Moreton Bay · Granny flat guide
Building a granny flat in Moreton Bay: rules, approval and what the data shows
Moreton Bay Region Planning Scheme 2016, v7.1 sets the rules for a granny flat or secondary dwelling in Moreton Bay. The figures on this page come from 474 decided secondary dwelling (granny flat) applications recorded against Moreton Bay council, current to 9 Sept 2026.
According to Casa Intelligence analysis of 474 decided secondary dwelling (granny flat) applications in Moreton Bay, 100% were approved, with a median decision time of 43 days.
100%
Approval rate
474 of 474 decided Moreton Bay applications
43 days
Median decision time
Lodgement to decision across 474 dated Moreton Bay cases
474
Decided applications
Moreton Bay secondary dwelling (granny flat) applications
16
Zones tracked
Moreton Bay granny flat and secondary dwelling zone rows citing Moreton Bay Region Planning Scheme 2016
Do you need council approval for a granny flat or secondary dwelling in Moreton Bay?
Whether a granny flat or secondary dwelling in Moreton Bay needs a development application is decided by Moreton Bay Region Planning Scheme 2016, v7.1, which places each proposal in one of the three Planning Act 2016 categories: accepted development, code assessable or impact assessable. For a Moreton Bay lot the answer turns on the zone, any precinct mapped over it and the overlays that apply, so Moreton Bay council does not publish one blanket answer for granny flat and secondary dwelling proposals.
Casa's rules register for Moreton Bay Region Planning Scheme 2016 records a secondary dwelling as contemplated in 8 of the 16 Moreton Bay zones it tracks, including Emerging Community, General Residential, Low Density Residential, Medium Density Residential and 4 other zones, and not in 8 others. A Moreton Bay granny flat that meets the scheme's size and siting requirements for its zone can often proceed on building approval alone, while one that falls outside them or picks up an overlay trigger needs a development application.
Moreton Bay's own wording on secondary dwellings is quoted further down this page from the Dwelling house code, which is the passage a Moreton Bay assessing officer reads first.
The Moreton Bay record gives a feel for what assessment involves: a quarter of the 474 dated granny flat and secondary dwelling decisions were made within 28 days of lodgement, and a quarter took longer than 65 days.
The zone, precinct and overlay position of one Moreton Bay address is what settles the pathway for a granny flat or secondary dwelling, and a free Casa block check reads all three for any Moreton Bay lot in seconds.
What Moreton Bay’s scheme says about granny flat and secondary dwelling development
The passage below is quoted word for word from Moreton Bay Region Planning Scheme 2016, v7.1, the instrument Moreton Bay council assesses granny flat and secondary dwelling proposals against, from the Dwelling house code, as Casa held the Moreton Bay scheme text on 9 Sept 2026.
“Secondary dwellings are: only located on larger lots capable of accommodating useable open space areas, shared infrastructure services and car parking for both dwellings and separation to neighbouring dwellings, establishing on lots with minimum dimensions of: in the Suburban neighbourhood precinct or Coastal communities precinct of the General residential zone – a lot size of 600m2 and a primary frontage width of 12.5m; in all other applicable precincts …”
Source for these Moreton Bay granny flat and secondary dwelling passages: Moreton Bay Region Planning Scheme 2016 (Moreton Bay council)
Granny flat position by zone in Moreton Bay
Casa's register holds 16 Moreton Bay zone rows relevant to a granny flat or secondary dwelling, each citing Moreton Bay Region Planning Scheme 2016, and precinct mapping and overlays tighten these granny flat and secondary dwelling positions for individual Moreton Bay lots.
| Zone | Secondary dwelling |
|---|---|
| Emerging Community | Yes |
| General Residential | Yes |
| Low Density Residential | Yes |
| Medium Density Residential | Yes |
| Next Generation Neighbourhood | Yes |
| Rural Residential | Yes |
| Rural | Yes |
| Township | Yes |
| Centre | No |
| Community Facilities | No |
| Extractive Industry | No |
| Environmental Management and Conservation | No |
| High Density Residential | No |
| Industry | No |
| Limited Development (Constrained Land) | No |
| Recreation and Open Space | No |
"not held" means Moreton Bay's register has no value for that granny flat and secondary dwelling cell, not that the scheme is silent. Height, setback and site-cover figures for Moreton Bay zones are held in the register but have not been checked against the scheme text, so they are not printed on this granny flat and secondary dwelling page.
How granny flat and secondary dwelling applications have fared in Moreton Bay
Moreton Bay council has decided 474 secondary dwelling (granny flat) applications in our dataset, approving 474 (100%) and refusing 0. That is level with the pooled South East Queensland figure of 99.6% across 1,804 decided granny flat and secondary dwelling applications in the 5 councils Casa tracks, ranking Moreton Bay 2nd of 5 for approval rate.
Granny flat work is 3.2% of everything Moreton Bay council has decided in our records (14,587 applications of all kinds), which makes Moreton Bay the 2nd largest granny flat and secondary dwelling cohort of the 5 councils.
The median Moreton Bay decision took 43 days from lodgement, measured across the 474 granny flat and secondary dwelling applications with both dates recorded, 3 days faster than the 46-day middle council for this cohort. Moreton Bay decisions made since the start of 2024 ran at a median of 52 days (190 cases), 9 days longer than the long-run Moreton Bay figure.
