Missing middle housing

In the Australian context, ‘missing middle housing’ refers to low-rise, medium-density housing options that bridge the gap between traditional detached single-family homes and high-rise apartment towers.

It is called "missing" because for decades, planning systems and market incentives in Australia's major cities heavily favoured building either sprawling detached houses on the urban fringes or dense high-rises in inner-city hubs, leaving very little built in between.

Missing middle housing includes dual occupancies, town houses and small unit complexes. And new laws in the ACT allow for them in the most common residential zones (RZ1 and RZ2) in the ACT, on larger blocks. 

This has the potential to increase the value of many larger blocks and the potential to allow you to subdivide and sell part of your block or build additional dwellings.

Urban Intelligence is building tools to help people realise the potential of their blocks.

The changes

In 2025 the ACT Government made changes to the planning laws that control what you do on your block in the low density residential zones (RZ1 and RZ2).

These changes were captured in the Planning (Missing Middle Housing Reform) Major Plan Amendment 2025.

Those changes passed into law on 22 May 2026 and took effect on 1 July 2026.

So they now apply to your block in RZ1 and RZ2 zones.

Why?

The Government made these changes because the ACT’s population is currently around 470,000 people and by 2050, the population is expected to reach almost 700,000 people. To support this anticipated growth in population, the ACT will need to provide 30,000 new homes by 2030 and up to 100,000 new homes by 2050.

You can find more information about the ‘missing middle’ reforms on the ACT Government website here.

Urban Intelligence has created two tools to help you work out what planning/zoning rules apply to your house:

The first is http://daaisy.io to answer your general questions about the ACT planning system.

The second is http://daassist.io which can help you work out your block and section number, and assist you work towards lodging a DA on your block. It can't lodge your DA for you yet, but it can help you find your block and section number and download some documents you'll need to consider before deciding on a course of action.

We are spatial analysts who seek out hidden value in blocks. We can also help unlock that value. 

There are several options to increase the value of your block: from varying your lease purpose clause to having a development approved on your block, there are various options you can choose. We are here to help you.