Short answer: sometimes, and in the Scenic Rim the number that usually decides it is not the smallest lot you are allowed to create, it is the average across the whole subdivision. Reconfiguring a lot in the Low Density Residential and Low-Medium Density Residential zones is code assessable (Reconfiguring a Lot Code 9.4.6, Scenic Rim Planning Scheme 2020, v30 June 2023, verified 3 July 2026), which means a development application is required either way, decided against the scheme's technical code rather than through public notification unless the Part 5 tables say otherwise for your situation.
The minimum lot sizes, by zone
Table 9.4.6.3.2 of the Reconfiguring a Lot Code sets an absolute minimum lot size and a frontage for each residential zone (verified 3 July 2026):
| Zone | Minimum lot (excl. access strip) | Minimum average lot | Frontage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-medium density residential | 450 m² | not less than 700 m² (lots over 1,000 m² count as 1,000 m² in the average) | 18 m (lots ≥600 m²), 15 m (lots <600 m²), 6 m cul-de-sac |
| Low density residential | minimum 600 m² / maximum 1,200 m² | not less than 700 m² (lots over 1,200 m² count as 1,200 m² in the average) | 18 m normal, 22 m corner, 6 m cul-de-sac |
Both zones also set a 5 m access easement width and 5 m rear-lot access width. The Low-Medium Density Residential zone adds two extra caps many owners overlook: lots under 600 m² cannot make up more than 15% of the total lots created, and lots under 500 m² are only allowed within 300 m of open space. And the mapped minimum can differ from the zone code figure: the Minimum Lot Size Overlay (Map OM-13) can set its own number for a specific parcel, so the zone table is the starting point, not necessarily the final word for your block.
The rule that usually cuts the real yield: the minimum average
Meeting the absolute minimum on every new lot is not enough. Both residential zones also require the average lot size across the whole subdivision to be not less than 700 m², and the averaging math is not a simple mean: a lot larger than the zone's cap (1,000 m² in Low-Medium Density Residential, 1,200 m² in Low Density Residential) only counts at the cap when the average is calculated, not at its real size. In practice a lot larger than the cap only counts at the cap, so oversized lots lift the average by less than their real size suggests. A layout dominated by lots near the 450 m² or 600 m² absolute minimum, without enough larger lots to balance them, fails the 700 m² average even where every individual lot clears its own minimum, which is why the headline "minimum lot size" figure understates what a real subdivision layout needs to achieve.
Yield has a second gate above a certain scale. The scheme's own words (Performance Outcome 22, Reconfiguring a Lot Code 9.4.6, via Planning Scheme Policy 3, verified 3 July 2026):
"Master planning is undertaken for reconfiguring a lot where the total potential site yield is 25 or more lots".
Below that yield, no master plan is triggered by this control; at or above it, master planning is triggered, and the trigger counts the site's total potential yield, not just the lots in the current application.
The checks that change the answer on rural and flood-affected land
- Flood Hazard Overlay: where the land is mapped in the Flood Hazard Overlay (Map OM-06-A), reconfiguring a lot is code assessable against the Flood Hazard Overlay Code, and the table sets no area or depth threshold before that applies (Table 5.10.1, verified 8 July 2026). In the residential zones this does not change the assessment category, since reconfiguring a lot there is already code assessable by default, but it adds the flood code as an assessment benchmark the layout has to satisfy.
- Regional Landscape and Rural Production Area: most of the shire's rural land sits inside this SEQ state-mapped area, where a Material Change of Use for residential development is prohibited under the Planning Regulation 2017, Schedule 10, Part 16, section 27B, subject to specific exclusions (verified 8 July 2026). This sits above the council's own zone code, so on rural land it is worth checking whether the parcel falls inside this area, and whether an exclusion applies, before assuming a reconfiguration will produce lots usable for residential development.
