“ResCode” is the everyday name for Victoria’s residential development provisions. Today those rules sit in:
- Clause 54 (Single Home Code): one dwelling on a lot, and small second dwellings, when a planning permit is required.
- Clause 55 (Townhouse and Low-Rise Code): two or more dwellings on a lot, and residential buildings up to three storeys.
This guide outlines the main matters to check before preparing your application. It is not a substitute for reading your council’s planning scheme, zone schedule or overlay schedules. Standards and numbers can be varied locally, and the State has updated Clauses 54 and 55 several times since 2025.
Need diagrams for overshadowing or overlooking? Shelterscape prepares shadow diagrams from $550, plus site analysis plans and DA drawings.
Call us for a quoteFirst: which clause applies?
| Your project | Usually assessed under | Planning permit? |
|---|---|---|
| One dwelling (new house or extension) on a lot under 300 m² in most residential zones | Clause 54 | Usually yes (check zone and overlays) |
| One dwelling on a larger lot with no overlay or other trigger | Often building permit only (Part 5 of the Building Regulations), not Clause 54 | Often no planning permit |
| Two or more dwellings, dual occupancy, townhouses up to 3 storeys | Clause 55 | Always in the residential zones listed below |
| Residential building 4-6 storeys | Clause 57 (not covered on this page) | Yes |
| Small second dwelling (granny flat) up to 60 m² floor area | Clause 54 when a planning permit is required | Often no planning permit on lots ≥ 300 m² in many residential zones; yes if the lot is under 300 m² or an overlay / other control triggers a permit. A building permit is always required. |
Clause 54 and 55 typically apply in the Residential Growth, General Residential, Neighbourhood Residential, Housing Choice and Transport, Mixed Use and Township Zones (and, for Clause 54, some Neighbourhood Character Overlay cases). Always confirm in your scheme.
Important updates (as at Oct 2026):
- Amendment VC282 (Sep 2025) updated Clause 54 (Single Home Code), including deemed-to-comply operation and tree canopy / solar standards.
- Amendment VC267 (Mar 2025) introduced the Townhouse and Low-Rise Code at Clause 55.
- Amendment VC315 (24 Sep 2026) refined Clauses 54, 55 and 57 (including tree canopy and stormwater clarity). Applications lodged before 24 Sep 2026 generally stay under the pre-VC315 text. Check the transitional provisions in your residential zone.
Older guides still talk about standards A3 / B6 (street setback), A5 / B8 (site coverage), A10 / B17 (side and rear setbacks), and so on. Those letters came from Planning Practice Note 27 (Feb 2024). The current ordinance uses clause numbers such as 54.02-1 and 55.02-1 (also labelled A2-1 / B2-1 in many council written-statement templates). Use the current clause number in your written statement.
Official overviews: Single Home Code ↗ and Townhouse and Low-Rise Code ↗. Confirm live text on the planning schemes portal ↗.
How deemed to comply works
For both Clause 54 and Clause 55:
- Your development must meet all applicable objectives.
- If you meet the standard, the matching objective is deemed met. Council does not need to weigh that standard’s decision guidelines.
- If you miss the standard, council uses the decision guidelines to decide whether the objective is still met. Missing a standard does not automatically mean refusal, but you lose certainty.
- Meeting certain groups of standards can also affect third-party (objector) appeal rights and VicSmart eligibility. That is a big deal for dual occupancy and townhouse jobs. Get it right early.
Always pull the zone schedule and any overlay schedules first. If a schedule modifies a standard, the modified number is the one that applies.
Before you design: application basics
What to check
- Confirm zone, overlays, covenants, easements and lot size.
- Confirm whether you need a planning permit, a building permit, or both.
- Prepare a site and context description and design response (Clause 54.01 / 55.01).
- Prepare a written statement listing which standards are met and which are not (and why the objective is still met if a standard is varied).
- Plan for a landscape plan that shows canopy trees, deep soil or planters, and how tree canopy cover is met.
- Budget for shadow diagrams (overshadowing open space and, where relevant, neighbouring solar) and overlooking diagrams.
Shelterscape’s site analysis plan and shadow diagrams are built for these application requirements.
The checklist
Use the Clause 54 (A2 / A3 / A4 / A5) column for one dwelling or a small second dwelling. Use the Clause 55 (B2 / B3 / B4 / B5) column for two or more dwellings / low-rise townhouses. Numeric defaults below are the common state defaults when no schedule says otherwise. Verify in the current VPP and your local schedule.
