RLZ — Rural Living Zone
The rural-lifestyle zone: houses on large country blocks (commonly 2–8 ha) where residential living is the accepted primary use, alongside hobby-scale farming.
Built form
Minimum lot size per the schedule (default 2 ha); on-site effluent and access standards shape building; bushfire controls frequently overlap.
Typically allowed
- One dwelling per lot (no permit on lots at/above the schedule area, commonly 2 ha)
- Agriculture and horse keeping (some with a permit)
- Home-based businesses
What is allowed on a particular site depends on the council’s schedule to this zone and any overlays. Check the scheme; we make no determination.
Typically not allowed
- Urban-density subdivision
- Industry and most commercial uses
What to look at
The safest rural zoning for a lifestyle purchase — the dwelling entitlement is usually clear. Confirm the schedule minimum before assuming any further subdivision.
Source: Victoria Planning Provisions, Clause 35.03 (Rural Living Zone); DTP planning.vic.gov.au
Councils that map RLZ
- Alpine19 mapped areas
- Ararat20 mapped areas
- Ballarat21 mapped areas
- Bass Coast9 mapped areas
- Benalla12 mapped areas
- Colac Otway22 mapped areas
- Corangamite4 mapped areas
- Greater Geelong40 mapped areas
- Hindmarsh8 mapped areas
- Horsham19 mapped areas
- Hume1 mapped area
- Indigo23 mapped areas
This list covers the councils in our corpus only. A council we hold no data for may also map RLZ — we simply cannot say.
Check what is mapped at a specific address →
This page reports what is mapped in published VIC planning data, as we last synced it on 23 May 2026. It is general information, not planning advice, and it makes no assessment of any proposal. Whether an approval is needed, and what a council decides, are matters for the responsible authority — check the council’s own planning scheme and contact them directly.