Heritage floor space scheme

Jane Alexander

Senior Heritage Floor Space Manager

: 02 9265 9632
: [email protected]

Our heritage floor space scheme provides a financial incentive for building owners to conserve and maintain their heritage property.

Through the scheme, we’ve supported the conservation of more than 90 heritage buildings since 1971.

How it works

After completing conservation works, building owners can earn heritage floor space, subject to certain criteria. This is intangible space that can be sold to developers required to purchase it as part of their development consent.

The sale of this intangible space helps building owners offset the cost of maintaining and conserving their historic building.

As conservation is an ongoing process, owners of historic buildings can apply for an award of heritage floor space every 25 years.

“Participating in the heritage floor space scheme enabled us to think more broadly about using space at Hyde Park Barracks, and to complete elevated accessibility upgrades.”

– Amy Keighran, Museums of History NSW

Eligibility criteria

Your building must be located within the SP5 Metropolitan Centre zone (the downloads section below has an indicative map of the SP5 zone. Detailed Local Environmental Plan maps can be viewed on our webpage).
Buildings are marked with “ * ” in schedule 5, part 1 (Heritage items) of our Local Environmental Plan 2012.
Your property hasn’t registered an award of heritage floor space within the last 25 years.
The building’s floor space has not been used in any previous development.
Conservation works have been completed in line with a heritage conservation management plan approved by us.
A deed has been entered into with us, and you have registered covenants on the heritage building’s land title. These include a restrictive covenant, which prevents increasing the building’s gross floor area or height, and a positive covenant, which ensures ongoing conservation in line with the approved conservation management plan.

For more information on the criteria see our Sydney Local Environment Plan 2012 (clause 6.10) and Sydney Development Control Plan 2012 (section 5.1.6).

How heritage floor space is calculated

When we assess your application, we’ll determine whether you can earn heritage floor space.

We’ll calculate the amount of heritage floor space you can earn using the following formula:

Site area in square metres occupied by the heritage building divided by 2
Multiplied by the site’s mapped floor space ratio

The mapped floor space ratio excludes additional, bonus and accommodation floor space. The maximum amount of heritage floor space a building can be awarded is 30,000 square metres.

Our Sydney Development Control Plan 2012 (section 5.1.6.3) details how we calculate heritage floor space.

To find the mapped floor space ratio of your heritage building, search for your building address on our interactive planning viewer or contact us.

Let’s look at an example

Haymarket Library (formerly Haymarket Chambers) earnt 1,125.38 square metres of heritage floor space in 2019.

Land size: 300.1 square metres
Building size: 300.1 square metres
Mapped floor space ratio: 7.5:1

We calculated Haymarket Library’s heritage floor space as follows:

Site area in square metres occupied by the heritage building divided by 2 (300.1 square metres divided by 2 = 150.05)
Multiplied by the site’s mapped floor space ratio (150.05 x 7.5 = 1,125.38 square metres)

In total, we awarded the Haymarket Library 1,125.38 square metres of heritage floor space. The heritage floor space was sold in 2021–2022, generating more than $2.38 million.

Key steps for earning heritage floor space

Discuss the eligibility of your building with us including documents needed and conservation works you need to consider.
We can let you know whether your building would suit a retrospective award or would require a development application.
Hire an appropriate heritage consultant to prepare a conservation management plan for your heritage building or to update an existing one.
Prepare all your documents, lodge your application and pay the required retrospective award application or development application fees.
If heritage floor space was approved under a development application, you also need to complete the conservation works in line with your approved conservation management plan and consent conditions.
Request that we formally register your award and pay the registration fee.
Enter a deed with us, register the required covenants on your heritage building’s land title, and pay the legal and covenant registration fees.

You can now sell your earnt heritage floor space or allocate it to a development.

How to apply

You can apply for the scheme 2 different ways. We can let you know which type of application you need and can walk you through the process – feel free to contact us.
1. Within a development application
  If you need to undertake any conservation or other building works, use this pathway to apply for an award of heritage floor space as a part of your development application for those works.
  
  You can apply for a staged award as a part of your development application for those works. This lets you register and sell the first stage of heritage floor space before completing the rest. A high level of conservation is generally required for the first stage to be approved and registered before starting later stages. Contact us before preparing your application if you're considering this option.
2. Retrospective award
  If your building has already been conserved, is in good condition and we don’t require any outstanding works to be carried out, you can make a retrospective application.
After your building has achieved a good state of conservation and we have signed off on the works, you can apply to have your heritage floor space registered. This is a key legal step in the process and needs to be completed before you can sell or allocate your heritage floor space.
- Once you have met all your required conditions of consent or approval requirements, pay the heritage floor space registration fee and request to have your heritage floor space registered. If the award was approved under a development application, you’ll need to include documents to show we have endorsed completion of the conservation works.
- We’ll draw up the deed and title covenants which you need to sign. You’ll also need to pay the legal fees, register the covenants on the land title and show us evidence that you have completed these requirements.
- Your heritage floor space will be added to our register. Once we have advised you in writing of the registration, you can sell your heritage floor space.
We administer the scheme by registering the initial award and any subsequent ownership transfers and heritage floor space allocations to developments.