1. Site layout, street setback, height and access
| What to check | Clause 54 | Clause 55 | Typical default to verify |
|---|---|---|---|
| Front / street setback responds to neighbours and the street | 54.02-1 (A2-1) | 55.02-1 (B2-1) | Often the lesser of the abutting front-wall setback or 6 m. If no building on either abutting lot (not a corner): 4 m, or 6 m on a Transport Zone 2 street. Porches / verandahs under 3.6 m and eaves may encroach up to 2.5 m. Corner-lot rules differ. Check the table in the clause. |
| Building height | 54.02-2 (A2-2) | 55.02-2 (B2-2) | Use the zone / schedule / overlay maximum. If none specified: commonly 9 m, or 10 m where natural ground slope across a cross-section wider than 8 m is 2.5° or more. NRZ / GRZ storey limits in the zone still apply. |
| Vehicle access / crossovers do not dominate the frontage | (see design response / street integration) | 55.02-6 (B2-6) | Accessways and car spaces generally no wider than 33% of the frontage, or 40% if the frontage is under 20 m. Watch street-tree TPZs. |
| Dwelling faces the street / passive surveillance | 54.03-1 (A3-1) | Liveability street-integration standards in 55.03 | Habitable room or balcony with a view to the street / public open space where the standard applies. |
2. Side and rear setbacks, and walls on boundaries
| What to check | Clause 54 | Clause 55 | Typical default to verify |
|---|---|---|---|
| Side and rear setbacks | 54.02-3 (A2-3) | 55.02-3 (B2-3) | Clause 54: usually 1 m + 0.3 m per metre of height over 3.6 m up to 6.9 m, then +1 m per metre over 6.9 m. Clause 55: you may use that formula or a flat option (commonly 3 m up to 11 m height, with a deeper setback to a southern boundary. Confirm B2-3.1 / B2-3.2 in the current clause). |
| Walls on boundaries: length and height | 54.02-4 (A2-4) | 55.02-4 (B2-4) | Length often limited to 10 m + 25% of the remaining boundary (or length of an abutting wall). Average height commonly 3.2 m, no part over 3.6 m, unless abutting a higher wall. |
| Small second dwelling sits behind the existing front wall | 54.02-8 (A2-8) | n/a | Walls of the SSD set back behind the existing dwelling’s front wall facing the frontage. |
3. Site coverage, permeability and tree canopy
| What to check | Clause 54 | Clause 55 | Typical default to verify |
|---|---|---|---|
| Site coverage (buildings) | 54.02-5 (A2-5) | 55.02-5 (B2-5) | If no schedule figure: often 60% (NRZ / Township), 65% (GRZ), 70% (RGZ / Mixed Use / Housing Choice and Transport). Schedules can set a different (usually higher) maximum. |
| Pervious / permeable surfaces | 54.05-1 (A5-1) | 55.05-1 (B5-1) | At least 20% pervious. Clause 55 also requires a stormwater system meeting EPA best-practice targets; since VC315, many applicants use a Blue Factor score of at least 100% or MUSIC modelling. |
| Tree canopy / canopy trees | 54.02-6 (A2-6) | 55.02-7 (B2-7) | Clause 54 often uses a minimum number of trees by site area (e.g. 1 / 2 / 3 trees on small lots), each expected to reach ~6 m high and 4 m canopy, with deep soil or planter rules. Clause 55 uses a % canopy cover of site area (bands by site size (VC315 adjusted the mid band)) plus at least one canopy tree in the front setback (with limited exceptions). Confirm the current table. This standard catches people out. |
| Front fence height | 54.02-7 (A2-7) | 55.02-8 (B2-8) | Within 3 m of a street: commonly 1.5 m, or 2 m on a Transport Zone 2 street (unless a schedule says otherwise). |
4. Private open space and internal liveability
| What to check | Clause 54 | Clause 55 | Typical default to verify |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private / secluded open space | 54.03-2 (A3-2) | 55.03-5 (B3-5) | Clause 54: often 20% of the lot (min 25 m²), including secluded POS of 25 m² with 3 m min width, with access from living / dining / kitchen, or balcony / roof options. Clause 55: commonly 25 m² secluded POS with 3 m min width (or balcony / podium / roof options in the table). Schedules can specify different (usually smaller) figures. |
| Solar access to open space | 54.03-3 (A3-3) | Matching liveability standard in 55.03 | Check the clause for orientation / shadow rules to the proposed open space. |
| Daylight to new windows | 54.03-4 (A3-4) | 55.03-9 (B3-9) | New habitable rooms need adequate daylight clear to the sky. Follow the light-court / setback rules in the clause. |
| Room sizes / storage / ventilation (mainly multi-dwelling) | Limited | 55.03-7 to 55.03-11 etc. | Townhouses: check bedroom and living minimums, storage volume, natural ventilation. Apartment-style standards apply where relevant. |
5. Overlooking, overshadowing and neighbour amenity
These are the standards that most often need diagrams.
