North Street
Mount Lawley
We design and build custom homes in Dianella and across Perth's inner north.
Our projects typically start at $1.5M for the build, excluding land. Dianella was built out in the 1960s on sand the City says hampered early farming, and about half of it is coded R20 under the City of Stirling. Here is what that means for a new house.
Our homes in Dianella
Our Dianella home is not finished yet. Elabana Crescent is a contemporary minimalist home on a 910 m2 block, under way, with completion expected in 2027. The nearest finished homes are in neighbouring Mount Lawley: North Street, a modern heritage renovation and addition completed in 2026 on an 870 m2 lot, and The Grosvenor, an Art Deco home on a 265 m2 lot.
Tours are by invitation; ask us which homes near Dianella can be visited.
Building in Dianella: what changes
The scheme and the codes. Dianella sits in the City of Stirling under Local Planning Scheme No. 3; a sliver on the eastern edge, about 0.7% of the suburb, is in the City of Bayswater under Town Planning Scheme No. 24. Public mapping puts about half the suburb's area (49.7%) in R20, 19.1% in R30 and 11.8% in R25. R20 is the single-house code on most streets; the R25 and R30 bands allow grouped dwellings.
Height and approval. The City sets no local height limit for houses. LPP 2.6 Residential Building Heights was revoked on 20 February 2023, so a single house is measured against the R-Codes, clause 5.1.6, Table 3, Category B, for its code. Meet every deemed-to-comply standard and the house is exempt from development approval. Two special control areas, the Dianella Centre (LPS3 clause 6.12, around Dianella Plaza) and the Dianella Media District (clause 6.10, the former television station sites), have their own rules and do not reach the house streets.
Trees and site cover. LPP 6.11 Trees and Development applies to work worth more than $100,000 and asks for a significant tree to be retained or one advanced tree planted on a site up to 500 m2; LPP 6.17 keeps the Significant Tree Register, and a registered tree needs approval before removal. Residents have asked the City for new homes to keep mature trees and cover less than 50% of the block; the City records that as feedback, not a rule, and fast-tracks applications that retain a mature tree, so a tree kept on the plan now moves faster through the City.
Heritage. Dianella has no heritage area and the constraint on a house block is low. Marsala House on Sycamore Rise is on the State Register and in Category A on the City's Heritage List (August 2025); Kessell House on Briald Place and a residence on Shannon Road are Category B. The listed houses are post-war designs rather than Federation stock, and a listed place needs development approval before demolition.
Sand. Dianella is the one suburb on these pages that sits mainly on Bassendean and Pinjarra ground rather than Spearwood sand: State mapping puts Bassendean sand under 44.0% of it, Pinjarra plain under 29.8% and Spearwood sand under 25.7%. The Bassendean dunes are low hills of quartz sand with sandy swamps in the swales between them, which is the soil the City says hampered early farming. A site classification tells you whether the block sits on the dune or in the swale where the swamps were, and the footings follow from that.
Bushfire and bushland. About 11.7% of the suburb is mapped Bush Fire Prone on the DFES map of 13 December 2025, around Dianella Regional Open Space, Cottonwood Crescent Nature Reserve and the other bushland reserves; Bush Forever sites 280 and 43 cover 3.5% and 1.1%. The designation is made lot by lot, so a block on those edges needs checking before the design starts. Check the lot's bushfire designation with the City of Stirling or DFES.
Demolition and knockdown rebuild. Development ran fast through the 1960s boom, starting north from Walter Road and Grand Promenade; the St Andrews and Dress Circle estates were the last major areas built. Housing ranges from modest post-war homes to large, modern two-storey dwellings, mostly single detached brick, with duplexes, villas and some older flats in the south. A demolition permit under the Building Act 2011 costs $110 for a Class 1 or 10 building in 2025-26, and development approval comes first for a Heritage List place. The ABS recorded 82 new house approvals across the Dianella - North and Dianella - South statistical areas in the 12 months to August 2026 (21 and 61), against 74 the year before: replacement houses, and subdivision builds on the R25 and R30 lots.
Rules in motion. Council has endorsed draft Local Planning Scheme No. 4, which the City says will facilitate upgrades to Dianella Plaza and redevelopment of vacant land once approved, and a proposed Dianella Centre Precinct Structure Plan is open for public comment. Dianella is also listed as a possible planning area for urban change in the new Local Planning Strategy. Rules change. Confirm the current codes for your lot with the City of Stirling or with us before you buy or design.
Dianella at a glance
| Measure | Figure | As at | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| New houses approved, 12 months | 82across the Dianella - North and Dianella - South statistical areas (74 the year before) | September 2025 to August 2026 | ABS Building Approvals |
| Residential density codes | About 49.7%of the suburb area R20, 19.1% R30, 11.8% R25 | Sampled 31 October 2026 | DPLH via Landgate SLIP |
| Bushfire-prone mapping | About 11.7%of the suburb area, the regional open space and reserves; check the lot | Sampled 31 October 2026 | DFES via Landgate SLIP |
| Separate houses | 66.8%of private dwellings | 2021 Census | ABS |
| Population | 24,169 | 2021 Census | ABS |
Figures are for the suburb or statistical area named. Area shares are grid estimates from public mapping and are not lot designations.
For current median sale prices, see REIWA's Dianella suburb profile.
What a $1.5M+ build looks like in Dianella
Our projects typically start at $1.5M for the build, excluding land. Our cost guide puts a Trendsetter home at $4,000 to $6,000+ per square metre, with builds from $1.5M to $4M and most between $1.5M and $3M. In Dianella the block is usually the easy part. The City has not published a typical lot size, but our Elabana Crescent home sits on 910 m2, and on a block like that the floor area can go into a wide single level or a two storey plan with garden to spare, within the R-Codes limits for R20. What moves the number is underneath and overhead: Bassendean sand on the old dune or the swale where the swamps were, which a site classification settles early, and the mature trees the City now rewards you for keeping, which fix where the house can sit.
How we work
Trendsetter Homes has designed and built custom homes across Perth since 1997. Design, construction and interiors are handled by one team, so the people who draw your home are the people who build it, and the interior designer is in the room from the first brief. Before you commit, we show you real homes: private tours of finished and in-progress client homes, by invitation, with no obligation. Many clients talk to us before they buy a block, and that is a good time to start.
The people you will work with
Design, construction and interiors are one team. These are the people you meet first.
Nearby suburbs we build in
Dianella's neighbours share the City of Stirling scheme over most of their area, but Mount Lawley's heritage area brings rules Dianella does not have.
Nearby: Mount Lawley, Stirling.
All areas: see every suburb we have written up.
Questions about building in Dianella
Do I need approval to demolish a house in Dianella?
A demolition permit from the City of Stirling under the Building Act 2011, at $110 for a Class 1 or 10 building in 2025-26. Development approval comes first where the place is on the City's Heritage List, which in Dianella means three houses: Marsala House, Kessell House and a residence on Shannon Road.
How high can I build in Dianella?
There is no local height policy. The City revoked LPP 2.6 Residential Building Heights on 20 February 2023, so a single house follows the R-Codes, clause 5.1.6, Table 3, Category B, for its code. A fully compliant house is exempt from development approval.
Is there a 50% site cover rule in Dianella?
No. Residents have asked the City for new homes to keep mature trees and cover less than 50% of the block, and the City records that as community feedback. Its response is to apply the R-Codes to site coverage, fast-track applications that retain a mature tree, and fund a Tree Project Officer in 2026-27. LPP 6.11 and the Significant Tree Register under LPP 6.17 are the rules that do apply.
Talk to us
Book a design meeting at our Osborne Park office, or request a private tour of a finished or in-progress home. Office (08) 9446 2822. For tours, call Marek on 0412 688 079. Or use the enquiry form below.
Request a design chat