Can I build townhouses or units in Tasmania?

The Tasmanian Planning Scheme doesn't have a separate 'townhouse' use — a row of townhouses or a cluster of units is 'multiple dwellings', the same use as a two-dwelling development but applied to three or more dwellings on a lot. A unit development needs a permit, assessed against the zone's standards for density, setbacks, building height, site coverage, private open space and car parking.

Multiple dwellings is a Permitted use in the General Residential and Inner Residential zones — meaning if the proposal meets every Acceptable Solution, the council must grant the permit. Miss a standard and it becomes Discretionary: assessed against the Performance Criteria, advertised for public representations, and harder to land at scale.

• Townhouses / units = 'multiple dwellings' (three or more dwellings on a lot)
• Minimum site area per dwelling — 325 m² in the General Residential Zone
• A Permitted use in the General Residential and Inner Residential zones
• Meeting every Acceptable Solution = Permitted; missing one = Discretionary
• Each dwelling needs private open space, parking and compliant setbacks
• Codes (bushfire, heritage, landslip, waterway) can change the category

Townhouse and unit projects are usually planned with a subdivision so each dwelling ends up on its own title — get the multiple-dwellings permit, then subdivide (the subdivision is a separate permit, assessed against the zone's minimum lot size). Where the lot can't be subdivided, the dwellings can stay on one title under strata.

Because a larger development is more likely to miss an Acceptable Solution and tip into Discretionary, the design and the planning case matter more as the dwelling count rises.