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Dwelling entitlement search

You cannot build a dwelling house on all land in Eurobodalla. Council can't consider this type of development on land in certain rural and environmental protection zones, unless a dwelling entitlement exists.

A dwelling entitlement means that Council has the potential to approve a dwelling on a property.

Check the zoning of your land

One way to find out if your land has a dwelling entitlement is through a dwelling entitlement search.

The rural zoning that requires a dwelling entitlement search is Zone RU1 - Primary Production.

You can find out what zone applies to your land:

Factors that determine if land has a dwelling entitlement are the:

  • size of the property
  • zoning history of the land
  • date of subdivision approval.

If we provide you with advice about a dwelling entitlement, we'll let you know whether:

If your land has a dwelling entitlement, you'll still need to apply for development consent and submit a Development Application. A planning officer will then assess your proposal under Section 4.15 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. This assessment will determine whether we can provide you with approval (consent) to build.

The planning regulations for dwelling entitlements change over time. The advice you receive from a dwelling entitlement search only applies at the date of issue. If we carried out a previous search, you'll need a new search to confirm if this information is still current. If you apply for a dwelling entitlement search for more than one adjoining lot, you only need to pay one application fee.

Note: if there's already an approved dwelling on your rural land, you'll need to apply for a building records search to find out what approvals exist.

How to apply for a dwelling entitlement search

A dwelling entitlement search will show whether your land has a dwelling entitlement.

You can follow these steps to apply for a search:

  1. Complete your written request, including the lot and DP details of all relevant parcels of land, and email it to development@esc.nsw.gov.au.
  2. You will then receive an invoice for the application fee of $397. For more complex requests, we will charge the standard fee of $397 for the first two hours, then a fee of $80 per hour will apply.
  3. Pay the invoice.

    or,
  1. Submit your request and make payment online via our eServices system. If further fees are required, we will contact you to advise.

We usually process requests within 14 days. Once the search is complete, we will email the advice to you.

Complex searches can take longer, and we will contact you to give you an estimated timeframe.

More information

For more information, contact our Development Help Desk: