A radical plan to allow three-storey apartments and townhouses to be built anywhere in Australia’s capital cities would deliver 67,000 extra homes a year, slash rents and give young people a chance at living close to their local CBD.

The independent Grattan Institute think tank estimates Melbourne could build an extra 431,000 homes within 15 kilometres of the city centre if property owners were freely able to build three-storey townhouses and apartments without a specialist planning permit.

Three storey apartments and townhouses would be allowed on any residential block in all capital cities under a radical plan to deliver millions of new homes. Credit: Justin McManus

Across all of Sydney, the institute estimates up to an extra one million homes could be commercially feasible if pla

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