Lack of daylight, space and ventilation are among the top concerns for Victorians living in apartments, a state government consultation process has found, and apartment design guidelines are being drafted to address these issues.
Unlike New South Wales, Victoria has no minimum size requirements for new apartments, and consequently homes as small as 24 square metres are being built.
Last year, the government launched a statewide “Better Apartments” consultation process with the public and industry to identify key concerns and possible changes to building and design regulations.
A resulting survey of 1,700 people found that while noise and car parking were among the main areas of interest for apartment dwellers, space and daylight topped their list of requirements.
The government is now preparing its draft design guidelines in an effort to find a balance between affordability and liveability.
The guidelines are expected to be released for feedback in April.
The Real Estate Institute of Victoria has long warned that home owners may have trouble selling smaller properties.
It has recommended that one-bedroom apartments be no smaller than 50 square metres.
The institute’s chief executive, Enzo Raimondo, said minimum daylight and space requirements should form a critical part of the government’s guidelines. Given that 50,000 new apartments were to be built in the city and surrounding suburbs over the next three years, taking the total to 200,000 in those areas, he said the issue needed to be addressed.
“There now seems to be a level of agreement among stakeholders and within some parts of government that minimum sizing standards are appropriate moving forward,” he said.
“It would also make apartments more sellable, given people have said space and daylight are clearly sought after.”
Guardian Australia has contacted the office of the planning minister, Richard Wynne, for comment.
Danielle Gibson, an Australian who lives in London in an apartment of just 25 square metres, said that while she would be happy to live in a similar-sized apartment if she moved back home, she believed minimum apartment sizing could prevent Victoria from becoming like London, where tiny apartments were the norm.
“Otherwise people will get forced into these tiny places,” she said.
“They are OK for someone like me who is young and single, but without minimums people could get stuck in them long term as it’s all they can afford.
“I don’t mind it, but I don’t know if I could handle it long-term. Compared to living in a share-house though, it’s really not that bad.”
