The Grosvenor
Mount Lawley
We design and build custom homes in Mount Lawley and across Perth's inner north.
Our projects typically start at $1.5M for the build, excluding land. Mount Lawley is split across three councils and more than half of it sits inside a Heritage Protection Area, so the rules for a new house depend on the street. Here is what changes where, and our two homes here.
Our homes in Mount Lawley
Two of our homes are in Mount Lawley. The Grosvenor is an Art Deco home on a 265 m2 lot and the Master Builders WA 2026 Contract Home $1M to $2M winner. North Street is a modern heritage renovation and addition to an existing home on an 870 m2 lot, completed in 2026.
Private tours are by invitation. Ask us which Mount Lawley homes can be visited.
Building in Mount Lawley: what changes
Three councils, one suburb. About 68% of Mount Lawley is in the City of Stirling, 25% in the City of Vincent and 7% in the City of Bayswater. Stirling holds the part north of Walcott Street under Local Planning Scheme No. 3, Vincent the southern end under Local Planning Scheme No. 2, and Bayswater the pocket between the railway and Maylands around Guildford Road and Whatley Crescent under Town Planning Scheme No. 24. The exact Vincent and Stirling boundary beyond Walcott Street was not fixed by the research. Check which council the lot falls under on the council's mapping. Nothing below applies to the whole suburb.
The Stirling heritage area. The Heritage Protection Area special control area (LPS3 clause 6.6) covers about 54% of the suburb, bounded by Walcott Street, Railway Parade, Central Avenue, the rear of the lots on the north-western side of North Street, Hamer Park, Bradford Street and Alexander Drive. Inside it every single house needs development approval, even a fully compliant one. Clause 6.6.4 adds a second gate: approval for new works cannot be granted until separate approval for the demolition has been granted first, and the City's suburb profile says demolition of traditional homes built before 1960 is restricted.
What the character guidelines ask for. LPP 3.1 Character Retention Guidelines Mt Lawley and Menora aims to retain buildings from the early 1900s to the 1950s where the architectural style is generally intact. For a new house it sets the shape: a second storey at least 4 m behind the predominant building line, carports and garages to the rear or side, and a front setback in step with a street the policy records at 5 to 9 m, behind front fences of 0.9 to 1.2 m. Additions to a traditional house sit behind the ridgeline, and mature trees are retained wherever possible.
The codes. The heritage area is largely R12.5, the lowest code on any of these suburb pages, and about 25% of the whole suburb carries it, which keeps the lots large. R30, R40 and R-AC0 run along Beaufort Street. The Vincent part is mostly R40 and above, with pockets up to R100; the Bayswater part is mainly R20.
Vincent and Bayswater. In the City of Vincent, demolishing a single house is exempt from development approval unless it is in a heritage-protected place or a designated Heritage Area, where approval and a Heritage Impact Statement are always required. The State planning layer records a Vincent special area labelled Mount Lawley - Highgate over the Vincent part; its scheme text could not be read. Check what the Vincent "Mount Lawley - Highgate" special area requires under LPS2 with the City of Vincent. In the City of Bayswater, Character Protection Area 2 covers seven streets including Guildford Road and Whatley Crescent. Confirm the full street list of Bayswater Character Protection Area 2 with the City of Bayswater. TPS 24 clause 8.5.5 asks for development sympathetic to the prevailing character and streetscape, with photographs of the neighbours, a 1:100 streetscape elevation, a schedule of finishes and a front garden landscape plan in the application.
Listed places. Fourteen State Register places intersect the suburb, among them the Astor Theatre and the Beaucott Building on Beaufort Street, and all three councils' Heritage Lists carry Mount Lawley houses; check them and the Local Heritage Survey before you plan a demolition.
Soils, the river and bushfire. State mapping shows Spearwood sand under about two thirds of the suburb, with Bassendean sand and Pinjarra plain units towards the river. About 2.5% of the suburb is inside the Swan Canning Development Control Area, where DBCA holds development authority over private land, and about 2.4% is mapped Bush Fire Prone on the DFES map of 13 December 2025, mainly the foreshore. Check the lot's bushfire designation with the City of Stirling or DFES.
Rules in motion. The ABS recorded 26 new house approvals in the Mount Lawley - Inglewood statistical area in the 12 months to August 2026, against 23 the year before. Draft Local Planning Scheme No. 4 cannot carry Stirling's heritage provisions, so a replacement character retention policy consulted in April and May 2026 would retain intact buildings built before 1960; LPS3 stays in force until LPS4 is gazetted. Stirling also names Mount Lawley as a possible planning area for urban change. Rules change. Confirm the current codes for your lot with the City of Stirling, Vincent or Bayswater, whichever applies, or with us before you buy or design.
Mount Lawley at a glance
| Measure | Figure | As at | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| New houses approved, 12 months | 26in the Mount Lawley - Inglewood statistical area (23 the year before) | September 2025 to August 2026 | ABS Building Approvals |
| Residential density codes | About 25.3%of the suburb area R12.5, 13.6% R40, 9.1% R30 | Sampled 31 October 2026 | DPLH via Landgate SLIP |
| Swan Canning development control area | About 2.5%of the suburb area, along the river | Sampled 31 October 2026 | DBCA via Landgate SLIP |
| Separate houses | 47.2%of private dwellings | 2021 Census | ABS |
| Population | 11,328 | 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 Mount Lawley suburb profile.
What a $1.5M+ build looks like in Mount Lawley
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 Mount Lawley the heritage rules shape the budget as much as the block does. On an R12.5 lot in the Stirling heritage area the land is generous, but the second storey sits 4 m back from the building line and the garage goes to the rear or side, so the plan spreads rather than stacks, and where the original house is intact the project becomes a renovation and addition, as North Street did on 870 m2. On a small lot like The Grosvenor's 265 m2 the floor area goes up instead.
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
Mount Lawley's neighbours sit under the City of Stirling without a heritage area, so the same council reads differently a few streets north.
All areas: see every suburb we have written up.
Questions about building in Mount Lawley
Which council do I deal with in Mount Lawley?
It depends on the street. North of Walcott Street the City of Stirling applies Local Planning Scheme No. 3 and, over about 54% of the suburb, its Heritage Protection Area. South of Walcott Street the City of Vincent applies Local Planning Scheme No. 2. The pocket around Guildford Road and Whatley Crescent is the City of Bayswater under Town Planning Scheme No. 24. Check the lot on the council mapping first.
Can I demolish a house in the Stirling heritage area?
Not without a separate development approval first. Under LPS3 clause 6.6.4, approval for new works in the Residential zone cannot be granted until approval for the demolition has been granted, and LPP 3.1 aims to retain houses from the early 1900s to the 1950s where the style is generally intact.
What does the City of Vincent require before demolition?
For an ordinary single house, a demolition permit under the Building Act 2011; the demolition itself is exempt from development approval. For any structure in a heritage-protected place or a designated Heritage Area, development approval and a Heritage Impact Statement are always required, and the City is generally not supportive of demolishing those buildings.
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