The busiest year for granny flat and secondary dwelling decisions in Moreton Bay was 2025, with 127 decided. In 2025 Moreton Bay council decided 127 and approved 100%, against 55 decided in 2024.
By suburb, Moreton Bay's granny flat and secondary dwelling decisions cluster in Samford Valley (20 decided, 100% approved), Cashmere (18 decided, 100% approved) and Morayfield (18 decided, 100% approved).
Moreton Bay granny flat and secondary dwelling decisions by year
| Year | Decided | Approved | Refused | Approval rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 100% |
| 2022 | 39 | 39 | 0 | 100% |
| 2023 | 51 | 51 | 0 | 100% |
| 2024 | 55 | 55 | 0 | 100% |
| 2025 | 127 | 127 | 0 | 100% |
| 2026 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 100% |
Recent granny flat and secondary dwelling decisions in Moreton Bay
The 5 most recently decided secondary dwelling (granny flat) applications recorded against Moreton Bay council, each cited by Moreton Bay's own application number so it can be looked up on the council's register.
| Application | Decision | Decided | Days to decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| DA/2025/6190 | Approved | 18 Feb 2026 | 75 days |
| DA/2025/5795 | Approved | 4 Feb 2026 | 80 days |
| DA/2025/3223 | Approved | 3 Feb 2026 | 208 days |
| DA/2025/5653 | Approved | 2 Feb 2026 | 87 days |
| DA/2025/5939 | Approved | 28 Jan 2026 | 68 days |
Granny flat in Moreton Bay: common questions
Do I need council approval for a granny flat or secondary dwelling in Moreton Bay?
Only your lot's zone, precinct and overlays under Moreton Bay Region Planning Scheme 2016 can answer that for a granny flat or secondary dwelling at a Moreton Bay address. Some compliant Moreton Bay proposals of this type proceed on building approval alone, while others need a full development application. Moreton Bay council has decided 474 secondary dwelling (granny flat) applications in our records, so the pathway question comes up regularly in Moreton Bay.
Which zones allow granny flat and secondary dwelling development in Moreton Bay?
Casa's register for Moreton Bay Region Planning Scheme 2016 records granny flat and secondary dwelling development as contemplated in Emerging Community, General Residential, Low Density Residential, Medium Density Residential, Next Generation Neighbourhood, Rural Residential and 2 other zones, 8 of the 16 Moreton Bay zones tracked. Precinct mapping and overlays can still restrict a Moreton Bay lot inside one of those zones.
What is the approval rate for granny flat or secondary dwelling applications in Moreton Bay?
100% of the 474 decided secondary dwelling (granny flat) applications recorded against Moreton Bay council were approved and 0 were refused. Moreton Bay sits against a pooled granny flat and secondary dwelling figure of 99.6% across the 5 South East Queensland councils Casa tracks. These are past Moreton Bay decisions and they do not guarantee any future granny flat and secondary dwelling outcome.
How long does granny flat or secondary dwelling approval take in Moreton Bay?
The median time from lodgement to decision across the 474 dated granny flat and secondary dwelling applications in Moreton Bay was 43 days. A quarter of Moreton Bay decisions came within 28 days and a quarter took longer than 65 days. Since the start of 2024 the Moreton Bay median has been 52 days across 190 decisions.
What does Moreton Bay Region Planning Scheme 2016 say about granny flat and secondary dwelling development in Moreton Bay?
The Dwelling house code (section 9.3.1.2) states: "Secondary dwellings are: only located on larger lots capable of accommodating useable open space areas, shared infrastructure services and car parking for both dwellings and separation to neighbouring dwellings, establishing on lots with minimum dimensions of: in the Suburban neighbourhood precinct or Coastal communities precinct of the General residential zone – a lot size of 600m2 and a primary frontage width of 12.5m; in all other applicable precincts …"
About this guide
The zone rows on this page come from Casa's rules register for Moreton Bay Region Planning Scheme 2016, v7.1, and the statistics from 474 decided secondary dwelling (granny flat) applications recorded against Moreton Bay council between 29 Mar 2016 and 18 Feb 2026, computed on 9 Sept 2026.
Moreton Bay amends its scheme over time, and precincts, local plans and overlays can vary these granny flat and secondary dwelling rules for a single Moreton Bay lot. Past Moreton Bay decisions describe how comparable granny flat and secondary dwelling proposals fared and do not predict any future application.
This page is general information, not planning or legal advice.
Would a Moreton Bay block support a granny flat or secondary dwelling? Check the address free.
Moreton Bay-wide granny flat and secondary dwelling rules give the frame, and a free block check reads the zone, precinct and overlays for one Moreton Bay address and returns a Casa Score for a granny flat or secondary dwelling in seconds.
What the Moreton Bay granny flat rules mean for your site
This guide covers Moreton Bay at council level across 474 decided secondary dwelling (granny flat) applications. A Preliminary Planning Report covers one address: the likely pathway for a granny flat or secondary dwelling, the constraints on that Moreton Bay lot, and the comparable Moreton Bay approvals, prepared by our planning team and delivered within three business days.