If we want cheaper rental choices, we should ask why the rules spend so much effort controlling what a small room can contain.
Brisbane's proposed planning changes include a rooming-accommodation dry bar limited to a 600mm-by600mm bench and a fridge no larger than 120 litres. Private cooking and laundry facilities are restricted under the proposed text. These are proposed rules in Package L, which Council currently expects to take effect in mid 2027. (Brisbane City Council; Proposed marked-up amendment)
That is a concrete policy question, rather than another argument about greedy landlords.
There is a real planning distinction here. A room with shared facilities is not a self-contained apartment. Calling a development co-living does not remove its building or planning obligations.
But the practical question remains: can we create a safe, legal, financially workable path for the compact accommodation people want?
My view is that governments should publish standard designs and a clear approval route for modest studios and small shared-living projects on suitable sites. Assess actual safety, access, servicing and neighbourhood effects. Make the rules understandable before someone spends money on plans.
Charges deserve the same scrutiny. Brisbane's current schedule distinguishes a bedroom outside a suite from a one-or-two-bedroom suite. Its Council charge is $6,711.91 for the former and $13,423.83 for the latter, before the full project calculation. Credits, indexation and separate utility charges matter. (Brisbane Infrastructure Charges Resolution No. 15 (2026))
That is why a headline saying every room attracts the same enormous fee can also mislead. We need the actual classification and complete bill.
An independent review should ask whether those charges match the extra infrastructure demand, whether credits are correctly applied and whether payments can be timed without stopping otherwise useful projects. Waiving a charge does not make infrastructure free; governments must show who funds it.
Lower development costs do not guarantee lower advertised rents. They can make more projects possible. If more suitable rentals are delivered, tenants have more alternatives and owners face more competition for them.
That is the result worth pursuing: safe accommodation, a workable building path and more choice for the person paying rent.