- Servicing reach: large parts of Scenic Rim have no reticulated sewer or water. Where that is the case, on-site wastewater capacity and the cost of extending a trunk main, where one is even in reach, typically constrain a subdivision harder than the lot-size numbers above.
- Other overlays: bushfire, agricultural land, environmental significance and extractive resources overlays are not yet fully typed in our records for their effect on reconfiguring a lot specifically, so we do not make a category call on them here. They need to be read from the current scheme table for your parcel.
If the numbers don't add up, dual occupancy is often the fallback
Where a block cannot produce two compliant freehold lots under the minimum and average tests above, a dual occupancy is a separate pathway that follows different rules. The no-application (accepted development) pathway exists only on a lot of at least 800 m² that is also a corner lot, with each dwelling accessing a separate constructed road, and provided no overlay lifts the assessment level; flood mapping is the clearest example, since a residential use in a mapped Flood Hazard Area is code assessable here (Dual Occupancy Code 9.3.4, Table 9.3.4.3.1, and Table 5.10.1, verified 3 to 8 July 2026). Outside those conditions, it is code assessable, and the zones set their own lower consistency thresholds for a dual occupancy generally: 600 m² in Low-Medium Density Residential and 700 m² in Low Density Residential, both with a 20 m minimum frontage. One further trap applies once a dual occupancy falls to code assessment: a 50 m dispersion rule (Table 9.3.4.3.2, Performance Outcome 3 / Acceptable Outcome 3, added by Amendment No. 3, commenced 30 June 2023) stops a non-corner-lot dual occupancy sitting within 50 m of another dual occupancy on the same side of the street. That rule does not gate the accepted, no-application pathway, only the code assessable one. A dual occupancy stays on one title, with each dwelling typically sold separately through a Building Format Plan community title process, a step a solicitor or planner advises on. Where even that does not fit, a secondary dwelling (granny flat) is a smaller fallback again: capped at 60 m² gross floor area, within 20 m of the primary dwelling, sharing its water and electricity connection, but not separately saleable (Dwelling House Code 9.3.5, verified 3 July 2026).
How to check your own block
- Confirm your zone (Low Density Residential or Low-Medium Density Residential) and check the Minimum Lot Size Overlay (OM-13) for a parcel-specific figure that may differ from the zone code table.
- Sketch the full subdivision layout, not just one lot: check every new lot against the absolute minimum and frontage, then run the whole-of-subdivision average against the 700 m² test, applying the cap-counting rule to any oversized lot.
- Check the Flood Hazard Overlay map, and if the land is rural, check whether it sits inside the Regional Landscape and Rural Production Area and whether reticulated sewer and water reach it. Any of these can change the assessment picture or the project's viability well before the lot-size numbers come into play.
This page is general information about the Scenic Rim planning scheme, not advice about your property. Overlay effects vary lot by lot, planning schemes amend, and the council's current scheme prevails. Do not rely on this page for a specific property. Get a site-specific report or independent professional advice before acting. We work with town planners, not in place of them: where a pathway depends on design or professional judgement, a town planner or the relevant qualified professional confirms it for your specific proposal.
Want the answer for your block? Our $690 site-specific report reads the zone, the OM-13 minimum lot size mapping, every overlay mapped on the property and the surviving development pathways for one property, with every figure cited to the scheme. Not ready for that? Start with the free development risk checklist, or read our Scenic Rim planning and zoning guide.
Sources: Scenic Rim Planning Scheme 2020 (the council's ePlan), including the Reconfiguring a Lot Code (9.4.6), the Dual Occupancy Code (9.3.4) and Table 5.10.1 (Overlays), and the Planning Regulation 2017 (Qld), Schedule 10, Part 16. Everything on this page comes from the council's own published planning scheme; we explain it in plain English. The scheme text itself is the authority.
Published by LandIntel. How we research: our methodology.
Verified 3 to 8 July 2026 against the Scenic Rim Planning Scheme 2020 (version 30 June 2023, Amendments 1-5 and 7); schemes amend, and the live scheme prevails.