in NSW it must be at least 21 metres wide and 695 square metres, and meet the council minimum lot size for multi dwelling housing as well. Width is measured at the front building line, and terraces have to be permitted with consent in your zone already.

Depth matters as much as width. The published site conditions run from 33 metres on a rear lane lot, where the rear building becomes the carports, up to about 40 metres. Extra width does not buy extra homes: on lots up to 23 metres wide it is still three dwellings. Twelve site conditions are published, covering mid block, corner and double site arrangements in each of the four street orientations. A battle axe block is not among them and would not work, because the pattern needs a frontage wide enough to address three homes. These six show the range.

Siting plan for a mid block lot inside a low and mid rise housing area with the street to the east, showing the front building and driveways on the street edge, the secondary courtyard, the two storey middle building holding the small, large and medium terraces, the primary courtyard and the rear building on the western boundary — The smallest site condition published inside a low and mid rise housing area: 630 m², 18 metres wide and 35 metres deep. 3 homes on the block.

Siting plan for a mid block lot inside a low and mid rise housing area with the street to the south, showing three medium terraces with the front building and carports on the street edge, the secondary courtyard, the two storey middle building, the primary courtyard to the north and the rear building on the northern boundary — A south facing lot of 720 m², 18 by 40 metres. The sheet calls for three medium terraces here rather than the usual mix, because there is no laneway. 3 homes on the block.

Siting plan for a corner lot inside a low and mid rise housing area with the street to the east, a secondary street to the south and a laneway to the west, showing the rear building and two carports opening off the laneway, the primary courtyard, the two storey middle building, the secondary courtyard and the front building addressing the primary street — A corner lot with a rear lane, 610 m² on a frontage of 18.5 metres. The laneway takes the carports, which is what lets the pattern sit on a shorter site. 3 homes on the block.

Siting plan for a mid block lot outside the low and mid rise housing areas with the street to the west, showing the front building with three carports on the street edge, the secondary courtyard, the two storey middle building holding the small, large and medium terraces, the primary courtyard and the rear building on the eastern boundary — The base lot for the rest of NSW: 735 m², 21 metres wide and 35 metres deep. Every home gets its own carport here. 3 homes on the block.

Siting plan for a corner lot outside the low and mid rise housing areas with the street to the south and a secondary street to the east, showing the rear building on the northern boundary, the primary courtyard, the two storey middle building holding the medium, large and small terraces, the secondary courtyard and the front building with three carports on the primary street — The largest single lot drawn: 860 m², 21.5 metres wide and 40 metres deep, on a south facing corner. 3 homes on the block.

Siting plan for two adjoining mid block lots outside the low and mid rise housing areas with the street to the north, showing two matching rows, each with the front building and three carports on the street edge, the primary courtyard, the two storey middle building, the secondary courtyard and the rear building on the southern boundary — Two adjoining lots taking a row each, 1,470 m² across the pair. 3 homes on each lot and 6 across the whole site.

Drawings by Other Architects and NMBW Architecture Studio for the NSW Housing Pattern Book. © State of New South Wales (Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure).

What the standards allow

Height is 9.5 metres in a low and mid rise housing area and 9.0 metres elsewhere, with floor space ratio capped at 0.8:1 and 0.7:1. Setbacks are 3.5 metres to the front, 1.5 metres to the sides and 0.9 or 1.5 metres to the rear depending on the book. Outside the low and mid rise areas the front setback is the greater of 3.5 metres or the average of the nearest two dwelling houses within 40 metres, which on an established street can be a good deal more. At least 20 per cent of the site must be landscaped.

Parking splits the same way: 0.5 spaces per dwelling inside a low and mid rise housing area, where two of the three homes get a carport, and one space per dwelling everywhere else. Each home is a Class 1a building, and the row is drawn to suit Torrens title subdivision, which is a separate approval.

The pattern comes with a second set of sheets for lots outside those areas, drawn on the wider lot the standards ask for.

Site plan of Terraces 04 on a lot 35 metres deep and 21 metres wide outside the low and mid rise housing areas, showing the 3.5 metre front setback, the front building, the secondary courtyard, the 9.6 metre middle building, the primary courtyard, the rear building, three driveways off the street and the private garden of each of the three homes — Sheet A-311, the site plan for the rest of NSW. The wider lot carries a third driveway and a wider small terrace. 3 homes on the block.

