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Housing supply​

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Discover how we’re helping to boost housing supply and diversity in response to the city’s population growth.

New housing development. Street view with a road and modern house featuring screens and glass balustrades.

Why does Brisbane need more homes by 2046?

Brisbane is growing rapidly, and by 2046, we will need around 210,800 new homes to support a larger and more diverse population. This growth is driven by people moving here from interstate and overseas, as well as natural population increases.

Household sizes are also changing, with more people living alone or in smaller family groups. This shift means we need a greater variety of housing options to meet diverse needs.

Single people and couples without children now make up more than half of all households, yet less than a third of available housing offers one- or two-bedroom options. At the same time, our ageing population is driving demand for downsizing and multigenerational living, key trends we need to plan for.

To support this growth sustainably, Council is delivering these key initiatives:

Together, these initiatives focus on delivering well-located, affordable, and diverse housing options that help avoid urban sprawl, protect our green spaces, and reduce long commutes.

More Homes, Sooner: Low to Medium Density Residential Zone Review

The More Homes, Sooner review will look into planning rules relating to Brisbane’s Low-medium density residential zone, seeking to increase housing choice while protecting neighbourhood character.

The goal is to support more diverse homes near shops, services, and public transport.

Learn more about the review
Outside view of multi story apartment building at West End

Brisbane's Sustainable Growth Strategy

Brisbane is a safe, vibrant, green and prosperous city valued for its friendly character and subtropical lifestyle.  

Our popularity and growth have created housing pressures. As the region continues to grow, housing choice will need to reflect our changing communities.

Brisbane's Sustainable Growth Strategy is Council's housing and homelessness strategy.

It outlines our initiatives to address the key challenges for our growing city:

  • keeping Brisbane affordable 
  • achieving sustainable development goals and protecting Brisbane’s rich biodiversity
  • managing sustained population growth and changes in established and emerging communities 
  • planning for housing in areas that maximises city-shaping infrastructure 
  • delivering infrastructure to meet future population growth
  • building new, well-designed housing that meets the needs of current and future communities, stage-of-life changes and people with specific needs
  • responding to housing needs during and after major events such as pandemics or floods
  • supporting our economy and enhancing our lifestyle.

Download Brisbane's Sustainable Growth Strategy to learn more.

Key priorities

The strategy addresses 4 key priorities.

Council facilitates the delivery of housing, associated infrastructure and supporting services that reflect the community’s values and expectations.

What are we already doing?

All residents should have equal access to safe, affordable, well-designed and conveniently located housing that matches their stage of life and circumstances.

What are we already doing?

  • Supporting community housing providers to deliver affordable housing development in the city.
  • Supporting multigenerational family households by enabling secondary dwellings (e.g. granny flats) to be constructed within residential areas.
  • Facilitating a wide range of homelessness support initiatives.
  • Supporting changes to body corporate legislation that will allow for the redevelopment of older residential accommodation.
  • Investigating housing opportunities for single occupant or couple households.
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Incentives for building rentals

Under the Brisbane Build-to-Rent Incentive Policy, Council will defer infrastructure charges for up to 5 years for new large-scale, multiple-dwelling developments. 

Until 1 October 2026, eligible developments in targeted zones can apply for a deferral.

New housing for our community should be focused in the most appropriate locations for access to transport, services, recreation and employment opportunities.

What are we already doing?

  • Coordinating land use and infrastructure planning to ensure developing areas are well serviced by road and stormwater infrastructure and have a high level of access to public and active transport, open space and community facilities.
  • Implementing new precinct planning in suburban and inner-city locations in consultation with communities to deliver localised outcomes, maximise existing transport and identify future potential infrastructure that supports the community.
  • Delivering suburban upgrades to create vibrant centres for local communities.

New residential buildings should be designed to suit Brisbane’s climate and lifestyle.

What are we already doing?

  • Supporting quality design that considers Brisbane’s subtropical climate, biodiversity and landscape through our design guides.
  • Encouraging generous balconies and communal areas in new residential buildings to support outdoor living through City Plan provisions. 
  • Introducing sustainable design outcomes for new homes to support outdoor living, retain trees and greenery and contribute to residents’ privacy.
  • Embedding subtropical design principles into City Plan to ensure new residential buildings are appropriately designed to suit our climate and lifestyle.

Brisbane's Housing Supply Action Plan 

The Brisbane Housing Supply Action Plan takes targeted actions to address short-to-medium-term housing supply. 

It includes a series of actions to make it easier for industry to build more housing sooner and address housing supply challenges. 

The plan helps to reduce construction costs and encourage faster development through:

  • reduced infrastructure charges
  • new planning strategies
  • fast-tracked assessment
  • advocacy for Queensland and Australian planning reforms and support for more housing.

Download Brisbane's Housing Supply Action Plan to learn more.

Brisbane Housing Supply Incentive Policy

As part of the Brisbane Housing Supply Action Plan, reduced infrastructure charges are available for developments of studio, one-bedroom and 2-bedroom multiple dwellings in identified, well-serviced growth areas.

Download the Brisbane Housing Supply Incentive Policy to learn more.

To be eligible, your development must be:

  • approved for a material change of use for a multiple dwelling use by 30 June 2025 (does not apply to change representations, a change application, an extension application or an appeal) 

  • a dwelling with no more than 2 bedrooms  

  • located within City Plan's:
    • High density residential zone
    • Principal centre zone
    • Major centre zone
    • Mixed use zone, or 
    • any zone if delivered by a community housing provider

  • proposed but not yet under construction. 