| What to check | Clause 54 | Clause 55 | Typical default to verify |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight to existing neighbour windows | 54.04-1 (A4-1) | 55.04-1 (B4-1) | Light court commonly 3 m² with 1 m min dimension; taller walls within a 55° arc set back at least 50% of wall height. |
| Existing north-facing neighbour windows | 54.04-2 (A4-2) | 55.04-2 (B4-2) | Where a neighbour’s north-facing habitable window is within 3 m of the boundary, deeper setbacks apply (1 m + 0.6 m per metre over 3.6 m, etc., for a distance of 3 m either side of the window). “North-facing” is defined in the clause (roughly north 20° west to north 30° east). |
| Overshadowing of neighbour secluded open space | 54.04-3 (A4-3) | 55.04-3 (B4-3) | At least 50% of the neighbour’s SPOS, or 25 m² with 3 m min dimension (whichever is lesser), should receive sun for 5 hours between 9 am and 3 pm on 22 September. If existing sunlight is already below the standard, don’t make it worse. |
| Overlooking into neighbour SPOS / habitable rooms | 54.04-4 (A4-4) | 55.04-4 (B4-4) | Avoid direct views within 9 m (measured at ground level), from 1.7 m above floor level, within a 45° angle. Typical fixes: 1.5 m window offset, 1.7 m sill, obscure glazing, or fixed screens ≤ 25% transparent. Note: in the current clauses, “habitable room” for overlooking does not include a bedroom. |
| Internal views (multi-dwelling) | n/a | 55.04-5 (B4-5) | Limit views between dwellings within the same development. |
| Overshadowing of existing domestic solar on a neighbour’s roof | 54.05-2 (A5-2) | 55.05-2 (B5-2) | Applies in Township, GRZ and NRZ to solar that existed when the application was lodged. If your building would cut sun between 9 am and 4 pm on 22 September, setbacks similar to a side-setback formula apply, or redesign. This is where Planning Practice Note 88 (PPN88) shadow studies matter. |
Need diagrams? Shelterscape prepares shadow diagrams from $550 for 22 September overshadowing checks, and overlooking / solar studies to support your written statement.
6. Energy, solar readiness and sustainability extras
| What to check | Clause 54 | Clause 55 | Typical default to verify |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rooftop area reserved for future solar | 54.05-3 (A5-3) | 55.05-3 (B5-3) | Contiguous or split roof area oriented north / east / west, free of nearby roof obstructions. Minimum areas scale with bedrooms (commonly from about 15 m² for 1-bed up to 34 m² for 4+ bed. Confirm Table A5-3 / B5-3). |
| Shade to new north-facing windows | 54.05-4 (A5-4) | 55.05-4 (B5-4) | Eaves or fixed shading with horizontal depth at least 0.25 × window height (Clause 54 does not apply this to small second dwellings). |
| Waste / recycling storage (multi-dwelling) | n/a | 55.05-5 (B5-5) | Individual or shared bin areas sized to the clause tables. |
| Noise impacts | n/a | 55.05-6 (B5-6) | Protect dwellings from external noise sources as required. |
Suggested order of work
- Confirm permit triggers and pull schedules.
- Fix street setback, height, site coverage and tree canopy at concept stage. These lock the envelope.
- Test side/rear setbacks and walls on boundaries.
- Lock private open space and living-room links.
- Run overshadowing and overlooking tests; adjust massing or screening.
- Check permeability / Blue Factor or MUSIC (Clause 55) and solar-readiness.
- Write the Clause 54 / 55 written statement against the current standard numbers.
When Shelterscape can help
If you want a second pair of eyes, or drawings council will accept, we can help with:
- Shadow diagrams from $550 (22 September SPOS and solar overshadowing)
- Site analysis plans for Clauses 54 / 55 neighbourhood and site description
- Development application drawings
- Planning permit process guidance for Melbourne and Victoria
- Planning permits for single and double storey houses
Email contact@shelterscape.com.au or call 0494 779 414.
Disclaimer. This checklist is general guidance only. It is not planning advice, a planning assessment, or a substitute for the Victoria Planning Provisions, your local planning scheme, zone or overlay schedules, or advice from a registered building practitioner. Residential standards change (including Amendments VC267, VC282 and VC315). Always check the current clause text on the planning schemes portal ↗ and speak to your council or a qualified consultant about your site.