Ground floor plan of all three Terraces 04 homes outside the low and mid rise housing areas, with kitchens, dining rooms, flexible living rooms, bathrooms, laundries, stores, three carports with optional carport doors, decks, rainwater tanks and the two landscaped courtyards — Sheet A-312, the ground floor. Every home gets a carport in this version.

First floor plan of Terraces 04 outside the low and mid rise housing areas, showing the upper level of each two storey middle building with flexible rooms used as bedrooms, studies or living rooms, bathrooms, robes and the switchback stairs — Sheet A-313, the first floor. The middle buildings hold the same rooms as the other version.

Second floor plan of Terraces 04 outside the low and mid rise housing areas, showing the optional third storey dormer rooms drawn in blue, loft storage over two homes and a flexible bedroom or study over the third — Sheet A-314, the second floor. The dormer level is an adaptation here too.

Roof plan of Terraces 04 outside the low and mid rise housing areas, showing 25 degree gable roofs over the front, middle and rear buildings, the zones set aside for solar panels, translucent fibreglass sheeting over the windows and entries, gutters and downpipes — Sheet A-315, the roof plan, with the same gables and solar zones on the wider row.

Drawings by Other Architects and NMBW Architecture Studio for the NSW Housing Pattern Book. © State of New South Wales (Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure).

How approval and cost work

The pattern licence is $1,000 per lot. When the official shop was checked on 8 August 2026 it listed $1,000, marked as subsidised for the first six months, with the pattern available to buy. The subsidy has an end date, so confirm the price before you build a program around it. The fee buys the drawings in PDF and 2D DWG, a BASIX information sheet, the design verification statement template and the landscape guide, with separate drawing sets for low and mid rise housing areas and for the rest of NSW, the adaptation sheets, and a pattern registration number for the application.

You then engage a designer to adapt the drawings to the site. For this low rise pathway the design verification statement can be signed by an architect on the NSW Register of Architects or by an accredited designer, and it confirms that every fixed and adaptable feature the pattern requires is present in what you lodge. The application goes in as a complying development certificate under part 3BA of the Codes SEPP, the Pattern Book Development Code 2025, which carries a 10 day approval timeframe against 20 days for standard residential complying development. The drawings are for planning approval, not construction, so you still need documentation, engineering, a BASIX certificate and compliance with the National Construction Code.

What rules a site out

Complying development is not available on excluded land. Bush fire prone land removes it even at the lowest attack level of BAL 12.5, as does excluded flood prone land, a heritage item and a heritage conservation area. Landslip risk land, a registered easement crossing the building area, coastal hazard and foreshore land, and land without sewer each stop it too. The design can still be proposed there, but only through an ordinary development application.

No screening tool measures slope. The pattern absorbs up to 3 metres of fall front to back. On cross fall the sources disagree: the development standards page allows 1.8 metres while the pattern selections template in the same document says 1.2 metres, so get a survey and confirm the figure with your designer. Guides to checking your site slope, finding the minimum lot size and checking for bush fire prone land cover those checks.

A site north of existing homes can overshadow them, and the application has to show that reasonable solar access is kept to the neighbours' living rooms and open space, which is why no extra storey is permitted on the southern side of the middle building. A screening check is not a planning assessment: it tells you a block is worth investigating, not that it will be approved.

Where we fit

Before you commit to a block or a licence, our NSW Pattern Book Feasibility tests the site against all seventeen designs in the book for a fixed $5,500 and reports which ones it can carry: zoning and whether the low and mid rise housing policy reaches the land, lot width, depth, area and frontage against each design's minimums, the hazard layers, your survey contours against each pattern's own slope limit, then a site plan with setbacks and buildable area plus rough floor plans for the design that suits the block best. It does not include the development application, which is quoted separately once the site is known. The work is done by Shea Cullen, NSW Registered Architect 9748. Terraces 04 is a Class 1a building, so an architect or an accredited designer can sign its design verification statement, and we sign our own.

Check the design against your own block

Before you spend anything on land or a licence, put your address through the screening tool and see which patterns your block can carry.

Screen your address against every pattern book design on Dudils

Every drawing for this design, including the official site plans for all twelve site conditions and a floor plan for each level, sits on the Dudils page for Pattern Book Terraces 04.

NSW Pattern Book Terraces 04: Three Homes on One Lot

A row of three terraces, each split into three small buildings with a garden between them, approved as complying development in 10 days when the block suits it.

The idea behind the design

Will it fit your block

What the standards allow

How approval and cost work

What rules a site out

Where we fit

Check the design against your own block

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