A detached studio at the back of the block is one of the more useful things you can add to a Sunshine Coast property: a flat for ageing parents, a landing pad for an adult child, an office away from the kitchen table, or a long-term rental. Queensland planning law calls it a secondary dwelling, and the rules are more workable than most homeowners expect.
What is a secondary dwelling under Queensland planning law?
Under the Planning Regulation 2017, a dwelling house can be one dwelling, or two where one is a secondary dwelling: a dwelling used in conjunction with, but subordinate to, the other dwelling on the same lot, whether attached, built underneath, or freestanding. Subordinate is the load-bearing word. Sunshine Coast Council’s secondary dwelling information sheet gives a checklist: a clear functional connection between the dwellings, shared services and vehicle access, and a second dwelling that is small and clearly ancillary. If that does not describe your plan, what you are proposing is most likely a dual occupancy, which is defined separately and assessed differently.
Can you rent out a granny flat separately on the Sunshine Coast?
Yes, to long-term tenants. This changed on 26 September 2022, when amendments to the Planning Regulation 2017 removed controls in the planning framework around how members of a household live together. Sunshine Coast Council’s information sheet confirms that some existing lawful secondary dwellings, and all new ones, may now be privately rented to anyone for long-term residential use, whether or not they are related to the household in the main house. Noosa Shire Council says the same: a secondary dwelling can be rented separately to the main dwelling house even where the tenants are unrelated to the household in it. Two limits still bite: the use must be long term, which Sunshine Coast Council frames as more than three consecutive months, and it cannot be short-term accommodation. Before letting an existing secondary dwelling, Council advises checking whether further approvals apply, including fire safety and sound transmission requirements.
How big can a secondary dwelling be under the Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme?
The Dwelling house code sets a secondary dwelling at a maximum 60m² gross floor area in most zones, 90m² in the Rural and Rural residential zones, and 45m² in the Moffat Beach, Shelly Beach and Dicky Beach area, where it also cannot exceed 4 metres in height. A freestanding secondary dwelling sits within 20 metres of the primary dwelling, measured from the outermost projection of each, and one additional on-site car space is provided. In an urban zone, the lot is a regular shape with an area of at least 600m². Read these as the acceptable outcomes of the Dwelling house code rather than flat prohibitions. Missing one does not ban the build; it means the material change of use is no longer accepted development and becomes assessable development requiring a development application to Council.
How does Noosa Shire Council treat secondary dwellings?
Noosa runs its own scheme and its own numbers. Fact Sheet 3: Secondary Dwellings (Noosa Plan 2020, as amended 26 September 2025) allows one or two bedrooms and a maximum gross floor area of 65m², excluding unenclosed balconies, decks and garages. One secondary dwelling is permitted per lot regardless of lot size, it cannot be subdivided or separately titled, and it cannot be developed on a property covered by a Building Unit Plan. Where a proposal does not meet the built form requirements, or the site is affected by a constraint such as biodiversity or coastal protection, a development application goes to Council for assessment instead. Council also states that, as of 1 July 2025, infrastructure charges do not apply to a secondary dwelling in Noosa Shire.
| Requirement | Sunshine Coast Council | Noosa Shire Council |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum gross floor area | 60m² (90m² rural; 45m² Moffat, Shelly, Dicky Beach) | 65m², excluding unenclosed decks and garages |
| Extra on-site parking | One space | One space |
| Separate title | No, same lot | No, cannot be subdivided |
Do you need council approval, or just a building approval?
Often just a building approval. Under the Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme 2014, a material change of use for a secondary dwelling is generally accepted development in certain residential zones, such as the Low density residential zone, where it meets the criteria in Part 2 of Schedule 6 of the Planning Regulation 2017. In the Medium density residential, High density residential, Emerging community, Limited development (landscape residential), Rural residential and Rural zones it is accepted development subject to requirements, so it must meet the acceptable outcomes in the Dwelling house code. Noosa Shire Council states that in most cases a secondary dwelling can be assessed by a private building certifier as part of the standard building approval process, without referral to Council. Two things are not optional: Sunshine Coast Council is explicit that all secondary dwellings need a building approval, issued on the Sunshine Coast by a private building certifier, plus a plumbing and drainage permit, which Council itself issues. Referral to Council as a concurrence agency is a separate process again, and applies in defined cases: where the planning scheme applies an alternative provision to the Queensland Development Code for siting and boundary clearances and the building does not comply, or where a secondary dwelling in the Low density residential or Tourist accommodation zone exceeds the height nominated on the Height of buildings and structures overlay, or exceeds the excavation and filling thresholds of the Acid sulfate soils overlay.
Where should a detached studio sit on your block?
Siting sets the budget more than finishes do. The 20-metre rule pulls a freestanding studio closer to the house than most people imagine, and Queensland Development Code boundary clearances govern how tight you can go to a side or rear boundary. Shared services are part of the test: Sunshine Coast Council looks for a single water connection and meter, a shared waste water connection, one street number and letterbox, and one driveway serving both dwellings. On a sloped block behind Coolum or in the Noosa hinterland, retaining, stormwater and machine access often cost more than the shell.
What do people use detached studios and granny flats for?
Somewhere a parent can live on the property rather than move away from family. Accommodation for adult children. A consulting room or office with its own entry. A studio for art or music. A long-term rental. Keep the planning line in view: a secondary dwelling is intended for permanent occupation, and short-term letting is a different use again.
What drives the cost of a granny flat on the Sunshine Coast?
We do not publish a square metre rate, because here the site sets the number. The drivers are the run of services from the house, sewer connection or an on-site treatment system, switchboard capacity, whether the floor is a slab or a suspended structure on poles down a slope, wind classification near the beach at Marcus Beach or Yaroomba, and the overlays across the lot. Overlays carry hard costs. Where reticulated water is not available, Noosa Shire Council requires rainwater tanks with a minimum combined capacity of 60,000 litres for the primary dwelling and the secondary dwelling together. Where a property sits in a mapped Bushfire Hazard Area and is not connected to a reticulated water supply, Council requires a dedicated firefighting water source of at least 5,000 litres, separate from the household supply, with a 50mm outlet and a standard fire brigade fitting unless that source is a dam or swimming pool.
Who can legally build a secondary dwelling in Queensland?
A licensed contractor. The QBCC requires a licence for building work valued over $3,300, and domestic building work priced over $3,300 including labour, materials and GST needs a written contract: $3,301 to $19,999 is a Level 1 renovation, extension and repair contract, and $20,000 and over is a Level 2. Contractors must also take out home warranty insurance on the owner’s behalf before starting. Roebuck Concepts holds QBCC company licence 15280811; Tom Roebuck holds individual licence 15015060.
Talking to a Sunshine Coast builder about a secondary dwelling
Roebuck Concepts works from Unit 1/18 Lomandra Place, Coolum Beach, across the Sunshine Coast and Noosa Shire. Tom Roebuck is the director and licensed builder, with more than 20 years in residential construction, and the company is a member of Master Builders Queensland. In August 2025 the Grandview project at Coolum Beach won three Master Builders Queensland Sunshine Coast Housing & Construction Awards.
If the space would work better attached to the house, look at home extensions or a wider renovation. If a detached studio is the right answer, book a consult or call 0477 333 386. We will walk the block, check the zone and overlays, and tell you what is realistic before you commission drawings.