What the control sets
This is the zone applied where a council wants incremental change rather than preservation or growth. Its standards sit between the Neighbourhood Residential Zone below it and the Residential Growth Zone above it. Its height and storeys are requirements of the zone; its coverage and setback are deemed-to-comply standards a proposal can argue past.
| Standard | What it sets | Status | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum building height | 11 m | Mandatory | Clause 32.08-11 |
| Maximum height, sloping site | 12 m | Mandatory | Clause 32.08-11 |
| Maximum storeys | 3 | Mandatory | Clause 32.08-11 |
| Site coverage | 65% | Discretionary | Table B2-5 / A2-5 |
| Street setback | 4 m to an ordinary street, 6 m to a Transport Zone 2 road, or the lesser neighbour setback — see the table below | Discretionary | Table B2-1 / A2-1 |
| Minimum lot size for subdivision | None in the zone | No standard | Clause 32.08-3 |
Height and storeys come from Clause 32.08-11 itself — a dwelling “must not” exceed them, whether or not a permit is required, with up to 1 m more on a site sloping more than 2.5 degrees. The parent zone sets no minimum lot size for subdivision. Site coverage and street setback are the standards of Clauses 54 and 55, which is a different kind of number — a deemed-to-comply standard an application can argue past rather than a requirement of the zone. One dwelling on a lot of 300 m² or more needs no planning permit (Clause 32.08-5), and Clause 54, which applies to applications, does not reach it; the Building Regulations siting rules do. The height and the garden area still apply. Assessed as at 29 September 2026 under VC253, VC257, VC267, VC276, VC282, VC300, VC308, VC311, VC315.
The street setback is a table, and most guidance quotes one row of it
The number usually attached to this zone’s street setback is 6 m. That is the table’s cap and its figure for a road in a Transport Zone 2. On an ordinary street where neither neighbouring lot has a building, the standard is 4 m. Where the neighbours are built, it is their setback — the lesser of the two — but never more than 6 m. On a shallow lot the difference between the quoted figure and the table is the difference between two rows of townhouses and one.
| Development context | Minimum setback from the front street |
|---|---|
| An existing building on both abutting allotments facing the same street, and the site is not on a corner | The lesser front wall setback of the two abutting buildings, or 6 m, whichever is the lesser |
| An existing building on one abutting allotment facing the same street and none on the other, and the site is not on a corner | The front wall setback of that abutting building, or 6 m, whichever is the lesser |
| No existing building on either abutting allotment facing the same street, and the site is not on a corner | 6 m for streets in a Transport Zone 2; 4 m for other streets |
| The site is on a corner | The front wall setback of the abutting building facing the front street, or 6 m, whichever is the lesser; with no such building, 6 m for streets in a Transport Zone 2 and 4 m for other streets |
Table B2-1, Clause 55.02-1 and Table A2-1, Clause 54.02-1 (VC315). A schedule to the zone may set a smaller distance; a schedule figure applies only if it is less than the table figure. Side street, Clause 55: Front walls fronting the side street: the setback of any abutting building facing the side street, or 3 m, whichever is the lesser. Side walls: that setback, or 2 m, whichever is the lesser. Side street, Clause 54: The setback of any abutting building facing the side street, or 2 m, whichever is the lesser. Land Axis draws 6 m when it cannot see the neighbouring buildings or the road’s zone — a conservative assumption, not the standard.
The setback depends on facts about the street and the neighbours, not only on the zone. A schedule to the zone can set a smaller distance, and a smaller schedule figure applies; a larger one does not. Land Axis draws 6 m where it cannot see the neighbouring buildings or the road’s zone, and labels that figure as an assumption.
Clause 55 is the Townhouse and Low-Rise Code (Amendment VC267), and a separate mid-rise code sits in Clause 57 — which this zone is not eligible for.
The setback is a deemed-to-comply standard: a council with a strong street-character policy can ask for more, and an applicant can argue for less. The siting figures in the table above are the opening position in a merits argument, not the end of one; the height and storey limits are not.
Garden area
The garden-area requirement applies in this zone on the same sliding scale as the Neighbourhood Residential Zone. It is a share of the lot removed before design begins.
| Lot size | Minimum garden area |
|---|---|
| Up to 399 m² | No requirement |
| 400–500 m² | 25% of the lot |
| 501–650 m² | 30% of the lot |
| 651 m² and above | 35% of the lot |
What a schedule to the zone can change
A GRZ lot never carries just “GRZ”. It carries a schedule number — GRZ1, GRZ2, and so on — and the schedule is where the council varies the defaults. Usually that means a different figure: its own maximum height and storeys, a local neighbourhood-character statement the numbers do not express at all.
The 11 m and 3 storeys above are the defaults Clause 32.08-11 applies only where the schedule specifies neither a height nor a number of storeys. A schedule can state its own maximum height and storeys, and those bind in the same way: the clause says a dwelling must not exceed the height specified in the schedule. A schedule that sets only a height leaves no storey maximum at all — the 3-storey default does not come back. A schedule can also vary the street setback downwards, raise the site coverage above the table, or exempt the land from the garden area. Nothing in the zone code tells you a schedule has done any of that. It is in the schedule document, and the schedule number is the only pointer to it.
So the first question on a GRZ site is not “what does GRZ allow” but “which schedule, and what does it say”. The second is whether an overlay sits over the land, because an overlay schedule overrides these figures more often than a zone schedule does.
Sources
- Victoria Planning Provisions, Clause 32.08 — General Residential Zone
- Victoria Planning Provisions, operative text as at VC315 (VPP ordinance API) — Clauses 32.04, 32.07, 32.08, 32.09, 32.10, 54.02, 55.02, 57.02 and 52.06 re-read in full. PRIMARY SOURCE for every figure on this page.checked 2026-09-29
- VPP ordinance — Clause 55.02. Confirms the B2-x standard numbering and the B2-2 building-height fallback of 9 m / 10 m sloping. PRIMARY SOURCE.checked 2026-07-26
- DTP — Townhouse and Low-Rise Code (Clause 55) + 4 Storey Apartment Standards (Clause 57).checked 2026-07-12
Assessed as at 29 September 2026 under VC253, VC257, VC267, VC276, VC282, VC300, VC308, VC311, VC315.
Related: the Neighbourhood Residential Zone is usually what sits across the rear boundary, and the Design and Development Overlay is what most often overrides these figures.
Check it on a real site
See what applies to a particular property
This page describes the control in general. To see what applies to a particular property, search its address and read the zone, overlays and controls recorded against it. No account is needed for the search.
This page describes the instrument, not your land. Which controls actually apply to a particular property is settled by the planning certificate for it — a section 10.7 certificate in New South Wales, a planning certificate in Victoria — and by the responsible authority.