For eligible developments, Council will enter into an Infrastructure Agreement under the Planning Act 2016 to reduce the infrastructure charges payable. 

The infrastructure charges reduction will be applied:

  • to the eligible component of development 

  • at the time of payment 

  • before the application of any demand credits, discounts or infrastructure offsets.

For more information, read the Brisbane Housing Supply Incentive Policy. 

Complete the Infrastructure Agreement Request Notice to apply for a reduction. Include supporting information to demonstrate your eligibility.

Submit your completed form by emailing Council.

Brisbane Build-to-Rent Incentive Policy

The Brisbane Build-to-Rent Incentive Policy makes large-scale multiple dwelling developments in approved locations eligible for deferred infrastructure charges. 

Under the policy, a build-to-rent development is a new, purpose-built, large-scale, multiple-dwelling residential development. All dwellings in the building are retained in one ownership for the purpose of being managed for a minimum of 10 years as long-term rental housing.

Download the Brisbane Build-to-Rent Incentive Policy to learn more.

To be eligible, your development must be:

  • approved for a material change of use for a multiple dwelling use by 30 June 2025 
  • located within City Plan's 
    • High density residential zone
    • Principal centre zone
    • Major centre zone
    • Mixed use zone  
  • used entirely for build-to-rent purposes (applies to the residential component of the building). 

For eligible developments, Council will enter into an Infrastructure Agreement under the Planning Act 2016 to defer the payment of the infrastructure charges for up to 5 years for the build-to-rent component of the development. 

The deferred charges must be paid in annual instalments once the eligible development is in use.

For more information, read the Brisbane Build-to-Rent Incentive Policy.

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Note

Our special assessment unit streamlines assessment of priority development applications that support Council's housing initiatives.

For advice on your development application, request Council assistance. 

Complete an Infrastructure Agreement Request Notice to apply for a deferral. Include supporting information to demonstrate your eligibility.

Submit your completed form by emailing Council.

More Homes, Sooner: Low-Medium Density Residential zone review

Council is reviewing the Low-Medium Density Residential (LMR) zone to help deliver more homes, sooner, in well-located areas across the city.

The zone already supports small-scale housing - like one, 2 or 3 storey apartments, villas, terraces, and townhouses - close to public transport, shops, and services.

LMR zoning makes up around 14% of Brisbane’s residential area and typically sees more than 1,100 new attached and semi-detached homes built each year. However, this has been declining and by 2023, only 445 of these types of homes were delivered in the zone.

The review will also recognise Brisbane is changing. More than half of all households are made up of single people or couples without children, yet 71% of homes have three or more bedrooms.

Why do we need more housing choice?

Many people can’t find homes that suit their needs or stage of life and are looking for smaller, more manageable homes that keep them connected to the neighbourhoods they know and love.

We are looking at ways to encourage more, well-designed homes in LMR zones by reviewing:

  • car parking requirements
  • building heights
  • minimum lot sizes
  • the boundaries of the LMR zone.

We will also look to further streamline development approval processes. Cutting red tape and activating underutilised land will enable faster, more efficient housing delivery — while preserving the identity and liveability of our suburbs.

These changes aim to support a more affordable, liveable and inclusive Brisbane — where people can find the right kind of home, in the right place, at the right time in their lives.

This will require changes to Brisbane City Plan 2014 via City Plan amendments, which Council will prepare after research and modelling.

Process

The review is in progress and Council will develop draft City Plan amendment packages. Any changes to City Plan will only occur after public consultation and Queensland Government reviews and approvals.

How you can be involved

We are committed to community engagement on all proposed changes, including those to the LMR zone. Public consultation is always carried out before any updates to City Plan are finalised.

To stay informed and have your say:

You can view mapping in City Plan to see property zones.

To view zoning:

  • Enter address details in the address search
  • From the menu on the right-hand side, under Map Tools select Zones and City Plan 2014 Zone
  • Zones display on the map in colours — from the menu on the right-hand side, select Legend to view the zoning overlay and identify the applicable zone

The review will include small-scale developments, such as townhouses, terraces, villas, and low-rise apartments that offer a mix of housing types to suit different needs while fitting with the existing character of an area.

Car parking can add significant costs to development, and it's important that we consider factors such as public transport and active travel when reviewing minimum on-site parking requirements in City Plan to see if the current settings are right.

The LMR zone already allows many different scales of housing, and only applies to around 14% of the city area. The review will focus on updates to existing design requirements and zone boundaries.

Changes to design rules will aim to ensure new homes match the scale and appearance of their surroundings. Neighbourhoods will evolve over time, not transform overnight.

Any height increases will be modest, well-considered, and only allowed in specific areas near transport and services.

Considerations will include the protection of privacy, sunlight and neighbourhood character, ensuring new buildings fit comfortably into their surroundings.

Design rules will continue to require landscaping and outdoor space, including on smaller lots.

We will also make sure we design for street trees. Focusing housing in the right areas helps protect bushland and open space at Brisbane’s outer edges and supports better investment in public parks and green spaces.

More information

Register to receive updates on housing strategies, and planning and development in Brisbane.

Register now

You can also:

Strategic Planning (Brisbane's Sustainable Growth Strategy)
Brisbane City Council
GPO Box 1434
Brisbane Qld 4001

Frequently asked questions

Under the Brisbane Housing Supply Incentive Policy, Council will reduce infrastructure charges and offer specialist fast-tracked assessment for eligible developments in targeted areas. 

The aim of the policy is to help get more homes built sooner by reducing the cost of constructing the most needed developments.