Brisbane City Council plans to drop the rule forcing developers to include a minimum number of car spaces in new high-rise apartments in four inner-city suburbs, pending state approval.
Brisbane City Council announced in May 2024 that it wants to remove the minimum car parking requirement for new high-rise apartment buildings in Fortitude Valley, Kangaroo Point, Milton and Newstead, the ABC reported.
Under the existing rules, developers must provide a set number of car spaces for every unit, with the requirement rising as the number of bedrooms increases. Industry experts cited in the report estimated that each car space in inner-city Brisbane costs around $100,000 to build.
Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner pitched the change as a housing affordability measure aimed at people who want to live close to public transport. Then-premier Steven Miles also backed the idea, and the Property Council welcomed it as cost relief that could help lift supply. The change needed state government approval before it could take effect.
Not everyone was convinced. QUT urban planner Dr Mark Limb told the ABC the idea that the change would reduce prices was "not accurate".
If fewer new apartments come with a car space, residents who still own a car are likely to look elsewhere for parking, which could lift demand and rents for existing car spaces in and around these inner-city suburbs.
Source: ABC News — Brisbane moves to ditch high-rise car space minimum in housing affordability plan
Photo: John Robert McPherson / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Brisbane skyline seen from the rooftop of the Valley Centre car park, Fortitude Valley.