Selling heritage floor space
- Heritage floor space is sold in the same way as real property. It can be sold to anyone wanting to buy it and it can be used (allocated) where a development consent requires it.
- Selling and buying heritage floor space is a private transaction and the purchase price is negotiated between the owner and prospective buyers.
- Owners and prospective buyers pay all legal and transfer costs.
- We release a report every quarter with information about recent sales, average sale prices and contact details of heritage floor space sellers. See our downloads section below for our latest update report.
- To register sales (transfers of heritage floor space from one owner to another), relevant documents and fees need to be submitted to us.
- Heritage floor space can be sold in one transaction or in portions at different times.
We release a report every quarter with information about recent sales, average sale prices and contact details of heritage floor space sellers. See our downloads section below for the latest heritage floor space update report.

Transferring and allocating heritage floor space
- To register a transfer of ownership (a sale of heritage floor space from one owner to another), we’ll need to see a copy of a signed deed/sales agreement between the seller and the buyer. We must also see the section 12 notice under the Conveyancing Act 1919.
- An ownership transfer will only be registered when we’ve received evidence that the registration fee has been paid, there’s no outstanding stamp duty payment and the sales price is disclosed to us for publication in our heritage floor space update report.
- You can also ask to allocate your purchased heritage floor space to a development to meet your development consent conditions. Once the heritage floor space has been allocated, it is extinguished from our register and can’t be sold or allocated to another development.

Buying and allocating heritage floor space

We allow some developments in Central Sydney to exceed the maximum floor space ratio for their site. To do this, a certain amount of heritage floor space needs to be bought and allocated to the development.

- Heritage floor space is purchased in the same way as real property. It can be purchased by anyone wanting to buy it and it can be used (allocated) where a development consent requires it.
- The purchase price of heritage floor space is determined between the registered owner and the prospective buyer.
- We release a report every quarter with information about recent sales, average sale prices and contact details of heritage floor space sellers. See our downloads section below for our latest update report.
- The cost of any legal agreements, transactions and other documents required in connection with the change of ownership is made by the registered owner and the buyer.
- To register a transfer of ownership (a sale of heritage floor space from one owner to another), we’ll need to see a copy of a signed deed/sales agreement between the seller and the buyer. We must also see the section 12 notice under the Conveyancing Act 1919.
- An ownership transfer to the buyer will only be registered when we’ve received evidence that the registration fee has been paid, there’s no outstanding stamp duty payment and the sales price is disclosed to us for publication in our heritage floor space update report.
- Only heritage floor space registered in our heritage floor space register can be sold or allocated.
- We must be notified of each allocation of heritage floor space to a development.
- Heritage floor space may only be allocated to a development where it has development consent. Written confirmation from us that the heritage floor space has been allocated must be provided prior to the issue of a construction certificate for the development.
- Heritage floor space may only be allocated and used once in a development. If a proposed development with an allocation of heritage floor space doesn’t proceed, the heritage floor space may be re-entered onto the register and made available for re-allocation.
- Once heritage floor space has been allocated to a development, we extinguish it in our register and it can’t be sold or allocated to any other developments.
We prefer heritage floor space to be obtained before a development begins. But projects can go ahead if you’re finding it difficult to buy heritage floor space due to market shortages. The alternative heritage floor space scheme enables development to proceed while you purchase heritage floor space in the market.

This alternative scheme requires voluntary planning agreements and bank guarantees as a mechanism to have more time to purchase the heritage floor space required under clause 6.11 of Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2012.

This option will require you to demonstrate ongoing efforts to buy the heritage floor space required under your development consent.

This alternative scheme only applies to development applications lodged before 1 January 2026 because it’s a temporary measure to address a shortage of available space.

More information about the alternative scheme is available in the downloads section below.

Downloads

SP5 (Metropolitan) zone mapPDF · 905.51 KB · Last modified 27 March 2025

Heritage floor space update – December 2024PDF · 1.21 MB · Last modified 24 March 2025

Recent awards, transfers and allocations of heritage floor space (HFS).

Alternative heritage floor space allocation schemePDF · 334.46 KB · Last modified 19 January 2023

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Built environmentLand use planning

Heritage floor space scheme

Jane Alexander

How it works

Eligibility criteria

How heritage floor space is calculated

Let’s look at an example

Key steps for earning heritage floor space

How to apply

Stage 1: Application

Stage 2: Registering heritage floor space

Stage 3: Selling and transferring heritage floor space

Buying and allocating heritage floor space

Buying heritage floor space

Allocating heritage floor space

Alternative heritage floor space scheme

Downloads